Panasonic Copiers Top Latest J.D. Power and Associates Business Customer Satisfaction Study

Business Wire, Nov 27, 2006

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- Panasonic Digital Document Company, a unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America, today announced that J.D. Power and Associates, based on survey responses from corporate decision makers, has ranked Panasonic copiers Number One in its 2006 Business Copier Customer Satisfaction Study, sweeping both the product and sales categories.

"We are honored to be the recipient of this number one ranking for customer satisfaction from the gold-standard source for unbiased business attitude and marketing surveys," commented Yoshi Yamada, Chairman of Panasonic Corporation of North America. "Over 80 years ago our founder, Konosuke Matsushita, defined Panasonic's primary mission as rendering 'service first and foremost.' Today, that dedication to service is embodied in our company-wide Extreme Customer Satisfaction (XCS) initiative, which calls for not just meeting customer expectations, but exceeding them.

"We are very proud that our efforts to provide the utmost in technology products, service and support have been validated by J.D. Power and Associates and the members of the business community that participated in this survey."

Panasonic Digital Document Company President Steve Mullin, noting that the study revealed "that the sales channel through which a customer obtains their copiers can have a dramatic impact on satisfaction levels," called Panasonic's top ranking "a victory for both our performance as a manufacturer and our dealers' performance on the sales and service frontlines."

The 2006 J.D. Power and Associates' study also indicates that product durability is becoming an increasingly important factor in office-system purchase decisions, with 50 percent of the respondents -- up from only 26 percent in 2005 -- citing reliability as a key reason they would consider changing copier brands.

"As a core manufacturer, Panasonic has 100 percent engineering, fabrication, and quality control over far more of the components in its products than most companies, which gives us a tremendous reliability advantage at the factory level," Mullin said. "Building out from that extremely strong foundation, we've added such uptime-optimizing features as remote diagnostic service (RDS), zero-distance management, IP integrated business applications, and computer-free functions that minimize our products' dependence on the availability of other resources."

According to J.D. Power and Associates, Panasonic's Extreme Customer Satisfaction program is well grounded in the current realities of the copier industry.

People factors such as sales and service have become more important to business customers in terms of overall customer satisfaction. Panasonic's efforts in improving product reliability and sales/service satisfaction are showing dividends in their overall customer satisfaction. (Their) broad-based success is an example of the change in customer attitudes in the copier industry.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2006 Business Copier Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) is based on responses from business and technology managers of small, medium and large companies which purchased or leased a new copier within the past 21 months. The citation is the latest in a long series of industry awards garnered by Panasonic Digital Document Company products, including the 2006 Buyer's Laboratory Certificate of Reliability, the 2006 AIIM Magazine Best of Show Workgroup Scanner Award, the Intrepid Technical Services 2006 Scanner Manufacturer of the Year Award, the Digital Imaging Review Pick of 2005 Award, and the Office Product Analyst 2005 Most Reliable Award.

For more detailed ratings of copier brands, please visit the J.D. Power and Associates Consumer Center at http://www.jdpower.com/electronics/ratings/copier/index.asp.> ABOUT J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

ABOUT PANASONIC

In the United States, Panasonic Digital Document Company, unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America, markets a broad line of digital imaging systems, computer peripherals and office system products designed specifically for business use. Products available include color digital copiers, network multifunction devices, document management systems, scanners, electronic/interactive whiteboards, color laser printers, impact printers, and fax and internet fax machines. Headquartered in Secaucus, NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North America is the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE:MC) of Osaka, Japan. For more information, visit http://www.panasonic.com/office.> All brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.