PrintIT Reseller - issue 58

VOX POP “This means reducing cost of sale, hence the need to sell some products transactionally, which means having some kind of online offer. More complex managed print services must evolve and become more valuable to customers if contracts are to be renewed and margins protected. This means adding new solutions and investing in the skills necessary to design and implement them. It also means really understanding our clients’ needs well and developing vertical market expertise to improve competitive advantage. “It is a great opportunity and one which can potentially unlock savings far greater than delivered by standard managed print services. However we need to be agile, invest in the right areas for the long-term and change our business to offer a suite of services ‘beyond print’.” www.commercial.co.uk in colour, can people afford to not print in colour? Proactive partners will be helping their clients to reduce print but not at the exclusion of wider business aims. In the SMB market this means both an understanding of and an investment of time into the customer and their business and I think we will see end- users looking closer to home for their business partners. Where end-users are now looking more to value than pure price, the market is ripe for smaller, local service providers. “Resellers that have come from the traditional IT side of the tracks and have a credible MPS offering should fare well in this space with their technical aptitude and by virtue of their ‘Trusted Advisor’ position with end-user clients; these advisors enjoy a relationship with their customer that is business and solution focussed, opposed to contract and £££ led. “With affordable colour being at the forefront, I am sure there will be proliferation of ink technology (instead of laser) with considerable growth for Epson’s RIPS and HP’s PageWide technologies, which will lead to de- centralisation of print during 2019. “These trends will disrupt the traditional copier/print resellers who are not adopting and actively promoting these solutions, which coupled with print volumes continuing downward may worry some, however there is plenty of opportunity still for the savvy solutions provider. The ‘cost per seat’ model is gaining traction with one cost for IT, print (and telecoms?) in an ‘as a service’ model, allowing not only growth for the reseller but economies of scale that will benefit the customer, whilst also keeping things simple from an end-user cost and management perspective. “With the enterprise market being mature and somewhat commoditised, the battle for customers will continue predominantly in the mid-market and SMB sectors with my belief being it will be a year for the smaller LOCAL players as customers look for those they trust in times of uncertainty (let’s not mention Brexit).” www.nbg.co.uk Alastair Adams, Director of Commercial Group and Divisional Director of its MPS business “The office services arena is saturated and extremely competitive. We’re seeing increasing commoditisation and price reductions, which will continue as the way customers buy products continues to change. Mark Smyth, Chief Operating Officer , Vision “You’re probably tired of the word ‘consolidation’, however I believe this trend is set to continue well into 2019 and beyond. There may well be further acquisitions of both large and small resellers and, I also suspect further vendor consolidation. There is a consensus in the market that there are too many vendors and the number is unnecessary and unjustified. It must also be difficult for vendors to go to market with a viable strategy if they don’t have a credible market that enables the output for product manufacturing. “The second word you’re probably tired of is ‘Brexit’ and what this will mean to purchasing decisions and UK supply chains. I predict there will be a flurry of activity at some point with some last minute Brexit plans for businesses aimed at contingencies to reduce the impact of supply chain availability and movement, people, contracts and pricing, in particular. That said, if we see a Brexit deal, it could mean a wave of purchasing activity and spending as confidence quickly returns. “As margin pressures continue, I believe we will see more resellers driving digital transformation as a different talk track to managed print services and a means to add value and margin back into the sale. It will be the sales professionals that invest the time to learn and embrace this change that will make the real difference in our sector and of course profits.” www.visionplc.co.uk More complex managed print services must evolve and become more valuable to customers if contracts are to be renewed and margins protected PRINT IT RESELLER.UK 45 continued... Mark Smyth Alastair Adams