by, Jon Levine, vice president, Global Experiential Marketing, Xerox
I consider myself a big tennis fan. Each year, I look forward to the start of the season with the first major in January at the Australian Open* and then have to wait until Spring for the rest to come in quick succession with the French , Wimbledon and finally the US Open. This year, I got a ‘bonus’ major with the Olympics. The thing that I enjoy most about tennis is that on any given day a player can rise up and have the match of a lifetime. Did I mention that I am a bit competitive?
Right now, in our second year as a US Open partner , Xerox is in the midst of a major match and we are rising to the challenge of doing what it takes to make the highest-attended annual sporting event run smoothly. As the official office equipment and document technology and services provider for the US Open and Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day – we’re making it easier to run the event with our superior technology and capabilities in business communications and document management.
Specifically, we handle two crucial components for the Open – managing production of the daily draw sheet and other important event communications, and facilitating all of the print production within the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The draw sheet serves as a daily guide for attendees, offering information on the matches being played each day, updates on results from the day before, and insight on partner promotions and offerings around the facility. Without it, the attendee experience would be drastically different – it’s essentially the best way of communicating what’s happening over the course of the two-week tournament.
Producing such a critical document involves a tight turnaround time and an efficiently managed print process. Over the course of the 14 days, Xerox will manage the production of approximately 145,000 draw sheets on recycled stock paper. The kicker: these documents can’t be produced until the matches have finished up for the day. In other words, all of this happens overnight – sometimes starting as late as 1 a.m. – and then delivered back to the grounds by 8 a.m. the next morning.
Xerox is also responsible for facilitating all print production within the Tennis Center and Arthur Ashe Stadium, including the media center and all of the offices located throughout the facility – and because we’ve outfitted the stadium with multifunction devices, the staff can also scan and email their documents to one another, thereby reducing paper usage and improving sustainability. We’ve also made the print process more efficient by implementing remote diagnostics so when machines are low on toner or paper, we’re able to get ahead of it and solve the problem before it becomes an issue.
As you can imagine, it’s no easy feat to pull off such a large event – but Xerox is bringing a little simplicity to the business of tennis. We aim to have the match of a lifetime behind-the-scenes so that attendees can focus on the real upsets taking place on the courts.
If you’re onsite this year, stop by our Xerox booth to have your photo taken and printed, or share your tennis photos with us on Twitter (@Xerox)* using #XeroxTennis – even if you’re not able to attend – and be entered to win tickets to next year’s event.
Photo credit: Louie Lu
*Updated November 21, 2017.
