Success Story
OVERVIEW
GIESECKE & DEVRIENT (G&D) - Munich, Germany
Searching for speed and low costs
The Austrian government, looking to improve
service and reduce costs in its healthcare
system, launched a new “e-card” that replaces
paper vouchers and antiquated processes
with the speed and simplicity of smart card
technology. Smart card chips on the new e-cards
contain important administrative data, such as
the cardholder’s name, title, date of birth and
social insurance number. The chip also enables
digital signatures, so it can be used to conduct
secure transactions and for online
authentication. In addition to the chip, laser
engraved text on the front and back of the card
identifies cardholders and indicates which
programs and benefits are available to them.
After an intensely competitive bidding process,
the Austrian government chose Giesecke &
Devrient (G&D) of Munich to issue the new
e-cards. G&D’s proposal included a low
cost-per-card and strong commitments to card
quality, timely card delivery and effective life
cycle management after cards were issued.
G&D’s long-standing reputation for cost
control, schedule integrity and airtight data
security helped secure the contract win.
A perfect mix of economy and quality
The Austrian contract calls for G&D to issue
more than 8 million e-cards by December 2005
and 11 million cards overall. Government
officials have high expectations for cost-per-
card, image quality, card performance, data
security and schedule integrity. To meet this
need, G&D refined its internal processes and
went shopping for a card issuance system that
would allow them to exceed the Austrian
government’s requirements. G&D chose to
deploy three Datacard
®
MPR5000 card
production and personalization systems.
“We selected the Datacard MPR5000 system
partly because it exceeds our requirements for
rated speed,” said Mr. Martin Smuda, Director
of the Card Service Center at G&D Munich.
“The modular design was important, as well as
the smart card and laser engraving capabilities.
The real test, however, was how the system
performed with real cards in a real production
environment. Another important point is the
successful integration of the G&D Universal
Production Platform with the MPR5000. This
platform is responsible for global control of the
MPR5000 system and chip personalization.”
Mr. Smuda and his team conducted tests at
Datacard Group facilities in Orleans, France.
During the tests, the MPR5000 system
performed “exceptionally well,” according
to Mr. Smuda. Installation and training in
G&D’s Munich facility followed soon after
the Orleans testing.
“Datacard Group’s service team worked closely
with us and we made all of our dates.
Everything went very smoothly,” Mr. Smuda
said. “The systems are performing well in all
areas. Card quality is superb and the system
itself is delivering excellent reliability and
throughput. We are very pleased.”
Enhancing G&D’s strong reputation
G&D is running the three Datacard MPR5000
systems in three shifts, five days per week.
“This efficient process allows the systems to
personalize 640,000 cards per week,” Mr.
Smuda said. “The productivity and reliability
are incredibly consistent. This performance is
helping us achieve great customer satisfaction
— and helping us improve our reputation for
exceptional quality and service.”
System operators have become proficient with
the new Datacard MPR5000 systems, partly
because of Datacard Group’s training program
and partly because of the way the system is
designed.
“The software interfaces and product manuals
were all made available in German, which
simplified life for our operators,” Mr. Smuda
said. “Also, the system is compact and the
controls are logically placed, so it is easy for our
operators to work around the MPR5000 system.”
A vision for even greater success
G&D’s contract with the Austrian main
association of social insurance, the
Hauptverband der österreichischen
Sozialversicherungen, runs for five years and
includes card personalization, card delivery and
life cycle management.
“This is a significant program for us and we
expect it will help strengthen our position
in the government and healthcare markets,”
Mr. Smuda said. “The Datacard MPR5000
system is contributing to that success by
making our operations fast, smooth, secure and
cost-effective.”
Mr. Smuda said the capabilities of the Datacard
MPR5000 system will likely open doors in new
markets and with new customers.
“The success of this program and the
capabilities of these systems will be very
visible,” he said. “We expect the speed,
performance and modular flexibility of our
Datacard MPR5000 systems to allow us to
compete for new business in other markets,
such as telecommunications, pay TV,
transportation, retail and identity.”
CUSTOMER: Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), a global technology company established in 1852,
has historically specialized in banknote and securities printing, as well as automatic currency
processing equipment. Today, G&D is a leading supplier of smart cards.
CHALLENGE: G&D was awarded a contract to personalize more than 11 million smart cards for
the Austrian Healthcard Project. The card program presented personalization challenges in terms
of smart card personalization and laser engraving.
SOLUTION: After a thorough competitive review, G&D chose the Datacard
®
MPR5000 card
production and personalization system.
RESULTS: The Datacard MPR5000 card personalization system was installed, tested and
deployed on schedule. The results show that the system is exceeding G&D’s most critical
expectations, which included cost-per-card, speed, laser quality and reliability.
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