Case Study

Generali finds Toughbook lives up to its claims
With a total of some 6,500 employees, the Generali Group is Austrias third largest insurance company and the countrys biggest provider of non-personal insurance. Generali provides car insurance to 1.1 million customers, and handles more than 300,000 claims a year. The strong team of automotive assessors responsible for ensuring repairs are carried out quickly and payments made promptly are all equipped with Panasonic CF-M34 Toughbooks, rugged laptops developed by Panasonic especially for use in punishing real-world environments. Laptops in car repair workshops often take hefty blows or fall on the floor. A normal laptop wont survive a fall from a height of 90 centimetres, but the Toughbook CF-M34 survives unscarred and with no loss of data. The Toughbooks resistance to the vagaries of the elements and extremes of temperature was another important factor in our purchasing decision. Automotive assessors do most of their work on the road, in a variety of conditions. A day in the office is very much the exception for them. Reinhard Seehofer, Head of Claims Management

www.panasonic-europe.com

Toughbook passes the toughest test
Generali needed small, lightweight laptops that could be operated by both touchscreen and an integrated keyboard. Housed in a tough metal body, the hard drive of the Toughbook CF-M34 is shock-dampened with flexible cable connections. All ports and connections have seals or flaps to protect against dust and water, and the body is made of a shock and vibration-resistant magnesium alloy so the display is well protected too. The Toughbook is a practical workmate, not a fragile piece of technology. Twelve of Generalis automotive assessors tested five different laptops from different manufacturers over a three-month period to see how they performed in the working environment. They unanimously decided that the Panasonic Toughbook was the best option.
Our new calculation software can easily be operated using the Panasonic Toughbooks touchscreen. The waterproof integrated keyboard is used every day to write expert opinions on the spot, assess damage in individual cases and quickly note down relevant background information. Reinhard Seehofer
for themselves after extensive consultation and testing. The fact that these people are choosing Toughbooks is both a vindication of our decision and a glowing testimonial for Panasonic. Reinhard Seehofer
Tough in the field, at home, in the office
Panasonic is currently the only manufacturer to offer a complete range of rugged laptops. Of companies using more than 100 laptops, 97% report damage within the first twelve months. Taking into account the resultant loss of business, the average cost of laptop outage is more than 3,000*. This explains why Panasonic has given the Toughbook a magnesium alloy body twenty times tougher than normal plastic, and taken steps to protect both display and hard drive from shock and vibrations. It saves money, prevents collateral damage such as missed appointments or lost data, and makes work a more enjoyable, less frustrating experience. Reinhard Seehofer says that, these days, even when he is in his office he prefers to use his Toughbook. For presentations, its easier and quicker to use a stylus on the touchscreen than a keyboard and mouse another way that the Panasonic Toughbook is simply better than the alternatives.
*Source: Notebook Reliability Survey, Technology Business Review 2001

The right choice

Each of the ten Generali regional offices in Austria has a back-up Toughbook, but so far none of these has been needed. They are used instead in the offices for software updates. Panasonic is so confident of the quality of its products that it gives a three-year guarantee on all Toughbooks. Garages throughout Austria have been so impressed with the Panasonic Toughbooks used by Generali staff that many independent automotive assessors are now choosing it for themselves. There could hardly be better proof that weve made the right choice. Just like us, independent assessors have to perform quick calculations and weigh costs against benefits, and only decide on the right laptop
Panasonic Marketing Europe GmbH, PC Group European Operations Headquarters, Hagenauer Strasse 43, D-65203, Wiesbaden (Germany)

Ferrero chooses Panasonic Toughbook PCs for sales personnel
Ferrero S.p.A. is one of the leading European companies in the food industry. It was founded in 1946 by Pietro Ferrero and Giovanni Ferrero in Alba, a small city near Torino. Today the Ferrero Group is the fourth confectionary manufacturer in the world and the company has 28 operative companies and many factories around the world.
IN 1997 FERRERO S.P.A. introduced the use of notebooks as an important
tool in improving the efficiency and the quality of their order processing system. Each of the 600 salesmen has to manage 20/25 visits to their customers per day. So, they need to be able to take orders quickly and accurately. Ferreros first choice was to give each salesman a light notebook PC. A few months later, following the T.C.O. (total cost ownership) analysis, they approached us for our rugged notebook CF-25 series. During F.Y. 2001 Ferrero S.p.A and Panasonic Italy signed a new agreement to replace all 600 CF-25s with 520 new CF-M34s for the salesmen and 80 CF-72s for the sales inspectors and sales area managers. The strong features of our notebook PCs are highly valued by Ferrero users, particularly the convenient size of the CF-M34, the touch screen function, the integrated modem and our impeccable service.
TOGETHER WITH FERRERO MANAGEMENT, we are now investigating how Panasonic can help introduce new innovative features such as GPRS transmission to notebook PCs used by Ferrero employees, as well as further enhance the quality of service offered to them with the help of Panasonic (CPE UK) repair activity.

RANGE NOTEBOOK PCs

CF-28 Ruggedised notebook PC
CF-M34 Ruggedised, ultra-portable notebook PC

CF-M34

Similar Toughbook models are also used by mobile sales personnel in the German food industry and by car and motorbike manufacturers in Germany, Sweden, Italy and Belgium. European sales personnel working for French cosmetics manufacturers are also one of the numerous European workforces that have chosen Panasonic Toughbooks as their preferred tool when visiting clients.
FOR FERRERO SALES PERSONNEL the availability of reliable and rugged notebook PCs supplied by a trusted manufacturer like Panasonic is essential.
CF-07 Mobile data wireless display and mini PC
CF-P1 Wireless handheld PC

NOTEBOOK PCs : 15

14 : NOTEBOOK PCs
Please refer to the CD for further information on our product range.