Pedro Galvao, head of asset finance at Xerox Financial Services (XFS) (pictured) told Asset Finance International: “In 2010 Emric acquired its competitor Financial Systems AB (FSAB) – a company with which we already had a software implementation arrangement.”

That acquisition meant that Emric was now the largest company in the Nordic region when it came to IT systems, consultant services and business process outsourcing for credit financing. It now consisted of some 150 employees and annual sales of SEK 170 million. The acquisition meant that the company also had customers in more than 20 countries.

He said: “We had this established relationship with FSAB and following the Emric acquisition we found that there was a natural succession.”

Galvao explained: “We support a large portion of our direct and indirect channel customer purchases of Xerox equipment through bundled solutions. Financial services facilitate customer usage of Xerox technology and enhance our value proposition.”

XFS’ bundled solutions typically include the equipment, service and supplies for which the customer pays a single negotiated monthly fixed price for all elements over the contractual term.

Galvao is an Economics graduate from Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. He joined Xerox in 1996 as an account manager and in 2000 moved to XFS as country manager in Portugal. He then was promoted steadily up the European chain of command before being appointed to his current role in 2013.

It is Emric’s ProFinance system that is utilized in XFS and Galvao explained that the system has industry unique capabilities for multinational asset finance companies acting and growing in local market on local terms.

Multi-local asset finance offers companies like XFS the ability to apply and adjust their offerings to local requirements without compromising on global standards. ProFinance enables local; currency, language, asset, sales channel, reporting standards, business segments (multiple asset types from small to big tickets) and financial products without compromising on global and local deployment.

He stressed: “It is Emric’s capacity to evolve which differentiates it from its competitors. It has a deep understanding and knowledge of our company. The company fully supports us on fulfilment and servicing of our clients.

Looking ahead, Galvao sees a clear road map for providers of business services and print technology. It is all about adding value to the product itself. Customers now demand more than standalone offerings; they require a wider range of solutions combining business services and technology.”

He added: “Meanwhile we continue to rely on Emric – to date we have had a most successful partnership.”