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The print and consumables category is often a tough one for office products resellers. But solutions are available to turn the challenge into an opportunity, says France-based Armor Group
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he printing and consumables sector is under pressure like never before. What’s needed to reverse the sliding fortunes – and sales – are a willingness to change, new ideas and routes to market and, to top it off, excellent collaboration. Bob Reynolds, Sales Director at aftermarket consumables manufacturer Armor, talks to OPI about its dyalog managed print services (MPS) solution, how it can open up new lines of business, cement existing ones and create even more customer ‘stickiness’.
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OPI: Let’s start with the overall premise that printer consumables are in decline. It appears that office products resellers in particular are missing out – why do you think that is the case? Bob Reynolds: You’re right. In a nutshell, there are four components that can explain this: The first one is the digital revolution. Whether we like it or not, mobile phone technology, cloud-based services and other software solutions result in both B2B and B2C users reducing their print volumes. We’re still far away from a paperless environment, but the declines are there and will continue. Secondly, OEMs in this space have embarked on an aggressive pricing strategy in an attempt to maintain their print volumes. They are prepared to literally slash pricing in order to keep or win a deal. We have seen examples where the recommended retail price for one consumable is in excess of €300 ($348), but the price given by the OEM, as part of a volume deal and linked to the end user committing to use only that OEM’s consumables, has been reduced to €50. It’s a discount I find difficult to justify. Thirdly, OEMs are often negotiating directly with large B2B corporate end users, cutting out their traditional business partners. The wholesalers are being used as a logistics tool, but OP resellers lose
Bob Reynolds
Pierre Lefort
out. Similar tactics are deployed in the B2C setting. This includes HP’s Instant Ink programme, for instance. On paper, it looks attractive, but the end user is completely tied into HP and thereby loses all possibility of choice. This type of programme also cuts out most of the reseller channel, with the exception of a few chosen HP partners. Finally, with the merging of A3 copier devices and A4 MFP devices, more people are addressing the same end user. The copier companies and to a lesser degree IT resellers are often very specialised in print; they have sales people who are not only knowledgeable and experienced, but also capable of selling contractual deals. The latter is where OP dealers often fail. OPI: Why do they fail? BR: OP resellers typically have very strong and sustainable relationships with their customers. They offer tailor-made solutions, make desktop deliveries to specific departments – all that creates incredible loyalty. Print is different. Within medium or large corporate end users, you’re dealing with IT departments. Unlike copier companies or IT resellers, OP dealers don’t have relationships with this part of the company. IT people also consider print to be a pain. It’s not considered strategic and all they want to do is simplify the process or, better even, outsource the problem to someone else. The cost of printing is not their main concern. Copier dealers and IT resellers have a distinct advantage here: they have the right contacts, know the print business, speak the same language as IT people and and sell value propositions encompassing print as a service. Quite different from just selling a printer and its consumables. OPI: So how do OP resellers fit into Armor’s strategy and plans? BR: Historically, our customer base was made up almost entirely of OP resellers. However, for the above reasons, transactional volumes with these partners started to decline, mainly with the contract stationers that served large corporate end users, as the OEMs entered into direct relationships.
