01732 759725 24 worth braving the commute and coming into. After we adopted a hybrid working model at our Manchester HQ, we completely redesigned the space, adding break-out spaces, lounge areas, booths, and Teams-enabled meeting rooms. That was essential to support collaborative working and social interaction. This led to us having to completely re-evaluate all our workplace technology including workgroup printing and a more balanced deployment of devices.” A comprehensive offering Brother has a comprehensive offering from its EcoPro ink and toner subscription service which can cater to a single user looking for a printer and inks delivered as and when they need it, through to its channel-delivered MPS offering which comprises three distinct packages: MPS Essential, Professional and Enterprise. With MPS Essential, businesses choose the printing subscription that suits them, and Brother will automatically deliver new genuine ink and toner and fix the device if needed. MPS Professional caters to the mid‑market – 50 -250 employees – with higher volume print requirements. Benefits include tailored user interfaces on machines, additional weekend and bank holiday maintenance Jones pointed to several other factors directly correlated to the pandemic including the deceleration in print volumes and the acceleration of digitisation at a rate which wasn’t predicted, which have added further complexity. “A lot of vendors who specialise primarily in large departmental copier devices have clearly felt the brunt of that; people aren’t in the office five days a week like they used to be, print volumes have dropped as a result and many high-volume departmental A3 devices are sitting underutilised in half empty offices,” he said. The workplace is changing Jones continued: “Business leaders are working out whether to downsize real estate, reconfigure their tech stack including printers, and if they need to redesign workspaces. Everyone doesn’t really know what to do right now and we’ve got to link all those things. “It’s not just that the print sector is changing, the print sector is changing as a result of workplace conventions changing, including the advent of artificial intelligence emerging as a known unknown in terms of impact to working practices. “The fact is that post-pandemic employers have got to make the office Businesses today are navigating unchartered waters. Phil Jones cites UK flexible working law updates, the potential impact of tariffs on businesses with USA interests and the ripple effects on global supply chains, as well as the continued decline in print volumes, as some of the key issues creating uncertainty within resellers’ customers’ businesses. “It’s clear that the OA community just like other parts of the information technology channel are dealing with customers’ uncertainty. Businesses don’t know how the flexible working legislation is going to play out – is their whole company going to move to compressed hours, is somebody who’s working on a three-two hybrid basis going to move to a two-three, or if everyone’s got to come back to the office, they could potentially lose up to 8% of their workforce. Consequently, customers are in a holding pattern and we’re seeing evidence of that through MPS agreements being extended, rather than new ones signed,” he said. Brother UK is targeting to onboard 100 new partners in the office automation (OA) channel. Managing Director Phil Jones spoke to Michelle Ryder about the company’s channel-centric strategy and its commitment to helping partners maximise value with every customer, and not leave money on the table Brother UK’s channel recruitment drive INTERVIEW Phil Jones
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