Print.IT Reseller - issue 54

PRINT IT RESELLER.UK 45 expansion and working closely with our partners to help them achieve their goals.” Shaun Wilkinson: “Quocirca’s survey ‘Channels to Managed Print Services, 2018’ reveals that a skills gap is clearly evident in the sector, with 50 per cent of channel organisations reporting that sales and technical resource skills are a key barrier to delivering MPS. “I still believe that with our assistance there is a huge opportunity for dealers who can shift their mindset and take on a consultative approach to selling, rather than relying on out-of- the box solutions. As a team we are on hand to ensure that sales and technical specialists are informed enough to be able to start / continue offering collaborative solutions and really get to know the solutions and options available to them. This in turn means that there also needs to be recognition that with solutions come skills and knowledge and these all form part of a chargeable service. “Quocirca also reported that overall, 34 per cent of channel organisations already selling MPS have increased their revenue by five per cent or more in the last year. At UTAX we see time and time again how the combination of our devices and software provides partners with the ideal opportunity to maintain, upgrade and sell to their client base the solutions that really make a difference to businesses. Those solutions also need to be practical and cost-effective, fully integrated with existing IT set-ups and delivered with minimum disruption.” Glenn Kershaw: “Service is the main differentiator for the channel. But to provide high levels of customer service and support, channel partners and ultimately manufacturers, rely on their customers purchasing genuine consumables such as toner from them. The erosion of consumable revenues by competition from inferior grey and counterfeit substitutes is a serious threat to the service levels channel partners can afford to provide. “Another significant threat is diminishing click counts. Whilst the long-heralded ‘paperless office’ may never really be accomplished, the model of lease or purchase with ongoing click revenue for devices may have to be reviewed. We are already providing enhanced services and solutions that will become more and more prevalent as the industry evolves.” James Pittick: “Our increasingly complex digital world has led to a dramatic increase in both the scale and the importance of imaging and information. Managing, safely and securely, this mountain of information is going to be one of the key challenges for the channel. With the introduction of the GDPR, strict procedures around data processing must be implemented to ensure businesses don’t suffer financial and reputational damage. The channel should lead the way in this field, and as print is often at the heart of a company’s information flow, this is imperative. “The scale of the information growth is completely unprecedented, and within only a few years we’ll be having to store the equivalent of 5.2 terabytes of information for every human on earth (IDC and EMC). By 2020 digital commerce will account for a quarter of the global economy, changing the way every business works (Digital Economic Value Index, Accenture, 2016). This mass of information should not only be seen as a burden or a risk; canny and successful partners should learn to utilise all of this information to help optimise their businesses and better support their customers.” Dave Weston: “The main challenges relate to average selling prices (ASPs) and profit erosion. Print hardware ASPs continue to erode – and that is significantly impacting resellers’ ‘pound note profit’. As a result, they are having to sell more units to maintain bottom line profit. OKI can and is helping its reseller community to increase margin by offering services (Smart Managed Page Services) and solutions such as the OKI SENDYS Explorer and OKI SENDYS Output Manager to grow the average basket spend, profit and also reduce churn across its customer base. Solutions like SENDYS benefit the end customer by enabling them to maximise their document workflow efficiencies and control print costs.” Greig Millar: “Currency fluctuations have pinched resellers’ margins on imported technology, a challenge exacerbated by increased competitiveness in the print and scan market. The traditional channel structure is also being disrupted by Amazon’s growing business offering, with many SMBs gravitating towards this given their familiarity with the platform. This makes MPS agreements more important to our partners than ever before. “Instead of a faceless purchase, our MPS solutions provide a long-term service with additional support and maintenance. This is the channel’s biggest advantage, as by providing an excellent service to end-users, they’re also entering an ongoing valuable relationship.” www.purposesoftware.co.uk www.nuance.com www.paebusiness.com www.ysoft.com/ www.xerox.com www.utaxuk.co.uk www.dsales.eu www.canon.co.uk www.oki.com/uk/printing www.brother.co.uk Within only a few years we’ll be having to store the equivalent of 5.2 terabytes of information for every human on earth VOX POP James Pittick