The decades long joint venture between the two businesses, Fuji-Xerox, came to an end in 2019 after Fujifilm’s bid to acquire Xerox was thwarted by activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason.
Xerox agreed a new sourcing relationship with Fujifilm at that time.
In 2021, Xerox re-affirmed its commitment to continue sourcing devices made by Fujifilm. The group said it had a “recent agreement” that ensured continuity of supply for current and future products, and the deal auto-renewed on a five-year basis.
That arrangement is set to continue with a further renewal now in place.
A Xerox spokesperson told Printweek: “While we cannot comment on deal details, we can say that Xerox provides best-in-class hardware, software and solutions in a complete ecosystem for our clients which includes our proprietary capabilities and work with third party providers and partners.
“Fujifilm Business Innovation continues to be one of our strategic suppliers, and we have recently renewed our multi-year contract with them. This agreement secures our ongoing access to the latest advancements in print engine technology and related supplies, reinforcing Xerox’s commitment to delivering differentiated solutions to our clients and partners.”
Fujifilm Business Innovation is Xerox’s largest manufacturing partner and supplies specific products across its entry, mid-range and high-end product portfolio, including the Iridesse and Versant models.
Xerox expects to spend around $1.17bn (£965m) on products made by Fujifilm this year.
In its Q3 results just filed, Xerox posted sales down 7.4% at $1.65bn on a constant currency basis, while adjusted net income was up $44m at $77m.
CEO Steve Bandrowczak also announced a new ‘Reinvention’ simplification and profit improvement programme.
“As we continue simplifying and focusing our operations, Reinvention will reposition our business to enable sustainable profit improvement and revenue growth through the expansion of services that best serve our clients’ needs,” he stated.
Reinvention goals include expanding the group’s market share in print and print services.
At Xerox’s recent exhibit at Printing United Expo show it highlighted its FreeFlow Vision software for production automation.
Separately, Xerox has sold its Russian operations to local management for an undisclosed sum. It had previously said that its Eurasian sales region (including Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) had comprised a “low single digit percentage of our revenue and operating profits” in the calendar year prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
