Japan's IDC Otsuka Provides Value To Shoppers With Membership Scheme Using Zebra P310i

International Design Center Otsuka (IDC Otsuka Kagu Ltd.) in Tokyo, Japan, offers shoppers the best prices for the finest quality furniture at each of its 14 showrooms. Customers are given high discounts on products with a membership system using a free membership card scheme that does not expire.

Offering the furniture industry's most extensive selection among large scale outlets, shoppers at IDC Otsuka can shop from a wide range of general furniture, curtains, lighting equipment and interior accessories, and from budget-priced items up to finely-crafted masterpieces costing tens of millions of yen.

The Zebra P310i is helping IDC Otsuka develop a loyal customer base by producing membership cards on the spot for the company's membership program.

IDC Otsuka introduced its membership system in 1993. Through the membership scheme, which is open to all shoppers, IDC Otsuka's objective is to provide every customer with value at an attractive price. Every product has been labeled with a member's price, which is also the lowest price guaranteed in Japan and most competitive, based on stringent quality controls and market research. Upon producing the IDC Otsuka membership card during payment, any shopper can enjoy the attractive member's price.

With a Zebra P310i card printer installed in each of the showrooms, shoppers can get their cards on the spot, which go very well with the "instant" or "convenient" culture which urban Japanese are accustomed to.

Before the 28 units of Zebra P310i card printers were installed at IDC Otsuka in May this year, these membership cards were formerly printed using re-writable card printers. "The disadvantage of re-writable card printers is that they could not do continuous batch printing, which is a feature we are looking at. This function is necessary, especially on occasions where there are high membership applications," said Mr. Hidetoshi Funaki, Supervisor, Marketing Division, Public Relations Department, IDC Otsuka.

He added: "We chose the Zebra P310i card printer because it could not only do continuous batch printing, but is also the most affordable, high quality printer that suits our budget. Both Zebra and Nippon Primex Inc. are also able to provide the most cost-effective solution, using a combination of VB.Net applications for the printing application."

The IDC membership card printed on the Zebra P310i plastic card printer is actually an environmentally-friendly PET card made from corn. Upon registration, the retail showroom cashier will print the member's name, telephone number and name of the showroom where registration was done, using monochrome ribbons.

"The Zebra P310i printer has also helped improve our operational efficiency as we now do not encounter card jams as commonly seen with the re-writable printers. Therefore, we changed the whole batch of printers and printing technology, but retained the same card design," said Mr. Funaki.

The membership registration system also aids IDC Otsuka in gaining a detailed understanding of each customer's needs and preferences, and therefore helps the company to build closer communications with its customers. With the expert advice given by IDC Otsuka's interior specialists, all members can enjoy a stress-free, efficient and reasonable shopping experience.

This is testimony to the company's business model and competitive advantages, which are to provide a full product lineup, to maintain overall price competitiveness through its "lowest price guaranteed in Japan" system and to offer all-around specialist interior consultation services.