8 minute read
Category Update
by OPI
Rethinking PRINT
Although it’s facing a multitude of ongoing concerns, the print, imaging supplies and MPS sector is finding new
opportunities – by Michelle Sturman
Even as decimated print volumes of the past few years are being clawed back, it will come as no surprise to learn that it’s unlikely pre-pandemic figures will be exceeded. Throw in the current extenuating circumstances such as rising paper and energy costs, inflationary pressures, supply chain and chip issues, and the prognosis isn’t exactly rosy.
Louella Fernandes, Research Director for printing industry insights firm Quocirca expects a continued decrease in print volumes for the foreseeable future, but believes there will be some degree of bounceback now COVID is seen as being under control.
Industry players also remain reasonably optimistic. “We have seen some improvements in print volumes in the first half of 2022 compared to last year. Our data shows that, while there have been gains, volumes have not been as good as pre-pandemic numbers, in part due to more people working from home and hybrid workplaces,” notes Static Control VP of Business Development EMEA Steven Hole.
HYBRID PRINTING
As employees head back to the office, many organisations are reviewing how to procure and manage printers in a hybrid working world.
Says Fernandes: “There is a great opportunity for MPS players to offer the provision and management of controlled, secure home printers along with just-in-time consumables, so homeworkers do not self-fund or claim via expenses for what often represents higher-priced items.”
According to Ingram Micro MPS Program Manager Steve Johnson, keeping home-based employees supplied with cost-effective ink and toner, and eliminating the inefficiencies of purchasing from multiple sources at retail prices and expensing it is a major challenge for companies.
With intensified competition due to the increase in online sales, print giant Ninestar told OPI it is looking to focus on e-commerce in various vertical fields with its partners. The company also believes hybrid working will represent an incremental market for small desktop printers for years to come. It expects new printing demands brought about by recent changes to result in positive adjustments to the industry.
MPS Monitor CEO Nicola De Blasi, meanwhile, thinks remote working will accelerate the downward trend in print volumes, reasoning that an unmanaged desktop printer can be expensive to use regularly. “The cost implications alone will make homeworkers think twice about whether they need to print,” he says.
On the other hand, Steve Holmes, PaperCut EMEA Regional Director, sees it as a golden opportunity to encourage firms to consider how print management may be extended to devices outside the existing print fleet.
“We think the print ecosystem – from manufacturers to ISPs and the channel – will work together to help better communicate to end users the value of intelligent print management solutions. This will include how they can be applied to ensure efficiency, security and sustainability for all devices, wherever they are located.”
MORE FLEXIBILITY
Based on volumetric tracking and historical data since 2000, Colin Bosher, CEO of managed print service software supplier EKM Global, reports current trends reveal a gradual but slow decline in overall volumes. Acknowledging the impact of the pandemic, he admits the shift to work-from-home (WFH) and hybrid working has “not been so easy” for conventional MPS vendors to track.
“Ironically, this is establishing a far more load-balanced environment that is improving workflow efficiency and device utilisation. Lower cost devices are being deployed on a greater distributed basis, which has driven up demand for desktop printers and MFPs.”
It’s a view shared by Ryan Mitchell, Print Director for UK distributor Westcoast. He says that, initially, WFH was spurring demand across the transactional market as consumers would purchase what was available as it was not driven by functionality or longer-term business needs. But, he notes, companies are now mandating products, specs and looking at document management, endpoint security and cost per copy.
While demand in the contractual market is in line with forecasts, supply and chip shortages have meant vendors cannot hit their targets, he adds. “During the pandemic, many machines in field were refinanced or contracts extended, so as these leases come up for renewal, we’ll see condensed demand. Contractual printing is down by 85%, mainly driven from office printing and education.”
Armor Group VP of Sales Bob Reynolds says customers are paying close attention to their contractual business as COVID highlighted costly contracts designed around print volume commitments. While they remain attractive to end users, he suggests future negotiations could start to focus on more flexible contract options such as Armor’s Dyalog.
MOVING UP THE VALUE CHAIN
According to Bosher, security, reliability, accuracy and compliance are the current order of the day. All of these present an opportunity for the office equipment channel to move up the value curve by delivering a higher quality approach built upon rock-solid technologies, including Remote Service Management infrastructure and cloud-based MPS offerings.
However, he adds, it also plays into the hands of established MSPs and IT resellers which are already familiar with security, while having established credibility and trust with their clients.
“The latter are embracing next-generation fleet service management by making it a natural extension to their core offering as the industry moves from transactional supply chain fulfilment to contracted as-a-service subscriptions, especially supporting modern workplace and hybrid working.”
Fernandes agrees, believing innovation in the sector revolves not around hardware but targets areas such as sustainability and value-add software solutions, for example aggregating cloud-based services to provide a best-in-breed set of solutions which expand way beyond the print environment. It is here, she says, where business supplies dealers can potentially “cash in”.
Remarks Bosher: “With a relatively low margin expectation model and approach, office products dealers can easily start adopting comprehensive solutions and services via distribution for any brand as a pre-packaged offering.
“This is an opportunity for them to increase margins without incurring higher operational costs. Many are embracing programs like TaaS and OpenMPS to broaden their range of products, solutions and services. After nearly 20 years of commoditisation and declining market share, the office products sector is
beginning to witness a return of conventional business, making it far stickier with clients.”
Westcoast’s Mitchell points to MPS becoming progressively “transactional”, with distributors expanding their service offering to support more partners in entering the market with PDI, specialist deliveries and installation. “We are leading this with our bespoke facility in Andover and Print Infinity sales team, enabling and supporting non-MPS resellers to engage without the investments that were historically required,” he explains.
At Ingram Micro, Johnson notes renewed interest from IT and MPS resellers in its MPS program, which includes the leasing of new A3 and A4 printers, on-site break-fix service options and auto-replenishment in a traditional office environment. The distributor is also adding wide format and Zebra label printers.
Over at Ninestar, the team expects MPS to continue to provide more integrated digital services through IoT devices connected to the cloud, along with increasingly convenient and easy-to-use software. In addition, the company asserts that MPS offerings could include the disposal or recycling of cartridges as part of the package to accommodate new environmental regulations.
SUSTAINABLE PRINTING
Indeed, as sustainability has been rapidly rising up the boardroom agenda, the print sector is no exception in that context. As Javier Martinez, President of the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association, comments: “There is a tsunami of sustainability approaching, as companies recognise the need for ‘circularity’ in how they do business.
“This includes reusing, recycling and repairing wherever possible to improve the environmental and social impact of our behaviours and decisions. It is an exciting time for our industry as more and more companies realise that the ‘old’ way of operating, using single-use cartridges for example, is obsolete – in terms of both performance and price.”
While there is a general feeling of optimism, particularly with the recent proposals announced by the European Commission as part of the new Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2022-2024, there is still a long way to go, Martinez is quick to point out.
Armor’s Reynolds, meanwhile, is convinced that, across Europe, customers and the public are “hungry” for sustainable options and indeed are often obliged in some cases to purchase products with environmental virtues. “This will only get stronger,” he adds.
As a supplier of components for toner and inkjet manufacturers, Static Control’s Hole refers to his company’s deep roots in terms of recycling and reducing waste, with its products meeting stringent environmental European regulations such as RoHS, REACH and the WEEE directive.
“Customers, especially in Europe, are seeking an eco-friendlier option and, in addition to our full line of remanufactured cartridges, we recently added a plastic-free packaging solution,” he explains.
Talking to OPI, Steve Weedon, CEO of Print-Rite Pelikan Solutions and Print-Rite Europe, explains that Pelikan’s eco-friendly product range reduces CO2 footprints compared with OEM equivalent yields, and eliminates the waste toner which usually ends up in landfill. “Pelikan has been awarded the only ‘TÜV Austria OK Biobased’ certification in the industry for our cartridge range that uses organic materials for toner powder and bioplastics for the cartridge body,” he says.
It’s not just about individual products, however, as MPS Monitor’s de Blasi points out. He notes that customers are increasingly taking a holistic view, looking at a supplier’s overall credentials as an organisation just as much as they’re examining how their solutions can help drive sustainability.
This opinion is backed up by recent research from Quocirca – the expectation is that sustainability will not only maintain its high priority position for buyers, but further grow in importance in the future.
Fernandes concludes: “For those in the print market, being able to demonstrate how their Scope 1, 2 and 3 outputs are being improved can then be leveraged to provide clients with help in how they calculate and improve their own outputs – with compelling messages then passed onto customers.”
There is a tsunami of sustainability approaching
For more industry comments on issues such as print security, supply chain, M&A and new innovations, read our Xtra content in the September issue on opi.net
