The sharing economy is built on the idea that sharing certain goods, services, and skills is more efficient.

This model has existed for years now, but with the development of modern-day technology, it has enabled even greater convenience, cost savings and environmental benefits on a larger scale.

Companies like Uber, and the likes of AirBnb have helped put the spotlight on the sharing economy through adding convenience. Many peer-to-peer companies begin with a simple idea of leveraging excess capacity, but it is the technology-enabled ease of use that makes them work and allows them to cut significant costs in the process.

Before the sharing economy there was a car rental industry with excess capacity. Thanks to Uber, with the click of a button on your smartphone, you are instantly connected to a driver giving you the convenience of getting you where you want to go, exactly when you want to, without having to pay for the cost of ownership of having a car. Uber doesn’t have to maintain and store the vehicles, pay for staff at rental offices or schedule pick-ups and drop-offs that are not in use like a rental car company would. They just provide an offering with the user and the driver.

The way we do business is ever evolving, and Canon are always looking at ways to bring innovation to New Zealand businesses. Traditionally, multi-tenanted buildings would have some level of sharing; reception, conference rooms, car parks, or security for example so it only seems logical that we extend the concept of shared services into wider processes, such as milk procurement, courier deliveries and printing.

Canon and Precinct Properties have adopted this sharing economy model through their Print Hub located in Jarden House. They are helping businesses in Commercial Bay reduce their excess capacity by providing a printing solution that is cost effective, convenient and time saving. Some tenants have also opted for Canons’ managed services around milk deliveries, stationery room top-ups and courier management. These services are enabling tenants of Commercial Bay with the freedom to focus on what is really important to their business.

The beauty of the Print Hub is that businesses no longer have to accommodate costs associated with the space required to house the printers, staff to manage it or the power to run it. Canon takes care of the process from start to finish, and provides a convenient delivery service to tenants in the building.

High-quality print, conducted by a team of experts that meets the clients’ exact specifications is what the shared service provides for tenants.

As manufacturers of professional print products, Canon are in a unique position to be able to provide a service that adds real value for their customers, the company’s General Manager of Business Solutions Chris Maclean says.

Utilising best-in-class production print hardware along with highly-skilled print staff, Canon are able to offer a large range of print and print finishing solutions to Commercial Bay tenants. The Canon Print Hub provides an online print portal for easy submission of print work with detailed specifications, and provides live updates on job status. Large volume print jobs are able to be managed through Canon’s print procurement process to ensure the most economic outcome. Once the job is finished, it’s delivered straight to the tenant’s office.

"This shared service model that we've developed in scope with Canon is certainly another strong extension to the service we can provide to our clients at Commercial Bay. Quite simply we were really impressed by Canon's partnership approach to the exercise." - Anthony Randell, Portfolio Manager Precinct Properties.