Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. i...

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. is making a nice, neat package of learning. The company announced it launched the bizhub Learning Center to the entire network of The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc., Inc., domestic locations. A customer-specific site, the bizhub Learning Center provides applicable learning content and reporting capabilities to center franchisees and associates in addition to various Mail Boxes Etc. management personnel.

"Konica Minolta recognized the need to make our learning content visible to anyone, anytime and anywhere," says Kevin Kern, vice president, marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. "Consequently, we evaluated the feasibility of utilizing our own Learning Management System (LMS) and mapping some of that learning content to a customer-specific site, while adding new content that specifically was created and targeted for the franchisees and their associates."

The Corporate Learning Department of Konica Minolta teamed with Operitel, its LMS provider, in 2007, to begin construction of this new Website. Accessible by a center through a unique user ID and password, franchisees and center associates can complete coursework from two learning tracks. The first one is generic, meaning it's not tied to specific Konica Minolta products. Rather, it addresses topics relevant to any franchisee and/or center employee. Each course is a Webinar (PowerPoint decks with an audio track) recorded specifically for the network. The second learning track is specific to Konica Minolta devices, with recorded Webinars on machine functionality, demonstration videos, and virtual tours of control panels and Job Shops in PDF format.

"The bizhub Learning Center is a great resource for our centers," adds Tom Crockett, vice president, worldwide sales and marketing, Mail Boxes Etc., Inc. "It allows the franchisees and their associates the ability to grow their document services knowledge base at their own pace."