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For decades, the imaging industry (especially the copier/MFP segment) thrived on the premise that hardware and print volume are the keys to success. Get and maintain the installs (the famous "MIF" - machines in field), and make sure they are well fed with toner. While the vendors hope to earn a bit if possible on the hardware, they want to ensure that they earn a lot on the consumables by encouraging their clients print / copy a lot. That was then, but a "new now" is emerging: the dual trends of economic pressures and increased capabilities for print output transparency are encouraging much better managed print fleets and workflows. Against all apparent logic, imaging companies are now encouraging their users to print less. Are these companies suicidal, or at the very least masochistic? Not at all, they are just seizing the trend and looking for a bigger piece of a smaller pie.
The imaging industry has historically done very well due to three trends:
1) Oversell capacity
2) Avoid transparency
3) Lock in the customer
Add special bonus business areas like color and high volume print production, and you have a stable and extremely attractive business model.
But now there are signs that this world will be changing:
- Economic pressures are forcing user organizations to take a closer look at printing costs, especially redundant printouts and color output.
- Improved analysis and management tools are now commonly available to allow a quick and easy view into actual printing patterns. Even the most simple utilities deliver impressive depth and detail.
- End user awareness is increasing as managed print services are launched and promoted by numerous vendors and their channel partners.
- Competitive pressures create a spiral of activity. Those vendors without a well developed MPS program will be at an increasing disadvantage as competitive offerings multiply.
Any trend to actively promote reduced printing seems self-destructive for imaging vendors. But the strategy does have an advantage in promoting an attractive approach to gain the attention of the customer. And if you win the comprehensive deal, you can actually end up with more print volume by channeling more prints to your models - a bigger piece of a smaller pie.
As a forward strategy, some vendors recognize and embrace this trend. Lexmark has introduced the shockingly direct phrase "Print Less, Save More" to express this sentiment. Coming from a printer company, that definitely attracts attention.
One point missing in the equation is the possibility of including third party consumables to lock in even more savings. OEMs will logically not support this approach, but dealers will not be so critical. Those dealers can reach cost-per-page values that are otherwise unattainable, which is as attractive an argument is strong enough to earn close consideration.
2 comments:
In the netherlands we have commercial energie suppling companies who yell "We help you to save energy"
The new business wave looks like: "We help you to buy less of our products" Sure!
Realiable advise will always come from independent consultants!
Yes, this is a very similar phenomenon. Such an approach seems hypocritical and exploitive, but it is what it is: an effort to leverage current sentiment to your favor. Better than to leave the field to others, these companies hope to ensure their position. Even if the result in this case could be less printing (= less revenue/margin), it is theirs and not somebody else's.
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