How Te Wānanga o Aotearoa transitioned to a modern, service-led print environment in just six weeks.
About Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is New Zealand’s second-largest tertiary education provider, with a strong commitment to advancing te reo Māori, tikanga, and educational success for communities across Aotearoa.
Teaching from more than 80 locations nationwide, the organisation plays a vital role in delivering education programmes grounded in kaupapa Māori values, and creating opportunities for whānau and communities to learn, grow and thrive.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa awarded its national print services contract via the All-of-Government Printing Technology and Associated Services panel, selecting Brother to deliver a modern print solution that's built around service, trust, and a long-term partnership.
Challenge
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa was approaching the end of its existing print contract and needed to move quickly to a new provider.
The organisation faced a tight delivery window, limited internal capacity to manage a large-scale transition, and a clear requirement for minimal disruption to teaching and operational services.
Above all, the organisation needed a partner who understood their philosophy and could engage on what was truly important to them – not just printing alone.
There was also a need to consolidate the printer fleet to remove underutilised devices, and address issues with reliability, fault response and inconsistent user experiences that created frustrations for kaimahi (staff) and tauira (students).
One particular frustration was how replacement consumables were delivered to IT kaimahi in Waikato to redistribute to sites around Aotearoa. There was a real need to simplify printer management to avoid such inefficiencies.
Changeover would need to replace and deploy a fleet of more than 120 devices with varying configurations across the national network in a matter of weeks between academic semesters.
All devices were required to be user authenticated, which added another layer of complexity to the challenge.
Solution
Brother took a collaborative, service-led approach from the beginning, focusing on first understanding the values of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, its operating model and expectations of partnership. Only then was the print environment assessed.
Another major focus was delivery execution, which needed to occur over the holiday period from December to February.
A dedicated project team worked closely with kaimahi to define a detailed rollout plan, supported by structured testing and formal sign-off before deployment.
Site visits and engagement with kaimahi informed device placement and configuration decisions, ensuring local operational needs were understood before rollout. This included tailored solutions for specialist requirements, such as Student Registry graduation certificate printing, where additional media handling capability was introduced to better support thicker certificate stock.
The rollout involved more than 120 Konica Minolta multi-function devices nationwide, including some that were individually configured to meet local needs.
A key improvement was the redesign of consumables replacement. Instead of centralised distribution, Brother implemented direct-to-site delivery for toner and supplies across all locations.
Recognising the strong connection of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa with te taiao (the environment), Brother introduced a bespoke sustainability initiative that converted recycling efforts into measurable environmental outcomes. The number of native trees planted was directly linked to the volume of consumables recycled through Brother’s recycling boxes, with a dedicated dashboard enabling Te Wānanga o Aotearoa kaimahi to track recycling activity and the associated environmental impact.
Results
The rollout was completed within six weeks from contract signing to full business-as-usual operation. All devices were deployed, configured and operational within the required timeframe, with minimal disruption to kaimahi and teaching activity across the network.
The print fleet was reduced by approximately 20 percent. This not only delivered an annual lease saving, it also allowed for the right devices to be placed according to usage patterns around campuses.
The new print environment significantly reduced internal workload by lowering the number of helpdesk requests related to consumables. With automated toner replacement, kaimahi no longer need to monitor levels or place orders. Consumables are delivered when needed, reducing administrative effort and freeing up IT resources for higher-value tasks.
Commercially, the solution delivered a meaningful cost reduction alongside improved operational efficiency across the organisation.
Ultimately, the partnership approach was a key differentiator. The relationship between Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and Brother enabled a depth of understanding and a shared commitment to doing things according to what matters most.
Beyond the immediate rollout, the environment has been designed with future capability in mind, including readiness for a wider web-to-print solution across all campuses.
The biggest thing for us was trust - knowing the commitments made would be delivered on. The timeline was incredibly tight, exacerbated by end-of-year break, but the team worked through every challenge, including supply delays and people availability challenges, and still delivered on time.
We were genuinely blown away by the speed and execution. Everything was stood up and working, across the motu, in time for semester start. It was an exceptional performance from the team, and we are impressed and grateful. Taputapu kē rātou!
Nick Pharo, Paemanu – Tūāhangarau | Director - Technology Foundations, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa