ESSENTIAL PRINT, MFP & PRINT SOFTWARE INFORMATION FOR VARS, CONVERGED RESELLERS & MFP DEALERS MARCH 2014 RESELLER OKI: The Future of Printing ... is Brilliant! Inside: Toshiba Masters • IRIS on the up • Consumer credit rules • 2014 trends small title Ad DMC Ricoh to come 10.02 The planitgreen range of premium toners offer you both print cost and environmental savings, help you maintain the highest productivity and also gives back to the UK’s social environment. Up to 60% cost savings against OEM’s. Free toner recycling scheme & recycling boxes. Guaranteed for 2 years providing unrivalled reliability. £1 Reseller reward for you plus a 25p donation with every toner to The Starlight Childrens Foundation DMC exclusive distributors for 22 Print.IT Reseller 01732 759725 MARCH 2014 Comment RESELLER contents Welcome to the latest issue of Print IT Reseller magazine 05 Bulletin What’s new in print and printers 14 Opinion Balreed Digitec’s Gary Downey discusses the big trends for 2014 16 Cover Story OKI – The brilliant future of printing 18 Mobility Roam is the new home 22 Channel Investment Toshiba launches transformational education program 25 Dealer profile United Carlton Office Systems has expansion plans 26 1st Office acquisition Olivetti’s Elite Dealer in the South-West acquires Digital Systems UK 28 Leasing What changes in the regulation of consumer credit mean for you 30 Distributors How resellers benefit from VOW’s direct relationship with OEMs Tough times call for tough measures and you’d think that delivering top notch customer service would be front and centre for everyone. Not true in all cases, according to Balreed Digitec’s Gary Downey, who says that top of the list when it comes to complaints about incumbent suppliers has been declining service standards. He warns that as a managed print services supplier, the biggest challenge you face is that you have to deliver (see page 14). Toshiba is one company putting their money where their mouth is, by investing in initiatives that support its channel partners’ business growth objectives. Carl Day talks about the company’s newly launched transformational education programme. He says that the Toshiba Masters programme that’s available exclusively to Toshiba resellers represents a fresh and unique approach to innovation and sales 32 Information management Why the UK represents a huge opportunity for IRIS and its resellers Editor: James Goulding – 07803 087228 [email protected] Advertising Director: Ethan White – 01732 759725 [email protected] Publishing Director: Neil Trim – 01732 759725 [email protected] Group Sales Manager: Martin Jenner-Hall – 07824 552116 [email protected] PRINT.IT Reseller is published by Kingswood Media Ltd., Amhurst House, 22 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 2BT Tel: 01732 759725 Email: [email protected] www.printitreseller.co.uk No part of PRINT.IT Reseller can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. © 2014 Kingswood Media Ltd. Design: Sandtiger Media www.sandtiger.co.uk A member of: growth – and it genuinely is a first in this industry (page 22). And finally, AIIM (Association for Information and Image Management) has partnered with NAPPS – The Document Solution Association to jointly drive best practice in information management, documents and collaboration. The two organisations have joined forces to promote and develop the AIIM Forum UK, an event that replaces the annual AIIM roadshow and which will be held in London on June 25. Part of AIIM’s annual conference programme, the forum has been developed to offer UK information professionals thought leadership, market insights and practical advice on the latest innovations in information management. Worth a visit. James Goulding, Editor 07803 087228 [email protected] PrintIT Reseller is a publication for the IT Reseller channel. Our mission is to bring information on new products, services and market developments to printer resellers, MFP dealers and online sales specialists to help them meet their customers’ needs, make informed purchasing decisions and generate new sales opportunities for their businesses. Until PrintIT Reseller came along there hadn’t been a dedicated printed resource for this community. PrintIT Reseller magazine fills this void for dealers, manufacturers, software suppliers, solutions providers and distributors. Register online ESSENTIAL PRINT, MFP & PRINT SOFTWARE INFORMATION FOR VARS, CONVERGED RESELLERS & MFP DEALERS AUTUMN 2012 RESELLER OKI C822DN To receive your regular FREE printed copy of PrintIT Reseller Magazine simply fill in our online registration form at www.printitreseller.co.uk A3 Colour Laser from Northamber your £10 OFF you order* plus we’ll give C800 series next OKI exclusive!) up to (That’s another £50 CAPITAL C800 BONDS up on selected models Northamber Call for our latest price. 150 £ R END-USE K C800 CASHBAC on selected to models NORTHAMBER It’s not big. But it is clever. Call weekdays 8:30am to 6:30pm Order online 24/7 with no credit card surcharge ORDER: OKC822DN *Terms & conditions apply. 020 8296 7066 northamber.com ©Northamber 2012 E and O.E. All calls recorded for credit safety and training purposes. Prices appear as trade and exclude VAT & delivery. Prices stated as at 18th September ‘12. OKI PrintITreseller mag front cover_v2.indd 1 18/09/2012 12:26:28 ESSENTIAL PRINT, MFP & PRINT SOFTWARE INFORMATION FOR VARS, CONVERGED RESELLERS & MFP DEALERS AUTUMN 2012 RESELLER OKI C822DN A3 Colour Laser r from Northambe your £10 OFF Join us : Follow us you order* plus we’ll give C800 series next OKI r exclusive!) @PrintITReseller £50 L CAPITA C800 BONDS up on selected (That’s another models 150 £ SER END-U ACK C800 CASHB on selected to Northambe Call for our latest price. up to models NORTHAMBER It’s not big. But it is clever. Call weekdays 8:30am to 6:30pm Order online 24/7 with no credit card surcharge ORDER: OKC822DN *Terms & conditions apply. 020 8296 7066 northamber.com ©Northamber 2012 E and O.E. All calls recorded for credit safety and training purposes. Prices appear as trade and exclude VAT & delivery. Prices stated as at 18th September ‘12. OKI PrintITreseller mag front cover_v2.indd 1 18/09/2012 12:26:28 Read PrintIT Reseller online, on tablets and smart phones www.printitreseller.co.uk Business Print Solutions / Banking & Finance Signature & Scanning Systemss / EPOS see o ur vi deos on w ww. olive Putting the future of your business at the heart of our diverse solutions. To contact your local supplier call us on 01908 547896 or email: [email protected] www.olivetti.co.uk tti.co .uk bulletin 04 Print.IT Reseller 01732 759725 bulletin In the news Vasanta launches new reseller business programme Vasanta claims that bokz, its new reseller business programme driven by the latest operational and back office technology, will provide the most cost-effective supply chain solution and a managed marketing programme, under a common brand. The just-launched programme will be supported by an end-user marketing plan designed to drive new business to programme partners. This will be aligned to a common brand and will include bespoke publications; regional advertising at key landmarks and strategic locations; unique and exclusive product promotions; themed seasonal campaigns; managed social media solutions; charitable affiliation schemes; and, in the future, TV and radio advertisements. The bokz programme includes a destocking and bespoke stock holding solution. Vasanta has invested £2m in the last five months installing an additional 50,000 sq/ft mezzanine floor in its Arrow Distribution Centre. This will be furnished with state of the art technology that is able to handle significant increases in the number of small order picks and will deliver levels of accuracy that are currently only experienced in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, the space created will be used to hold up to 20,000 customer bespoke products thus allowing complete orders to be picked in one warehouse. Participating resellers will also benefit from a final mile delivery solution. A detailed audit tool has been created to evaluate the true cost of delivery and, where appropriate, a variable cost per drop Closed loop paper solution Adrian Butler, VOW Managing Director solution will be provided that encompasses desktop and departmental drops together with a recycling/ waste collection service. In addition, a managed service offering will be available that can be used to free up time to focus on sales and profit generating activities. The suite will include, but not be limited to, detailed sales and management reporting, cash collection, customer service, legal advice, specials sourcing and appointment booking. A common bespoke Microsoft back office platform with a number of additional applications to aid sales and margin growth will be developed in conjunction with participating resellers. Vasanta CEO Robert Baldrey said: “This exciting programme is another demonstration of our commitment to the independent reseller community and is one that gives the dealer a real opportunity to help their business survive and thrive in this ever changing market place. “This is a complete end-to-end solution that reduces supply chain duplication, delivers genuine business improvements and unlocks the inherent value in a reseller’s business whilst allowing them to maintain complete control of the end-user relationship,” he added. VOW Managing Director Adrian Butler has been given executive responsibility for this programme and Vasanta is also investing in a dedicated senior management team to roll out and manage it. www.vasantagroup.com At a Brilliant Partner event held in Bracknell at the end of January, Spicers announced the launch of the 5 Star Remarkable Loop Paper service. Spicers, in collaboration with supply partners UK waste management consultants Remarkable and German recycled paper producer Steinbeis, will ensure that waste paper is collected from clients of Brilliant Partners, recycled and converted back into 100% recycled high quality 80gsm cut sheet paper for resale. Simon Wallis, Spicers Business Development Director, said that this new solution will provide Brilliant Partner resellers with a unique selling point and a significant differentiator. “We have shaped the solution with a small number of resellers and early indications are extremely exciting. It’s opening up very different discussions with consumers, unlocking different contacts with a different budget and affords our resellers an opportunity to engage customers and prospects on a completely new level. “It moves the discussion on from price, range, deliveries etc. and presents an opportunity to show leadership in the quest towards zero waste. It will also significantly strengthen contract tender submissions,” he said. With an increasing trend towards reusing, recycling and sourcing more sustainable alternatives, Spicers believes its 5 Star Remarkable Loop Paper and recycling solution will assist resellers in taking an assertive stance with their customer base in promoting and facilitating a responsible and sustainable solution to office waste. Spicers CEO Alan Ball said: “I would like to thank our dealers for their support in making this initiative a reality. The input and planning has been superb and we genuinely believe this service will deliver real differentiation in the market for our resellers within the SME and contract market.” www.spicers.co.uk Easy document handling Canon says its new imageRUNNER 2202N is an affordable A3 black and white MFP which will help partners to generate additional revenue in SMB markets. In a statement, the company said that the new networked device comes with clever features that allow partners to upgrade existing customers. For example, the device’s new smart MF Toolbox desktop application makes it easy for users to store and share documents. In addition, the imageRUNNER 2202N helps partners to secure revenue after sales, as customers can reorder consumables directly through the device. www.canon.co.uk www.printitreseller.co.uk Print.IT Reseller 05 bulletin In the news Management changes at Midwich Tracey Perkins promoted to Director of Operations Easy entry into managed print Tech Data UK is working to introduce Xerox Supplies Services (XSS) software to more channel partners and encourage them to build a managed print services business. By installing the cloud-based XSS Discovery Agent software on a customer’s network, resellers can monitor the levels of ink and toner cartridges on the entire estate of printers and MFPs. In addition to Xerox devices, XSS can be used to monitor products from a number of other leading printer brands. Peter Lunn, Senior Category Manager for Print at Tech Data UK, said: “Xerox Supplies Services provides resellers with an easy, cost-effective way to enter managed print services, drive up consumables business and increase customer loyalty.” Through the XSS portal, resellers have direct access into Tech Data’s stock system, enabling them to supply replacements against a pre-existing agreement or a new customer order immediately. The supplies can be shipped directly to specified locations. XSS can also be used to trigger servicing alerts. www.techdata.co.uk Trade only distributor Midwich has announced a number of management changes. Darren Lewitt, who has led the AV business for many years, is passing over day-to-day responsibility for vendor relations to Stuart Mizon and Lee Baker, both of whom become Divisional Directors. Lewitt will continue to work on a part-time basis with the business in the new role of Group Development Director with a brief to identify and develop new technology areas. Jonny Francis will head the vendor sales specialist teams covering all technologies and divisions within the business. Mizon will assume business management responsibilities for the print and imaging division in addition to his current areas of projection and security. Baker will continue to manage the key display and consumer divisions but with a growing involvement in the development of new business areas. After 31 years’ service, Commercial Director Alex Ward is to step back from full time responsibilities. Tracey Perkins, formerly Group Credit Service Manager has been promoted to Director of Operations, taking over responsibility for operations, IT, customer services, logistics, returns and insurance, in addition to her management of the credit function. Tom Sumner takes on the role of Director of European Business. He will have line management responsibility for French division Sidev, plus responsibility for the development of Midwich divisions elsewhere in Europe and for all European warehousing including the UK. www.midwich.com Apogee acquires French document solutions specialist Apogee has completed a transaction to acquire Sagemcom Documents VAR (VAR), the document solutions division of Parisbased Sagemcom Documents SAS. VAR is the only reseller in France to offer full nationwide service coverage. It has sales of €35million (£30million) and employs 300 staff in Paris and its eight regional branches. VAR began trading 30 years ago as an equipment manufacturer before transitioning into a value added reseller 18 months ago. The company provides solutions to a host of major clients, including EDF Energy, Renault and BNP Paribas. Sagemcom SAS Group CEO Patrick Sevian chose to sell the document solutions division to Apogee due to its established profile for success across Europe. “We believe Apogee will be a great integration for our staff and clients alike. They have the proven experience and expertise required to really take things to the next level,” he said. VAR will be renamed Apogee France. As part of the acquisition, the current Divisional Director will continue in the role of Managing Director and he will be joined by a new Finance Director. Apogee has further ambitions for growth throughout Europe and has confirmed that this key acquisition will form their Continental European headquarters. A number of further targets across Germany and Spain are already in the early stages of negotiation. www.apogeecorp.com Fastest growing new dealer Rawson Digital has been recognised as the fastest growing new Ricoh dealer after signing up as a partner in November 2012. Last year it performed exceptionally in terms of overall business performance, total unit sales and customer satisfaction. Working with Ricoh, Rawson Digital sold 114 multifunctional print solutions from April to December 2013. The company also saw key wins in growth business areas such as managed print services and production printing. Keith Howell, Ricoh UK’s Business Generation Director Indirect Channel, said: “I’m extremely pleased to congratulate Rawson Digital on achieving this position as a new dealer within our indirect channel. Their success over the past year has been nothing short of remarkable, especially in an extremely competitive market. I am confident that with our continued support as a key partner, Rawson Digital will continue to grow and go from strength to strength.” www.ricoh.co.uk www.rawsondigital.co.uk Toshiba extends A4 range Toshiba has extended its product portfolio with the launch of two professional A4 mono office printers. The e-STUDIO470P/520P deliver high quality document output at speeds of 47 and 52 pages per minute respectively. www.toshibatec.co.uk 06 Print.IT Reseller 01732 759725 bulletin BNP Paribas is lead sponsor BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions is a lead sponsor of the IT Europa European IT & Software Excellence Awards 2014. The awards recognise best practice in customer solutions by system integrators, solution value added resellers and independent software vendors across Europe. This is the second year running that BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions has sponsored the event. Other 2014 sponsors include Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and Ingram Micro. The technology market has been identified by BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions as a key area for growth and the repeated sponsorship and attendance at this event demonstrates a strong commitment both to the industry and to increasing the company’s brand in this market. The awards will take place on 26 March in the Lancaster Hotel, London. www.bnpparibas.co.uk Westcoast names new MD A management reshuffle has led to Alex Tatham’s promotion to Managing Director of Westcoast UK and Ireland. Former Managing Director Duncan Forsyth has been promoted to Managing Director of the wider Westcoast Group. In other moves, Neil Baker has been appointed as Director of Westcoast’s Supplies business, Paul Hamilton has become Director of Client Business and Paul Harman, Director of Westcoast’s Solutions business. Channel veteran Gary Cove steps into the Sales Director role vacated by Tatham. www.westcoast.co.uk Kyocera renames its products Kyocera Document Solutions UK Ltd has introduced a new product naming convention designed to enable simple recognition of product functionality and type, from simply reading the model name and number. Group Product Marketing Manager Steve Mitchell said: “The ECOSYS brand will appear in front of our printers and MFPs, highlighting our heritage in sustainable printing and the low environmental impact and low cost of ownership of our award-winning ECOSYS technology which are still unique after over twenty years.” The ECOSYS name stands for ECOlogy, ECOnomy and SYStem printing. www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk New generation of Develop MFPs DSales (UK) Ltd, the UK distributor for the Develop range of multifunctional document imaging systems, has introduced a new generation of Develop mid-range mono systems with output speeds of 22 to 55 prints per minute. All of the new ineo monochrome multifunctionals devices, the ineo 224e, ineo 284e, ineo 364e, ineo 454e and ineo 554e, now share features and functions with the ineo+ colour family. This provides user benefits for large companies, institutions or government offices, because users will easily recognise the shared features of the operating panel on any Develop ineo device. www.dsales.eu Exertis Micro-P launches Ricoh into retail Exertis Micro-P is launching Ricoh into the retail market with mono laser and multifunction printers at highly attractive and competitive price points. Targeting home users, the initiative from Exertis Micro-P’s specialist print division will enable Ricoh to further extend its footprint in the home user community, while increasing its brand awareness, driving market demand and opening up new revenue streams through the retail channel. Philip Miller, Exertis Micro-P Print Business Unit Manager, said: “Print still presents an excellent opportunity for our valued retail partners. With Ricoh on board, we can help them to expand their print offering, enabling them to increase their revenue channels by targeting the consumer market with Ricoh’s compelling product offering.” www.ricoh.co.uk www.exertismicro-p.co.uk www.printitreseller.co.uk Shortlisted for award Robin Stanton-Gleaves, Balreed Digitec’s Group Managing Director, has been shortlisted for the Entrepreneur of the Year award at this year’s Insider Media South East Dealmaker Awards. The Dealmaker Awards are unique events for the corporate finance, banking and legal professions, and all nominations and winners are voted for by the industry. The majority of awards are presented to teams and individuals from the region’s professional services firms but the Entrepreneur Of The Year award is an exception in that it recognises the business person the industry most admires for their achievements in the last 12 months. “I’m very honoured to have been nominated for the award,” said StantonGleaves. “2013 was a huge year for Balreed. Not only did we achieve over 20% organic growth but we also completed two acquisitions. I am lucky to have such a strong team and it’s a very pleasant surprise when the professional services firms from across the region recognise our achievements.” www.balreed.com BLI picks winners Canon has received seven Winter 2014 ‘Pick of the Year’ awards, three ‘Environmental Outstanding Achievement’ and two ‘Energy Efficiency’ awards from testing and research organisation Buyers Laboratory (BLI). Konica Minolta Business Solutions was awarded the BLI A3 MFP Line of the Year for the fourth time in a row. The range impressed the judges with its reliability, image quality, ease of use and productivity. In addition, the company scooped individual BLI Pick of the Year Awards for the bizhub C364e, bizhub C454e, bizhub 554e and the Mono Printer for Mid-Size Workgroups for its bizhub 4700P. www.buyerslab.com Print.IT Reseller 07 bulletin In the news Antalis customer wins Brazil trip Integra announces 2014 events Integra Expo 2014 will take place on 27 March at the MK Dons Stadium, Milton Keynes. This one-day event is free to Integra members and gives them the opportunity to meet with over 50 key suppliers and service providers during a five hour exhibition. In addition, Integra welcomes any prospective members to come along to find out more about the group. Aidan McDonough, Integra’s Managing Director, said: “Last year’s exhibition was a great success with many members and suppliers saying they benefited tremendously from the day. It’s an opportunity for dealer principals to bring along other members of their team to meet with suppliers. We recognise that taking time out of a business is difficult but it’s so important for dealers to be seeking out new opportunities and expanding their product offering. Integra Expo gives them the chance to make those connections in one hit.” On the day, members can also enjoy a stadium tour and meet special guest Sir Geoff Hurst MBE. Sir Geoff will always be best known for scoring the hat-trick in England’s 1966 World Cup Final triumph. His achievement has never been matched. He will host an interactive question and answer session and photo opportunity. Integra will also be welcoming Sales Development Consultant Parin Sachedina, who will be hosting a workshop aimed at MDs and their sales staff. Sachedina has over 25 years’ experience in both direct sales and sales training and as head of training for Lyreco, her 15-week sales training programme saw new recruits yielding 60% more revenue than ever before. More recently, she attained similar results for Office Depot through creating their Sales Academy. www.integra-events.co.uk 08 Print.IT Reseller Office reseller TODDS-AC is celebrating after winning a £5,000 holiday for two to Rio as part of Antalis’ Image Yourself competition. The ‘Image Yourself’ campaign was launched in September by Antalis to support a new drive to promote Image, its ownbrand range of uncoated office and business papers. Specialising in supplying office and refurbishment products to both commercial companies and educational organisations, Lincoln-based TODDS-AC was selected at random from all entrants as a winner in the interactive, Europe-wide competition. Closing on 15 June, the remaining period of the competition offers further prizes including weekly and monthly draws to win TVs, video cameras, Ice watches and polo-shirts. There are six trips to Brazil still to be won, including three one-week trips for two people; two VIP trips with a ticket to one of the football World Cup Quarter Finals; and the overall top prize of a VIP trip to Rio and a ticket to the 2014 World Cup Final. www.imageyourself.partner.com New appointments at Spicers Spicers has announced considerable investment in its team to elevate the level of support available to reseller partners as they strive for growth. E-commerce expert Jason Bridgewater joins Spicers from Halfords in the role of Director of E-Commerce and takes responsibility for the wholesaler’s lead-generating Memoetc web platform. He will focus on the site’s future development to support reseller growth through this online initiative. The wholesaler has also confirmed extended investment in strategic category development. Rebecca Stallard joins from Newell Rubbermaid as Category Director and David Orr as Category Sales Director Furniture. Orr recently worked for technology distributor Exertis Gem. CEO Alan Ball said: “By progressing with a team who will own the category development strategy to work as a conduit between our commercial team, customers and suppliers, we can ensure the ongoing delivery of a product and service offering reflective of latest market trends and consumer need. This ensures our customers have the right proposition to take to market and service the demands of the consumer.” www.spicers.co.uk Accolade for Apogee The London Stock Exchange has named Apogee amongst its ‘Companies to Inspire Britain’. The 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain is a report that represents the future of British industry. Compiled by experts at the London Stock Exchange Group, it comprises the most exciting small and medium-sized businesses in the UK, while highlighting the country’s major trends and growth areas. www.apogeecorp.co.uk Synaxon partners with Centrex Services Synaxon has signed a strategic partnership with technology support specialist Centrex Services to provide its members with direct access to Centrex’s full portfolio of nationally-available support and maintenance services. Founded in 2006 and with over 150 employees, Centrex Services operates its own UK-wide network, with 88 field technicians. It provides nationwide coverage with a four-hour business hours callout capability. All engineers have fast access to replacement parts from 17 stock locations situated throughout the UK. Calls and incidents are managed from the company’s national contact and control centre in Milton Keynes. Derek Jones, Managing Director of Synaxon UK, says that the agreement is a response to the growing need amongst resellers and dealers for reliable thirdparty services. Through Centrex, Synaxon members can now offer expertise at every stage of the service supply chain, from diagnosis to close. The company provides a single point of contact for all requirements, from control centre support to break-fix repairs, on a broad range of IT products. Comprehensive service level agreements enable resellers to offer peace-of-mind to customers whilst driving higher revenues, profitability and reducing operating costs. www.synaxon.co.uk 01732 759725 Businesses need to wise up to the inefficiencies of manual processes Martin Fairman, Channel & SMB Sales Director, Lexmark UK & Ireland The reality of today’s economic climate is that we’re all more demanding and used to the fast-paced nature of the digital age. Customers and partners want faster answers and quick response times. In light of this, many businesses have already started to reap the benefits of a move from out-dated manual operations to automation. After all, manual processes are a lengthier and more complicated way of working and are prone to human error. Lexmark recently conducted a survey of employees across Europe, which shone light on these inefficiencies. More than ever, it showed how businesses who still run manual processes need to wise up to the business benefits that automated operations can bring. The research showed that on a personal level, staff want fast, simple work processes that assist their dayto-day productivity. Having to deal with lengthy and complicated manual processes isn’t efficient. When asked, ‘What is the biggest problem associated with manual admin processes?’ 50 per cent responded that ‘It takes too long to complete’. With the error-prone nature of manual processes proving costly, there has never been a greater need for partners to offer their customers solutions to help them stop wasting valuable time that can lose them money. Lexmark has solutions that help businesses achieve a more efficient way of working. From mobile capture apps, that can scan and capture receipts so employees don’t have to manually input expenses, to intelligent capture software, Lexmark helps create more productive workflows. The data from documents such as enquiries, complaints, applications or reports are automatically captured, sorted into a structured format, and transferred into business processes and corporate systems for greater visibility of the information across the company. For businesses this typically eliminates 85-95 per cent of manual data entry that is otherwise required, and improves access to information. www.lexmark.co.uk Lexmark Channel Value Programme – It’s More than a Partner Programme. A Rewarding Experience. Join Lexmark’s Channel Value Programme today and starting enjoying the following benefits: Lexmark is much MORE than just a print vendor! In fact over the past three years we have been transforming our global organisation into an IT provider of industry specific solutions which will enable your customers to save time and money. This makes selling Lexmark MORE margin rich, develops MORE revenue streams, helping you to differentiate your company making customers MORE dependent on your business. • Dedicated sales support So, whether you are, or need support in, selling output devices (printers and MFP’s), content management software, workflow solutions or Basic Print Services (click/MPS), Lexmark is here to support you every step of the way. • Exclusive offers and promotions • Customisable sales and marketing tools • Access to Lexmark’s Channel Advantage Academy • Access to Lexmark’s Virtual Solutions Centre • Ready-to-Go Marketing tools and materials and more... Register now at www.reseller.lexmark.co.uk or contact 01628 518658 bulletin In the news NAPPS UPDATE Logistics at all time high Vasanta’s logistics operation, which was recently shortlisted in the Logistics and Distribution category at the European Supply Chain Excellence Awards, has implemented a series of innovations and improvements to ensure more advanced delivery processes and further reductions in damage to stock. These include the introduction of pallet collars to orders trunked to its regional cross dock sites; investment in heat wrapping technology; an improved order picking process; and a reorganisation of cross-dock operations. Logistics Director John Burkill said: “Constant innovation has led us into 2014 with a £40 million plus stock holding across 16,000 SKUs available for next day delivery; a 97% plus fill rate across these SKUs; and an industry leading forecast and MRP Supply Chain Management system.” www.vasantagroup.com Kyocera launches HyPAS apps Kyocera’s latest HyPAS apps – Login Manager, PinPoint Scan and Print & Follow – are designed and priced to meet the secure printing and scanning needs of UK SMEs. Assistant Product Marketing Manager Sarah White said: “These new HyPAS apps offer real enhancements to SOHO and SME businesses by improving the way in which everyone in the company, however small, uses and shares their documents. “Each app has been designed with SMEs in mind so affordability and accessibility were key factors taken into consideration. Login Manager offers serverless user authentication while PinPoint Scan and Print & Follow securely enhance scan and print personalisation from HyPAS-enabled KYOCERA MFPs over a network.” www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk Britain’s friendliest business Commercial Group has made the finals of a national competition to find Britain’s friendliest business. The Cheltenham-based office supplies dealership beat stiff competition to become one of 20 finalists in the award sponsored by Liberis, one of the UK’s largest providers of small and medium sized business funding. The winner will be crowned ‘Britain’s Friendliest Business’ and receive a cash prize of £10,000. www.commercial.co.uk 10 Print.IT Reseller Brother makes top 100 Brother UK has been named as one of the UK’s 100 best small companies to work for. The survey of employees, undertaken by The Sunday Times and Best Companies, resulted in high scores for Brother’s commitment to staff wellbeing, personal growth, pay and benefits, leadership and corporate responsibility. Managing Director Phil Jones said: “We’re thrilled with this result. Recruiting, retaining and maintaining a motivated workforce in disruptive times is key and an award such as this puts us right up there with the best companies in the country and our industry.” www.brother.co.uk Spicers officially launch Office Pie 2014’s biggest headache – security By Aaron Warham, Director, NAPPS How do you make your customers feel secure? The start of any new year is the traditional time for commentators and analysts alike to make predictions on how they see the market developing over the next 12 months – and the world of document solutions and Managed Document Services (MDS) is no different. Looking across the opinion formers from global OEMs, to major software developers and channel resellers, the key developments in 2014 will be in BYOD, mobile printing, the cloud and the leveraging of Big Data. Which means the real game changer for 2014 will be security, with an extremely tight focus on the security of your customers’ data. Committing processes and therefore sensitive information to the cloud, or opening up secure networks to external devices carries a massive risk to all parties involved and the security of the transmitted data becomes as important as the process itself. Our industry has been learning the initial lessons of security through the transmission of customer details for the billing and delivery portions of MPS programs over the past 10 years, but the technological leap required for this next stage of development will push all involved to the next level of security. With technological security becoming such a major issue for 2014 and beyond, the channel would also be advised to consider the human elements of security. Or to put it another way, how do you make your customers feel secure? This level of security comes before the firewall protocols and system overrides required for a truly secure ICT system. Making your customers feel secure starts at the very beginning of your client relationship, when your role is not that of a salesperson but that of a trusted consultant. Which is why securing your customer base is the most important development for 2014, as without it, implementing new technologies which pose genuine security issues to sensitive information will be almost impossible. Spicers has announced the release of its new e-commerce solution, Office Pie. After 12 months of development and six months of intensive testing, the wholesaler says that Office Pie is set to replace the current OSCARnet solution and raise the e-commerce bar within the Office Supplies industry. The functionally rich platform is built upon the powerful and very credible Netalogue software with a number of significant changes to ensure it delivers the best technology and platform intelligence within the market. www.spicers.co.uk 01732 759725 Do business with Canon i-SENSYS The Canon i-SENSYS range of business printers provides office managers with, connectivity, efficiency and network security. Combined with… ... your Canon i-Sensys specialist Andrew Callen, who can help ensure that you get the best solution for your customer, and that you don’t miss out on the latest deals and offers.* Bid pricing is available Public Sector discount Easy Service Plan Read more here www.midwich.com/q114cpi To find out more, call Andy Callen on 01379 649248 or visit www.midwich.com * Easy Service Plan is included on selected models. Bid pricing is available if you need 5 or more models. Terms & Conditions: Prices are correct at time of publication, please confirm at time of ordering. E&OE. All transactions are in accordance with our full terms and conditions, a copy of which is available upon request. All trademarks are the property of their respective manufacturers. Your calls may be recorded for training or demonstration purposes. Copyright © Midwich Limited 2014. Midwich Limited, Vinces Road, Diss, Norfolk IP22 4YT. Job Number: KD6028-Q1-14 bulletin In the news Dell starts its move into MPS Xerox cuts ribbon on new Innovation Centre Xerox has extended its UK Innovation Centre and strengthened the centre’s links with Xerox’s European research centre in Grenoble, France and with PARC in Palo Alto, California. The updated facility at Xerox’s UK and European HQ in Uxbridge will give channel partners and customers the opportunity to see demonstrations of Xerox print, workflow and MPS solutions and gain an insight into future innovations being developed in Xerox research centres. The Innovation Centre includes a Discovery Area where visitors can interact with products and experts; an 80-seat auditorium; and a 30-seat café for networking and breakout meetings. Darren Cassidy, managing director of Xerox UK, said: “The Innovation Centre should surprise a few people, and we’re confident that all visitors will leave with a better understanding of innovation at Xerox and the benefits our services deliver to customers.” www.xerox.co.uk Resellers offering MPS have a new competitor in the form of Dell, which has launched two new service offerings as it moves towards offering full-scale, pan-European managed print services for SMEs. The Dell Print Page Service and Dell Toner Monitoring Service are targeted at small and medium-sized businesses wanting to reduce the cost and complexity of printer management. Dave McNally, product marketing director of Dell Imaging, EMEA, said: “The services portfolio for UK customers purchasing directly from Dell is designed to enable more efficient print environments to boost savings and staff productivity. Enabling businesses to monitor, replenish and maintain their print operations and resources, these services are building blocks in the creation of full managed print services for SMBs.” Dell Print Page Service is a pay-per-print offering that enables customers to spread the cost of supplies, support and maintenance over periods of up to five years with fixed monthly payments for easy budgeting. Dell Toner Monitoring Service is an automated toner monitoring and replenishment service that relieves customers of the burden of consumables management and storage. Dell consumables are supplied at a discounted rate and customers only pay for what they use. www.dell.co.uk SaaS gives small service organisations an edge Smaller resellers and service organisations can compete head-on with larger rivals, thanks to a new generation of cloudbased service solutions, claims Tesseract Systems MD Colin Brown. In a podcast of an interview given to Field Service News, Brown says that the benefits of software-as-a-service solutions like Tesseract’s own SC5.1 service management system are changing the service industry. He said: “We have some very small companies that are using our system. Before, they wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy the product and they wouldn’t have been able to afford the infrastructure that was needed.” Brown added that the ease and speed of 12 Print.IT Reseller implementation might even give SaaS customers an advantage over people who choose to install the system on their premises. “Smaller companies with SaaS are much quicker on their feet than larger ones that still install software in-house and go through the IT department,” he said. Other advantages of the SaaS model, cited by Brown in his interview with Field Service News, include built-in disaster recovery; automatic upgrades so that you are always working with the latest version and features; and the fact that it doesn’t require a large upfront investment. For companies who prefer to keep their IT inhouse, Tesseract still provides server-based versions of its service management solutions. The company will be exhibiting at Service Management Expo, taking place at ExCel London on June 17-19 2014. The podcast can be accessed on Tesseract’s website at www.tesseract.co.uk. NAPPS links up with AIIM NAPPS is working with AIIM (The Association for Information and Image Management) to promote and develop the AIIM Forum UK. Replacing the annual AIIM Roadshow, the event in London on June 25 2014, will provide UK information professionals with thought leadership, market insights and practical advice on the latest innovations in information management. www.aiimforum.co.uk From left to right: AIT marketing manager Liz Marshall with YDMT marketing and communications officers Lindsay Wallace and Sarah Brewer. Pcounter gets its own wood AIT Ltd, the exclusive reseller of Pcounter printer management software in the UK, is helping to plant new native woodland in association with Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT), a charity dedicated to caring for all aspects of life in the Yorkshire Dales. Every time Pcounter customers purchase updates, support and maintenance, AIT will dedicate a tree in the Pcounter Wood, helping to conserve the Yorkshire countryside and mitigate the carbon emissions of participating organisations. Customers who choose will be able to visit Pcounter Wood to see their tree. Planting broadleaf trees to create new native woodlands is one of many initiatives undertaken by YDMT as part of its mission to support the environmental, social and economic well-being of the Yorkshire Dales. Chris Lodge, Woodland Officer at YDMT said: “By dedicating a tree for each of their customers in this young woodland, AIT and their customers are playing a crucial role in supporting our efforts to restore broadleaf woodlands in the Yorkshire Dales. Thanks to initiatives like this, we have planted more than 1 million new trees, helping to create hundreds of new wildlife habitats across the region.” www.altman.co.uk www.ydmt.org 01732 759725 OLIin1 New 21” HD Touch Screen PC for Windows 8 The OLI-in1 is Olivetti’s new all-in-one multi-point PC, with a 21.5” full-HD touch screen, joins the range of Olivetti IT products including laptops and Android-based touch tablets. The multi-point screen senses 10 points of contact, allowing for better accuracy; as most tablets and multi-touch screens offer up to 5 points of contact. With its clean modern design, this large screen PC combines the power of a third-generation Intel processor with the speed of a tablet. The back-lit LED screen provides a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and the PC features a powerful 500 GB hard drive with 4GB RAM, expandable to 8GB. This is an efcient tool, delivering outstanding performance and reduced power consumption. The display can be set in three different positions; 10°, 20° or at on a work surface, and has 3 USB ports; two which support USB 2.0 and one for USB 3.0. The OLI-in-1 also provides a 3 in 1 card reader, can handle DVDs and CDs and also provides a 2 megapixel HD webcam, making it one of the most exible touch PCs available today. If you would like to know more about this, or any of Olivetti’s extensive range of Colour and Mono MFPs, A4 Printers, IT Products, Banking and EPOS Solutions: Call: Abi Stafford on 01908 547980 Email: [email protected] Website: www.olivetti.co.uk TOUCH SCREEN PC SOLUTIONS opinion The big trends for 2014 As a supplier, the biggest challenge with managed print services is you have to deliver. By Gary Downey, Balreed Digitec Group Marketing Director Well the momentum that was building in the latter half of last year hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down in the first month of 2014; if anything, it’s accelerating! Spurred on by New Year’s resolutions to take action, whether it’s to reduce costs or push back on suppliers’ indifferent service delivery, we’ve seen a flurry of new enquiries and appointments made this month. You have to deliver Top of the list when it comes to complaints about incumbent suppliers has been declining service standards. As a supplier, the biggest challenge with managed print services is you have to deliver. Just today I sat with the IT and Procurement heads of a large organisation that had run out of patience with their current supplier, whose promises of proactive managed services were just not being delivered. Time and again they were finding their business seriously impacted because their print equipment was down. Printers and MFDs might not be the sexiest technology on the planet but, ultimately, with MPS you are committing to manage an infrastructure which their business relies upon. Tales of remote management, monitoring and proactive support to clinch the deal unravel very quickly when they are just stories, and, in this case, it was only once the company had put their faith in their supplier that they learned the truth – to their cost. Sadly, this sort of thing does no good to our industry as everyone gets tarred with the same brush. It’s for this very reason that organisations like NAPPS have such a positive impact, setting standards which those outside our industry can rely upon to deliver to their MPS expectations. And, on our part, we always invite clients to visit our MPS operations centre so they can see for themselves just how real our dedicated MPS team are and how we deliver the managed service experience we promise. 14 Print.IT Reseller The challenge for us resellers is to catch up. Change is constant Thinking about what the big trends for 2014 are got me thinking about the milestones we have passed in this industry over the years. There was the launch of the first colour devices in the late 80s, and the early 90s was the time of networked devices and multifunctionals – you couldn’t move for adverts with swiss army knives in them! Then came the first wave of occasional or colour capable devices. These were followed by new fangled document management systems, then scanning was a hot topic and so it went on. What is interesting is that these were new technologies developed by the R&D departments of manufacturers which we in the reseller community then went and sold. It was the reseller and the industry creating a market. Initially the concept was sold and then, as interest turned to desire, the features and functionality competed for the sale. But that’s not true of today’s emerging trends. With technologies such as the cloud we resellers are not creating the market and we are certainly not in control of it. It’s the domestic user who is leading that trend. Think about who the early adopters are. Corporate businesses looked at the cloud concept for years, but concerns over security, resilience and corporate policies tempered their enthusiasm. And then the individual home user went and adopted it overnight. Today there’s no-one in the developed world who doesn’t know about iTunes or Facebook. Everyone from young children to octagenarians are using cloud services, many of them free, to store, share and communicate. Home PCs and hard drives gather dust whilst the domestic market leaps into the cloud. And these individuals are bringing their expectations into the office. We need to catch up The challenge for us resellers is to catch up. We didn’t create this market, but we do need to be able to satisfy it. Instant access to scan documents into a cloud, can you provide that? How about retrieving and printing documents from a personal cloud whilst in the office? And what about security or control? There are no boundaries in a smartphone or tablet user's mind; everything they need and do is available in their joined-up world, and this train is heading our way at a pace. Are you ready to jump on? www.balreed.com 01732 759725 Exertis Advent browser independent software Ratio 3 1 Tesseract was formed in 1985 to develop, market, sell and support specialised systems for the Service Industry, and can now boast over 350 successful installations worldwide. Our full suite of modules includes contract management, helpdesk, scheduling, workshop, mobile data, stock and logistics and customer web portal. 2 Meter Billing! The tesseract service management system has a fully integrated Meter Billing and invoicing component. Ad Tesseract service centre clients include: www.tesseract.co.uk The service centre 5.1 contract system supports meter billing contracts this includes: • Usage, Block, Discounted or Minimum Billing • Consumable Entitlement • Unlimited Meters per Device • Multiple Machines & Sites Consolidated Contracts • Non Metered Contracts • T&M Contracts • Customer Meter Readings via the Web • Seamless Integration to your chosen Financial Package • Integration to Remote Monitoring Solutions www.printitreseller.co.uk Contact Tesseract on +44 (0) 1494 465066 European Office 1 Newmans Row, Lincoln Inn, Lincoln Road, High Wycombe, Bucks. HP12 3RE United Kingdom sales +44(0)1494 465066 email [email protected] North American Office 11150 Sunset Hills Road, Suite 307, Reston, VA 20190 USA sales +1 703 437 4230 email [email protected] Print.IT Reseller 15 cover story The brilliant future of printing Outstanding print quality and superior media flexibility for the graphic arts market Mark Porter, Print and Supplies Manager, Tech Data UK The ES9541 goes far beyond the capabilities of traditional digital colour printers with its superior media handling including transparent media, banners and heavyweight cardstock. It prints at speeds of up to 50 pages per minute and has a consumables capacity of up to 38,000 pages. It supports paper sizes from A6 to SRA3; banner lengths of 1.3m; and media of up to 360gsm (single sided) or 320gsm (duplex). An optional EFI Fiery XF server provides enhanced colour management. Award winning The ES9541 was showcased at last year’s VISCOM exhibitions in Paris, Milan and Düsseldorf and won a prestigious VISCOM ‘Best of 2013’ award. The product has also been awarded the 2013 Good Design Award – Japan's only comprehensive product design award, which is judged by over 70 designers, architects, editors and other specialists. The centrepieces of the OKI stand at IPEX 2014 will be two new innovations – the ES9541 and C931 LED digital colour printers. The revolutionary, award-winning new ES9541 was developed to meet a wide range of graphic arts and commercial printing needs and is the industry's first five colour digital LED A3 printer. Marketing Manager Andrew Hall said that this new model enables creative businesses and copy shops to produce a greater variety of material on demand, in short-runs, more cost-effectively than ever before. “The ES9541 provides an expansive new world of printing capabilities and revenue-generating opportunities,” he said. 16 Print.IT Reseller First in its class The ES9541 features a five colour toner configuration. In addition to cyan, magenta, yellow and black process colours, the ES9541 offers an extra spot colour in white or clear gloss. The white toner option is ideal for printing on colour paper, transparent film, T-shirt transfers and promotional merchandise; and the clear gloss for producing high quality catalogues, manuals, photobooks and marketing documents. The ES9541 is the first LED printer in its class to offer this capability: white or clear spot colour printing was previously only available on expensive digital or lithographic printing equipment. Leveraging its unique digital LED technology, with the ES9541 OKI has made significant advancements in print speeds, colour resolution and registration and introduced numerous other productivityenhancing capabilities. ...this new model enables creative businesses and copy shops to produce a greater variety of material on demand... Print and graphics excellence OKI’s new C931 delivers print and graphics excellence, unbeatable colour quality and media flexibility beyond expectations, all at low running costs. “We’ve taken digital colour printing to a new level with the introduction of the C931,” said Hall. “This new A3 colour printer delivers outstanding print quality whilst pushing the boundaries of media flexibility, further establishing OKI as a leader in digital LED innovation.” Designed for the graphic arts market, the C931 offers best in class, high definition print quality, achieved through OKI’s Multi-Level ProQ technology. This, coupled with OKI’s unique single-pass LED technology, delivers consistent high quality colour, with no compromise on speed and performance. "The new C931 establishes OKI as the de facto gold standard, making it the product of choice for graphic arts applications, as it provides unprecedented levels of quality and performance," said Hall. 01732 759725 cover story Both the ES9541 and C931 combine unique features and low running costs in a single device, providing graphic arts, print shop and business users with the ability to produce short-run digital print tasks at a very high quality. Better all-round Like the ES9541, the C931 features print speeds of up to 50 pages per minute and consumables capacity of up to 38,000 pages – the highest in its class – to support high volume production grade printing. With OKI’s proprietary single-pass flat paper path and LED technology, the C931 can handle media of up to 360gsm (single sided) or 320gsm (duplex), heavier than any comparable printer. “Add to this media sizes from A6 to SRA3, banner lengths of up to 1.3m and transparent media and you have the most versatile printer in its price range,” Hall added. An optional EFI Fiery XF server enables advanced colour management including spot and process colours, optimising the colour depth and print quality needed in the graphic arts industry. “In each of these features and other individual areas of functionality, the C931 is ahead of the competition,” said Hall. “Put them together however and the new C931 marks a dramatic step forward in performance, flexibility and total cost of ownership.” flexible, class-leading printing technology brings production grade colour printing in-house, enabling businesses to print what they need, when they need it.” Both the ES9541 and C931 combine unique features and low running costs in a single device, providing graphic arts, print shop and business users with the ability to produce short-run digital print tasks at a very high quality. Until March 31, 2014 OKI is offering resellers the opportunity to receive £500 worth of Compliments Vouchers for each printer purchased. www.oki.co.uk Key features • High speed printing: 50 pages per minute, colour and mono • Media flexibility: up to 360gsm media weight, with 320gsm duplex capability • Support for gloss paper, film, transfer paper and waterproof paper • Highest in class consumables capacity (38,000 pages) • Easy to use with 10.9cm colour LCD and numeric keypad • Separate toners and drums for optimum usage • Robust multi-purpose trays providing flexible media configuration options up to 2,950 sheets • Optional EFI Fiery XF • LED-based engine for superior print quality High quality The C931 is primarily targeted at the specialist graphic arts market but is also well suited to general office applications with a requirement for high quality colour printing. “The C931 redefines LED digital colour printing,” said Hall. “As a result, OKI’s www.printitreseller.co.uk Print.IT Reseller 17 mobility Roam is the new home According to Phil Jones, Managing Director of Brother UK, ‘roam’ is the new working capital for agile businesses evolving their cultures and working practices.“Resellers need to tap into this growing trend of roaming workers and ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to address their requirements as well as the product portfolios,” he said. ...it’s actually big business and the Government who are getting behind agile working and actively promoting the benefits. “The traditional 9-5 work pattern no longer exists for the majority of people. Now it’s all about agile, flexible, mobile working. We check our work emails on our phones, join conference calls from trains and prepare for meetings in our hotel rooms, and print is changing as a result of this.” Jones maintains that this trend is only going one way. “While agile working is often perceived as the preserve of small business and start-ups, it’s actually big business and the Government who are getting behind agile working and actively promoting the benefits. The recently launched Agile Future Forum initiative counts the likes of Tesco, Lloyds Banking Group and HM Treasury within its ranks, and in a recent report they found that flexible working can cut costs by up to 13%,” he said. He added: “This shift in attitude is creating huge sales opportunities for resellers. Many businesses need their employees to be able to work as productively on the road as they do in the office and are looking for the right products, technology and partners to support this. “Whether it be a modular case on wheels, device chargers, privacy filters, or portable print and scan devices to ensure mobile workers have a genuinely productive ‘portable office’ – the opportunity is huge.” Consumer technology creeps into business Brother spoke to IT buyers* and found that 40% operate a BYOD (bring your own device) policy already, giving more choice to individuals about how they equip themselves when working on the move. This has also created a huge opportunity in the device peripheral market for related accessories. Brother has seen a rise in the popularity of mobile document scanners, which can be used to create digital, shareable versions of documents on Continued... Focus on connectivity Brother has three new A3 inkjets targeted at mid-range office users, the MFC-J6520DW, MFC-J6720DW and MFC-J6920DW. Designed to offer businesses affordable and efficient A3 printing, the machines have a low cost per page and fastest in class print speeds. The all-in-one devices feature the latest connectivity technology to ensure the best ever compatibility with mobile and tablet devices as well as direct access to cloud services. All of the printers in the range feature wireless, USB and wired network connectivity, as well as smartphone and tablet printing options such as Apple AirPrint and 18 Print.IT Reseller Google Cloud Print. The top model in the range, the MFCJ6920DW, is the first ever A3 model with NFC (near field communication) printing. Users can print from and scan to an NFC-enabled mobile device through Brother’s iPrint&Scan app by simply holding it near the machine. Ideal for areas with limited Wi-Fi, the technology enables users to print and scan quickly and easily from smartphones and tablets. The range features LCD screens and electrostatic keys that only illuminate when needed, enabling quick access to cloud services including Google Drive, Dropbox, Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, Box, SkyDrive and Evernot. Users can both print and scan directly from and to these programs. www.brother.co.uk 01732 759725 With... + More than 20 direct manufacturer relationships, offering customers a broad range of products + 98% stock availability, giving customers reliability of supply + Access to up to date vendor marketing and advertising schedules + Over 30 years experience in the technology sector ...it all adds up to the Value Of Wholesale Print.IT Reseller mobility Print goes mobile ...continued the go for workflow integration. With more consumer technology being used in business, there is also rising demand for printing from smartphones and tablet devices. However, Jones said that resellers need serious expertise to be able to tap into this market. “Many enterprises are now developing MDM – a mobile device management policy. MDM may place restrictions on employees printing from smartphones, because it might not comply with an enterprise-wide security policy. Few businesses are going to be implementing cloud printing in an enterprise without first talking to the IT department as well as the management information system team,” he said. “There’s a myth that agile working can disrupt colleague collaboration. However, using the right technology will ensure employees can share ideas and work easily. It is clear that agile working is building momentum in businesses of all sizes and so now is the time for resellers to capitalise on this considerable opportunity,” he added. apps installed on the device. A new version of the Canon Mobile Printing app for iOS features a new data conversion service, which ensures documents are printed in the correct layout every time. The app corrects potential corruptions to the format or layout of a document during the printing process by converting them in the cloud, rather than relying on a rendering mechanism installed on the mobile device itself. In addition to the mobile app updates, Canon has added support for MEAPenabled i-SENSYS printers to its Google Cloud Print for MEAP app, making them suitable for mobile working. “Our new i-SENSYS MFPs and mobile apps help organisations to close this gap and create a workforce that remains productive inside and outside the office,” said Jagpal. Struggle to provide technology According to Canon’s Office Insights report, 30% of European office employees are now working remotely. “However, organisations across Europe still struggle to provide technology that enables them to work flexibly on the move,” said Anil Jagpal, European Marketing Manager for i-SENSYS at Canon Europe. Canon recently launched two mobile-ready i-SENSYS black-and-white multifunction printers, the MF6140dn and MF6180dw, which bring a variety of mobile working features into this category, including support for Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print, as well as the updated Canon Mobile Printing app and the new Canon Mobile Scanning for Business app. The Canon Mobile Scanning for Business app supports its i-SENSYS, imageRUNNER and imageRUNNER ADVANCE ranges. The free app allows users to scan documents directly to their mobile devices and to the cloud; send via email; or modify scan settings such as resolution, file format or colour mode. Users can also manage scanned documents saved on their mobile devices through the app, with the flexibility to change the files’ location or further process the scans for printing or sharing via other New level of functionality “Employees are now taking their offices with them wherever they go, and being able to print documents from mobile devices without a printer driver saves time, is highly convenient and results in more efficient and effective communications,” said Jeremy Spencer, Marketing Director of Toshiba TEC UK Imaging Systems. Toshiba has further enhanced its e-BRIDGE Print & Capture Lite application and recently announced that its e-STUDIO2550CSE and 5055CSE series MFPs are now able to support Apple’s AirPrint wireless printing software. The recently launched e-BRIDGE Print & Capture Lite is an Android-based application that allows users to utilise Toshiba TEC e-STUDIO MFPs to print and scan from their mobile devices. Individuals can use MFPs on their network, pick from a list of those most recently used, or select an MFP by scanning the displayed QR code. It also supports cloud-based data storage such as Dropbox, Google Drive and SkyDrive, allowing information to be uploaded into the cloud and retrieved as and when required. “Our e-BRIDGE Print & Capture application offers a new level of functionality and flexibility to users of 20 Print.IT Reseller Brother’s latest addition to its portable printer range, the PJ-673, is powered by rechargeable batteries connected via AC or vehicle power kits, and can print A4 documents from tablets, smartphones and laptops through a wireless connection. Designed to work seamlessly with mobile and portable devices, the PJ-673 offers wireless and USB connectivity. Compact and lightweight, the 480g machine prints using direct thermal printing technology, so no ink, toner or ribbons are needed. www.brother.co.uk Android-based smartphones and tablets. Apple AirPrint compatibility now means that owners of iPads and iPhones can enjoy an equally beneficial experience,” he added. Employees are now taking their offices with them wherever they go and being able to print documents from mobile devices without a printer driver saves time... MPS beyond print Xerox recently introduced a suite of new tools and services within its MPS offering including the Xerox Mobile Print Solution. The Xerox Mobile Print Solution offers secure printing via the Xerox Mobile Print app. Users can print from their desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile devices and smartphones. Additional enhancements include locating public printers using GPS and maps; integrated cloud printing with a customer’s active directory and with Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino email servers; secure card reader and Follow You Print solutions for a unified end user experience; as well as web page printing, media selection and support for large scale global deployment models. “Work is no longer a physical place. It happens anytime, anywhere, causing both challenges and opportunities. Our next generation of managed print services helps clients take control of information while managing everyday concerns such as productivity, mobility, security and sustainability,” said Mike Feldman, President, Large Enterprise Operations, Xerox. www.brother.co.uk, www.canon.co.uk, www.toshibatec.co.uk, www.xerox.com *Research conducted online in January 2013 amongst corporate IT decision makers. 01732 759725 LIMITED OFFER: S1100 and S1300i models now bundled with Adobe® Acrobat® XI Standard At Northamber, It’s WIN WIN for Resellers & Customers with Fujitsu Scanners By purchasing an award-winning Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner from Northamber, not only can customers get round to doing more of those things they never found the time for, but also get the chance to win an enterprise award of up to €200,000* as well as a host of other cash prizes and discount hotel stays. Plus, if a customer wins over €1,000, the reseller that sold it wins 10% of the award in MDF funds. Resellers should call Northamber, the scanning experts on 020 8296 7066. End-users should visit www.scansnapsavestime.com Smarter working offers greater control over your time allowing you to explore new ways of growing your business or spend more time with the family . *Prizes of €1,000 or over awarded as an enterprise award. “Adobe”, “Acrobat” and the Adobe PDF logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. VAR Totalmarketing™ twitter.com/ Northamberplc Totallogistics™ Totaltraining™ Totalfinance™ Totalconfig™ t: 020 8296 7066 w: northamber.com linkedin.com/company/ northamber northamber Total Distribution™ ©Northamber 2014 E and O.E. Prices appear as trade and exclude VAT & delivery. Prices stated as at 24th January ‘14. channel investment Toshiba launches transformational education program After nearly two years of research and planning, Toshiba TEC UK Imaging Systems has just launched a transformational education programme, a move that reinforces its commitment to invest in initiatives that support its channel partners’ business growth objectives. Alan Ball, CEO, Spicers (l-r) Rob Holyoake, Gary Putson, David Griffiths, Michael Woodcock, Michael Sweeney, Carl Day, Mat Deevey, Mick Fowler, Kamal Hussein, Ed Barnett, Matt Brown and Greg Payne Speaking to PrintIT Reseller, Carl Day, Sales Director Indirect Division, explained the rationale behind the Toshiba Masters programme, which is available exclusively to Toshiba resellers, and the value-add that it offers dealerships. Day explained that his passion and interest in the indirect channel stems from its ambition and drive to succeed and that as a result his strategy as head of Toshiba’s indirect division has always been to support and add value through offering change or support for change. “Whilst incentive trips, golf days and the like play an important part in 22 Print.IT Reseller us forging strong relationships with our dealers, we wanted to offer something that was both relevant to and which would play a pivotal role in driving business growth for our partners. “I’ve always felt that education, training and people development are the most effective ways of producing better long-term sustainable results. And from a personal perspective, over the years I’ve benefited greatly from ongoing education and training; it’s enabled me to be the differentiator in competitive situations,” he said. This was a key driver in Toshiba’s development of its latest channel initiative. I've never met a company so passionate about delivery... Opportunity and profit potential The Toshiba Masters programme, which will lead to an MSc in Leading Sales Transformation, is delivered in partnership with global sales performance improvement company Consalia and is validated by Middlesex University. Prior to launching the Toshiba Masters Programme, Toshiba spoke to its partners to gauge initial interest, which Day says was really positive. “We followed this up by inviting them to the official unveiling, an event which we co-hosted with Consalia. We outlined the course content and described the benefits, opportunity and profit potential that the Toshiba Masters programme would provide. We then invited interested parties to sign up,” he added. “There was no sales pitch,” said Day. “It was purely on an opt-in basis. If we had to sell it hard to get buy-in, then the chances are we’d get the wrong people on board.” Day said that the opportunity for channel partners to achieve a Masters in Leading Sales Transformation represents a fresh and unique approach to innovation and sales growth. “This is an extremely exciting project for us; no-one has ever offered anything like it for the channel up until now. “I feel that the Toshiba Masters program is a truly unique way of effecting change and collaboration through our channel, whilst simultaneously offering a huge value-add to our dealers and their people for the long-term,” he said. Partner of choice During the planning stages, Toshiba looked at lots of options and spoke to a number of providers but, according to Day, once he met Consalia founder Phillip Squire, it was quickly evident that they would be Toshiba’s partner of choice. “I’ve never met a company so passionate on delivery and so consistent in their ability to engage on a one-to-one basis. It was this dedication that made Consalia the perfect partner to help us meet our objectives,” he said. 01732 759725 channel investment Toshiba solves problem at the CAB Carl Day, Sales Director, Indirect Division, Toshiba TEC UK Imaging Systems “It’s taken a lot of time and hard work to get to where we are today – but from day one, Consalia’s passion to professionalise sales was overwhelming. The tailored course, which is now up and running perfectly, fits both Toshiba’s and our partners’ business objectives.” Focused on sales For the first time, the Toshiba Masters programme provides channel partners with the opportunity to offer academic recognition to their sales leaders and salespeople for their sales experience and excellence in a work environment. The programme is totally focused on sales roles and based on proven practices for performance improvement and real-world learning. “The purpose is to improve the professional status of salespeople, which is all too often overlooked, and to provide organisations with important research and innovation on sales practices,” said Day. Consalia has extensive experience working with a number of organisations wishing to educate their internal staff, but this was their first venture working with the channel, something that they were very keen to do. “Consalia has worked extremely hard getting to grips with our industry and its sales culture in order to provide us with a programme that unlocks change in thought, which in turn creates a platform for sales transformation,” said Day. “Middlesex University, one of the world’s top work-based learning centres, adds the academic rigour and flexible assessment that is pivotal to the success of these programmes,” he added. Investing for growth Toshiba has made a significant financial investment in the programme, which they view as a highly effective way of delivering tangible business benefits to partners. “Our dealers have also invested. Those with staff enrolled have made a financial contribution toward the course costs and www.printitreseller.co.uk on graduation there is a process in place that will enable them to recover 50% of this investment,” he said. The inaugural course, which kicked off mid-January, currently has thirteen people enrolled: Michael Woodcock, Mick Fowler and Gary Putson, Arena; Rob Holyoake and Matt Brown, Stratus; Kamal Hussein, Carlton Reece; Ed Barnett, Copiermate; Tom Nolan, NCS; Greg Payne, Premier; Mat Deevey, Cloudsmart; David Griffiths, Sharples; Michael Sweeney, TOS Ireland; and Carl Day. They are expected to graduate in June 2016. “I truly believe that the seven key modules in the Toshiba Masters programme will deliver positive change to our channel, our business and our employees. I am very excited to be working with my fellow students, Consalia and Middlesex University and look forward to the challenge ahead,” said Day. www.consalia.com www.toshibatec.co.uk The programme is totally focused on sales roles and based on proven practices for performance improvement and realworld learning. The Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) Allerdale, based in Workington, Cumbria, employs 20 paid staff and up to 50 volunteers. In common with many other CAB branches, the amount of administration and documentation that it has to deal with has grown exponentially and this was proving problematic for administrative staff. The CAB recently introduced PETRA, a new client management software system which allows materials to be shared throughout the entire CAB network. However, the process of scanning documents into both the new and old systems remained incredibly time consuming. Scanning had to be carried out using softwaredriven desktop MFPs and processing capacity was just five pages a minute. Documents then had to be identified and renamed manually at a shared PC and, to avoid confusion and loss of files, only one complete document could be scanned at a time. In some cases just one computer had access to the scanner, causing an additional bottleneck, while the scanned documents also had to be manually deleted from the shared folder after uploading a copy to the Bureau’s client management software system. These complex processes increased the potential for documents to be duplicated, deleted or lost between the scanning and uploading process, and it was this that prompted Office Manager Maggie Titley to approach Toshiba TEC UK Imaging Systems for advice. Utilising its unique e-BRIDGE open software architecture, Toshiba recommended and implemented a more efficient system. The Bureau’s legacy e-STUDIO255 mono A3 MFP remained in-situ after Toshiba retrospectively modified it to work with the new PETRA system using e-BRIDGE connectors. In addition, a newer model, the e-STUDIO256SE, was introduced to reduce scanning time and increase productivity. With the new system, scanning can be carried out at a rate of up to 75 pages per minute, whilst ‘push’ technology quickly and accurately sends multiple scans to a user’s personal folder with a relevant document name. “The new system has had an extremely positive impact on the administration staff at Citizens Advice Allerdale,” said Titley. “It has made an enormous difference to the amount of time we have to spend on scanning and has made our entire operation so much more efficient.” www.toshibatec.co.uk Print.IT Reseller 23 MASTERING YOUR SUCCESS Unleash your inner potential We're recruiting... Grow your business with Toshiba TEC. Let us help you become a master of your own success, together with our award winning, innovative products and outstanding service. We view our Channel Partners as an extension of our sales force, working hard to build a strong and lasting relationship with all of our dealers. Contact us today. www.toshibatec.co.uk [email protected] 0843 2244944 dealer profile Expanding into new regions and new markets Gateshead-headquartered United Carlton Office Systems Ltd was established in 1996 after five colleagues spotted an opportunity to go it alone when the company they all worked for was acquired by IKON (later integrated into Ricoh’s business). Director Warren Colby told PrintIT Reseller that the opportunity to set up a North-East Sharp dealership was too good to pass up. “As a team, we were really focussed on customer service and our strategy from day one was to pick up new business by playing to this strength,” he said. “With Sharp, we had a great product line to sell and had each over the years built up strong relationships with lots of local businesses, so we literally went out and knocked on doors.” It was a strategy that worked, as the five founding partners achieved a £1m turnover in their first year of trading. In 1999, they acquired Carlton Business Machines which also had an annual turnover of around £1m. Merging the two businesses involved adopting best practice and processes and re-branding as United Carlton Gateshead. Continued growth The company has enjoyed continued growth year-on-year and today employs over 100 staff who look after its 5,000+ accounts. According to Colby, customer service remains its number one priority and, as a result, client retention remains consistently high. “One of the biggest successes we celebrated in the early years was when we were awarded a major contract with Durham County Council. We held this for 13 years and it firmly placed us on the map within the education and local government markets,” he said. www.printitreseller.co.uk (l-r) The five partners: John Watson, Mark Bryce, John Ellis, Warren Colby, Michael Nelson and Paul Dawson Merging the two businesses involved adopting best practice and processes... It was this experience that played a pivotal role in United Carlton winning the tender for East Riding of Yorkshire County Council eight years ago. “This included North-East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire Councils. Even though we didn’t have a physical presence in those areas at that time, we were still selected as the preferred supplier,” said Colby. They opened a satellite office in Market Weighton and employed four engineers, two installation staff and an IT engineer on day one to service that account. “It was an initial five-year contract,” said Colby. “But it was extended for a further two years and we won it again in 2013.” Commercial focus With a goal to expand its reach into new regions, four years ago United Carlton opened an office in York. And last summer it appointed Eric Shackleton as Regional Sales Manager with a brief to develop and drive a strategy to support the company’s goal to gain a foothold within the commercial sector. This included recruiting a new team of commercial sales people who are now in place. Leveraging the wealth of experience gained through his many years in the office equipment business, most recently as Managing Director of Hull-based Gemtec; Shackleton will extend United Carlton’s presence within commercial businesses, in a wider geographical area that will include Leeds and West Yorkshire. Three-year plan Turnover is now in excess of £15.5 million per annum and according to Colby the business has a three-year plan in place to hit the £19m mark. “We will do this partly through organic growth, but we do have other plans in place to support this.” United Carlton has invested heavily in its infrastructure. “We’re putting a lot of time and resource into marketing and last year we spent around £130,000,” Colby explained. “We’re launching a new refreshed website, have invested in a comprehensive CRM system and upgraded and improved our IT systems for example, all of which will provide us with the platform to grow and expand.” He added: “Our over-riding goal is to replicate the successes enjoyed in both our Gateshead and York businesses by opening up new offices in other parts of the country. We are one of Sharp’s topperforming dealers and we also sell and support Toshiba technology. Our service footprint already extends nationally and we’re confident that we can extend the business in new regions.” Colby hinted that the opening of the next office in Manchester could potentially take place in the first half of 2014. www.united-carlton.co.uk Print.IT Reseller 25 acquisition 1st Office completes major acquisition 1st Office Equipment Ltd has completed the acquisition of Caerphilly-based Digital Systems UK (South Wales & West) Ltd, an independent supplier of Olivetti photocopier and print equipment. enables them to offer independent advice on the best equipment to meet individual customers’ business needs. “We enjoy strong relationships with our partners and as all of our technicians are manufacturertrained, our customers also benefit from a first-class maintenance service,” said Jones. 1st Office is Olivetti’s Elite Dealer in the South-West and one of the region’s largest independent printing services providers. Its head office is in Bath and it has regional offices in Plymouth, Exeter, Barnstaple and Bristol, each of which is staffed with a team of local sales, service and after sales support personnel. Sales and Marketing Director Andrew Jones said that the acquisition of Digital Systems is a significant development in the plans 1st Office has in place to expand its business and will play a key part in its strategy to extend its reach along the M4 corridor into South Wales. According to Jones, when the opportunity to acquire Digital Systems presented itself, it was an easy decision to make. “Digital Systems was a perfect fit for us. The company works with the same business partners and shares the same commitment to delivering exceptional service that we do at 1st Office.” Accelerate expansion “In addition, having a physical office in Caerphilly staffed by an experienced and 26 Print.IT Reseller Andrew Jones, Sales and Marketing Director, 1st Office dedicated team, as well as a significant installed customer base, will enable us to accelerate our expansion plans and increase our presence within South Wales,” he said. 1st Office, which has been trading for three decades, employs 65 people and enjoys an annual turnover of £7m. It has enjoyed continued growth year-on-year, achieved both organically and through acquisition. It acquired Bath-based Clark Business Products in 2005 and Saltashbased Crown Copiers in 2008. “We have also purchased a number of smaller dealerships’ machine bases tactically over the years to increase our MIF,” Jones explained. As to the future, Jones confirmed that they are looking at other acquisitions. He said: “We will make further acquisitions where there is a fit with our business and where we can see a tangible benefit to our expansion plans. The natural progression would be to move east along the M4 corridor towards Reading.” On the hardware side, 1st Office has partnered with Olivetti, Ricoh and Lexmark, a multi-brand strategy that Flexible outsourcing The company has evolved its offering and now provides customers with flexible outsourcing solutions to meet their changing business needs. Services include proactive management of the entire printer estate through its MPS offering as well as outsourced IT services. In essence, 1st Office can remotely manage and provide all of the support necessary to ensure a client’s IT infrastructure, from its servers through to its printers, are managed, serviced and supported for maximum uptime and business efficiency. “This is the fastest growing area of our business,” said Jones. “Currently we deliver a fully managed service to around 20% of our client base and we expect that to increase to 50% by the end of this year. “Our plan is to introduce Digital Systems’ customers to our improved MPS and new IT Services and this is where we see the potential for growth,” he added. The acquisition ranks 1st Office as the largest Olivetti dealer in the UK providing office copier and print equipment technologies, with a wide range of document and workflow software, for both office and print production environments. Dennis Woods, Managing Director of Olivetti UK Ltd, said: “We have always been very impressed with the strong business performance of both companies and now that they have merged both businesses, they are a strong force to be reckoned with. I have no doubts that they will continue to deliver an exceptional service performance to their customers.” www.1st-office.com 01732 759725 channel Tesseract directory BOOST YOUR SALES TEAM’S PERFORMANCE FINANCE UNLOCKED: HOW TO SELL AND WIN WITH FINANCE is a free training course from BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions that helps sales professionals working in the tech sector adopt a more strategic and informed approach to their selling process. To book your in-house session, please contact Andy Milsom: T: 07966 114243 E: [email protected] Advert Aug 2013 edit1.indd 1 12/08/2013 08:32:23 MPS is more than just Device Management DEVICE MANAGEMENT Toner Alerts Meter Readings Billing System Integration USER MANAGEMENT JOB MANAGEMENT Applications Printed Rules for Print Colour / Mono Usage Job Accounting Duplex Usage Follow Me / Secure For one inclusive low cost, flexible monthly subscription For more information call 01484 726206, email [email protected] or visit www.printauditeurope.com @printaudeu printauditeurope Leasing No time to lose BNP Paribas Solutions releases guide to changes in the regulation of consumer credit and what they mean for resellers Chris Cowell, sales director for the office equipment division at BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, is warning printer resellers to act now to comply with upcoming changes to the regulation of consumer credit. These changes affect all businesses that currently hold an OFT licence and wish to continue carrying out consumer credit activity after 1 April 2014. This includes equipment suppliers and printer resellers who introduce leasing services to regulated customers. To help resellers make the necessary changes, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions has published a guide to changes in the regulation of consumer credit. Cowell said: ”I strongly urge all dealers to obtain a copy of our guide as it details what they must do before 31 March to remain compliant with the new changes. We will not be able to process finance proposals from partners that do not have the necessary licences from 1 April.“ Transfer of responsibility On 1 April 2014, responsibility for the regulation of consumer credit will transfer from the OFT to the FCA. The transfer will result in significant changes to how consumer credit activities are regulated. The new regime will include a stricter authorisation process, on-going supervision and, in the event that things go wrong, investigation by the FCA. In order to perform regulated consumer Bibby Leasing expands offering Carol Roberts, managing director, Bibby Leasing 28 Print.IT Reseller credit activities from 1 April 2014, affected business will need to be authorised by the FCA. ... act now to comply with upcoming changes to the regulation of consumer credit. The FCA authorisation process has been split into two phases: 1. B y 31 March 2014, businesses must have registered for interim permission with the FCA. The FCA and OFT have stated that equipment suppliers that fail to do so will not be able to transact regulated business after that date; and 2. B etween 1 April 2014 and 1 April 2016, businesses must apply for and obtain full FCA authorisation. The new FCA regulations require businesses to: n E nsure that their business details are correct on all existing licence(s), for example trading names, contact details etc.; n R eview the consumer credit licence categories on the OFT website and ensure their current licence categories are consistent with the span of activities undertaken by their business. Note: Print resellers that have a trading agreement with BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions will require licence categories C (Credit brokering), D (Debt adjusting) and E (Debt counselling) to retain their facility; n Apply for any additional consumer credit licence categories via the OFT website if the current licence categories do not cover all of the regulated credit activities Bibby Financial Services has expanded its leasing division with five new employees, all of whom previously worked for competitor Haydock Finance. Kevan Langley, Tim Brogden, Donald Cameron, Clare Cartledge and Stuart Cutler collectively bring more than 120 years’ experience in the refinance market to Bibby Leasing. They will form a new team that is expected to be fully operational by the start of April 2014. It will be based in the North-West but have a national remit. Bibby Leasing managing director Carol Roberts said: “This announcement represents a fantastic opportunity for Bibby Financial Services to grow our leasing business significantly, to reflect what we see as a real opportunity for growth in the market this year. It is a great fit for our own growth strategy and allows us to develop a greater presence in the leasing market.” Bibby Leasing is a member of the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) and part of Bibby Financial Services, the UK’s leading independent invoice finance provider. It currently helps over 5,000 businesses throughout the UK purchase and refinance expensive industry equipment. Chris Cowell, sales director, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions they undertake; n R eview the application requirements on the FCA website, particularly the ‘Interim permission registration step-by-step guide’; n R egister for interim permission via the FCA website; and nC onsider taking legal advice in preparation for full regulation by the FCA. To obtain a copy of the BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions guide, please contact your account manager. [email protected] Game On for more than 600 resellers More than 600 participants from 100 partners have already signed up for the World Cup-inspired Game On incentive from BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions. Running throughout the period of the World Cup to July 2014, Game On gives business equipment resellers the chance to win a host of prizes, including football tickets and a five star trip to Brazil. All registered participants have until 31 March 2014 to qualify for an all-expenses paid trip to Brazil and tickets to the England vs. Italy game in Manaus. In addition to the grand prize, participants can earn loyalty points awarded on qualifying business. There is also a monthly prize draw, designed to maintain engagement and interest in the incentive throughout the promotion period. 01732 759725 TCO IF IT WORX, IT’S PROVIDING OFFICE SOLUTIONS THAT WORK AND WORK. AND WORK. Our multi-functionals are unbeatably powerful, flexible and productive. With improved copy quality and enhanced features, such as a swipe screen control panel and blank page skip, the 3005ci, 3550ci, 4505ci and 5505ci make light work of even the most complex jobs. Reliability comes as standard of course, but did you know these devices also offer superior colour reproduction and intelligent paper management? And as always, our dedicated team are on hand to provide expert back-up through sales, marketing and technical support so you can offer professional service to your customers. Now that’s worth smiling about! For more information call 01793 786 000 or email [email protected] www.utaxuk.co.uk UTAX UK, Units 89-90, Shrivenham Hundred Business Park Majors Road, Watchfield, Swindon SN6 8TY www.printitreseller.co.uk Print.IT Reseller 29 distribution Rewarding relationships How VOW’s close working relationship with major OEM technology brands gives resellers a competitive and financial advantage Competitive pricing is just one of several vital benefits delivered to resellers as a result of VOW’s direct relationships with the major OEM technology brands. With 30 years’ experience in the technology sector, the business products wholesaler enjoys over 20 direct manufacturer relationships. This not only gives its reseller base great advantage on pricing but guarantees high stock availability and original product reliability. These direct relationships also enable VOW and its resellers to be first to market with new products, as well as providing access to vendor marketing initiatives and incentive schemes. Direct relationships As an HP authorised distributor, VOW services some of the biggest HP resellers in the UK. Its direct relationships with other leading technology vendors, such as Brother, Canon, Epson, Imation, Kyocera, Lexmark, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony and Xerox, mean that VOW has more direct distribution agreements than any other broadline wholesaler. Group Merchandise Director Nigel Mitchell says: “VOW has been in the technology market a long time and by maintaining direct relationships with the leading manufacturers we can give 30 Print.IT Reseller Group Merchandise Director Nigel Mitchell Direct relationships enable everyone to stay one step ahead and increase their opportunities for growth... our reseller customer base the front line support that they cannot find with the indirect distributors. Partnership is central to this and includes the way we work with resellers. Direct relationships enable everyone to stay one step ahead and increase their opportunities for growth by delivering the best products, services and promotions to the marketplace.” These relationships mean that VOW is first in the queue for stock, with availability levels at an impressive 98%. This gives resellers and their end users the confidence of reliable supply of original branded products every day. Manufacturer relationships also give the wholesaler access to a spectrum of upto-date intelligence on vendors’ marketing and advertising schedules, including those products set to be promoted most heavily in the coming months. This information enables VOW’s reseller customers to co-ordinate and maximise their marketing communications across their own end user base. Incentive schemes Some technology vendors have additional incentive schemes for resellers buying through VOW. One example is the Xerox Reseller Excellence Programme, which offers resellers up to 6% cash back on all purchases bought directly through VOW Group Marketing and Commercial Director Heather McManus plus involvement in the Xerox Contract Bid Support Scheme, which gives resellers access to very competitive pricing when bidding for end-user contracts. Group Marketing and Commercial Director Heather McManus says: “Many manufacturers will provide significant extra support to resellers that work with VOW during a tender process, ensuring they are as strongly placed as possible to win the contract. They will also incentivise our reseller end users to purchase from the authorised reseller channel. One illustration of this is the Genuine Xerox Rewards programme which was launched in 2013 and which enables customers to claim rewards for buying directly through VOW’s resellers. “Our relationships with the manufacturers enable us to facilitate more meaningful partnerships between some of these brands and our resellers. This is another sizeable indication of the potential for those IT resellers who choose to partner with VOW.” Technology and EOS resellers interested in opening an account with VOW or who already have an account but want to learn more can contact the NES team at VOW on 0844 980 8220. 01732 759725 Trusted Intelligence FollowMe helps organisations save up to 60% on printing costs Whether operating a printing environment or implementing an MPS contract, FollowMe provides all the tools for secure, cost effective office printing. As a highly scalable solution, FollowMe works with any output device and requires little or no changes to the existing infrastructure. Increase user productiv ity Protect valuable data Reduce costs Save management time Keep track Reasons why organisations are using FollowMe - Reduce the cost of printing by up to 60% Increase user productivity with effortless mobile printing Enforce cost effective print policies across the entire organisation Works with any printer or MFP, regardless of manufacturer For further information, please contact us on: Freephone: 0800 214503 Email: [email protected] Web: www.followme.ringdale.com www.printitreseller.co.uk RINGDALE channel partners I.R.I.S. has you in its sights I.R.I.S., the OCR software and portable scanner specialist, now part of the Canon Group, plans to recruit more channel partners to raise its profile in the UK Scanning, OCR and data capture specialist I.R.I.S. plans to increase its presence in the UK by recruiting more resellers and strengthening its links with retailers. At the company’s IRISLink 2014 conference (covered in greater detail in the next issue), Thierry Desmet, sales manager export, I.R.I.S. told PrintIT Reseller that sales were weaker in the UK than they should be and that his main focus for 2014 was to increase the number of retailer and reseller partners on this side of the Channel. “If we increase our profile, we can do 10 times more business than today. The opportunity in the UK is huge,” he said. Data capture I.R.I.S., acquired by Canon last year but still run as an independent company, provides solutions and services that enable users to capture data from all sources (paper, email, software applications, PDF, fax etc.) and make it usable in digital processes and other applications It has two divisions: Product & Technologies, sold through OEM relationships, VARs, resellers, retailers and e-tailers; and Professional Services, such as digital mailroom, document management, business process outsourcing and IT services, which I.R.I.S. provides to more than 1,100 large accounts. The Product & Technologies portfolio encompasses hardware – handheld, portable, pen and business card scanners and digital note takers that automatically capture handwritten notes – and software solutions. These include optical character recognition (Readiris); PDF creation and compression (IRISCompressor); and a variety of document capture, classification and data extraction solutions (IRISCapture Invoices for processing supplier invoices, IRISDocument Server for converting archived images and PDF files into searchable, structured and compressed documents; IRIS Powerscan for production scanning and OCR; and IRISConnect for integration with third party solutions and the cloud). 32 Print.IT Reseller Handheld scanners One of Desmet’s big priorities this year is to increase sales of I.R.I.S. handheld scanners, including: n the new portable IRIScan Anywhere 3 WiFi, which enables users to scan on the go and instantly transfer images to a mobile, tablet or laptop; n the new version of IRIS’s pen scanner (the IRISPen Executive 7), a category which I.R.I.S. invented in 1994 and in which it has notched up sales of more than 500,000 units so far; and n the IRIScan Mouse, which is now compatible with Macs as well as PCs. The IRIScan Mouse is a fully functioning mouse that also incorporates a scan button that when pressed lets you scan documents, photos, receipts, business cards, newspapers etc. up to A3 size by swiping the mouse across the page. Scanned images can be OCR’d, edited, compressed, saved and dragged and dropped into other applications or the cloud. I.R.I.S. launched the first version last year and has already sold 50,000 units. If we increase our profile, we can do 10 time more business... IRISPen Executive 7 Impulse buys Desmet said that products such as these are often impulse buys, which is why it is vital for I.R.I.S. to increase its retail presence and expand its reseller base from the 50 it already has. “These products cost in the region of £50-£70. That’s the kind of sum that’s difficult to find in areas that have financial difficulties. In the UK, people have the money but don’t see the products. Our presence needs to be increased massively,” he said. He adds that portable and handheld scanners represent the future of scanning and are a growing market with great potential for the channel. “The future of home scanning is handheld scanners. That is the way people will go in the future. They will quit flatbed scanners because they take up a lot of space on the desk. They will replace them with small devices, a mouse or an app – we will have big announcements in this area in 2014. This is the direction in which we are moving: cloud applications and handheld scanners that you can carry with you.” Business solutions Later this year, I.R.I.S. will be launching new business-oriented products that combine scanner hardware and I.R.I.S. software, giving resellers a complete business solution for small and mediumsized businesses. Desmet said: “We want to increase business that adds value and will have good news in 2014, probably in Q3. The product is almost final, so it could be sooner. In a first for I.R.I.S., we will deliver it with an SMB application inside the box.” In addition to retail products, I.R.I.S. provides a wide range of professional solutions that enable organisations to improve their business processes and workflows. These are available as on premise or cloud-based offerings and can be fully integrated with MFPs, as well as scanners (covered in more detail in the next issue). Last year, I.R.I.S. increased revenue from solutions sold by Canon by more than 60%. This gives some indication of the potential that exists for other resellers to increase sales. To find out more about what I.R.I.S. has to offer UK channel partners, please email [email protected] or call +32 (0)10 832 467. 01732 759725 channel directory BINDING. YOUR WAY. Scan this code and place your smartphone here to see the Fastback in action. FASTBACK 20 ONE MACHINE, SIX DISTINCT BINDING STYLES With no need for hole-punching; it takes just 20 seconds to bind a 350-page document using our unique binding strips. Documents lie completely flat for easy reading and posting and are fully recyclable after use. You can even use custom branded image strips or produce paperback or hardcover books for a truly distinguished finish. Visit us online at www.fastback.co.uk GLOBAL 2014 Louisville, Kentucky The Galt House, June 2 - 4 The printing industry is changing at a dramatic pace. Some predict that office print volumes could decrease by as much as 30 percent over the next five years. Transform Global 2014 can help your business better prepare for this potential reality. Come to learn, stay to network, and engage in the most high impact event for the imaging industry, from your transformation experts! Visit global2014.photizogroup.com to REGISTER NOW! Enter code BI15 to receive a 15 percent discount! MEDIA SPONSOR channel directory Top Distributors & Manufacturers and Key Diary Dates Febuary 2014 0844 980 8000 www.voweurope.com VOW is the UK and Ireland’s leading wholesaler of business products, distributing over 24,000 products from its three automated distribution centres in England and Ireland to over 4,000 resellers and customers. 25–26 Publishing & Media Expo 01932 580100 www.toshibatec.co.uk Toshiba TEC UK Imaging Systems Ltd is a leading supplier of information technology and office equipment products ranging from printers and multifunctional systems to fax machines and digital document management products. – Earls Court, London 26–27 @OKIUK www.oki.co.uk 01379 649200 www.midwich.com Cloud Expo Europe Oki manufactures innovative digital LED printers and multifunctional devices and provides smart managed document services to the channel. At Midwich we have a passion for progress – 24/7 access to stock availability, product information, special offers, online ordering and your own trade pricing. 26–27 www.ricoh.co.uk @MidwichLtd @DMCplc 0800 413 953 www.dmcplc.co.uk DMC PLC are committed to helping you achieve a more efficient, cost effective and transparent printing environment. We will produce a completely bespoke solution fulfilling your every need and meeting very real business objectives. @Westcoast_UK 0118 912 6000 www.westcoast.co.uk Westcoast Ltd established for over 25 years distributes leading IT brands to a broad range of Resellers, Retailers and Office Product Dealers in the UK. @ExertisMicroP N: (01282) 776776 S: (01256) 707070 www.exertismicro-p.co.uk Welcome to Exertis Micro-P a true value-added IT Distributor dedicated to helping you grow your business. @ExertisAdvent 0871 222 3844 www.exertisadvent.co.uk Based at our purpose built distribution centre in Elland, West Yorkshire we are a specialist trade only distributor of printer supplies and data storage media. – Excel, London Data Centre World – Excel, London 26–27 020 8296 7066 March 2014 04–05 Connected Businesses Expo @Tech_Data 01256 788 000 www.techdata.co.uk Tech Data is one of the leading distributors of IT, communications, consumer electronics products and services in the UK. We offer our customers specialist support in key areas of the market, underpinned by exceptional product choice. www.printitreseller.co.uk www.kyocera.co.uk Kyocera’s global operations deliver a diverse range of products, including advanced materials, components, devices, equipment, network engineering and other services. @brother_UK – Olympia, London 10–14 Cebit – Hannover 11–13 Facilities Management www.brother.co.uk Brother’s focus is on providing you with devices whose quality is unmatched by any other manufacturer. From our lasers and inkjets, to our A3, label and mobile devices, all our printers are built with both the customer and the environment in mind. – NEC, Birmingham 11–12 www.samsung.co.uk Retail Business Technology Expo As a truly global organisation with an extensive range of award-winning products and a firm commitment to eco-friendly practice, it should come as no surprise that we are ranked second in the world for A4 mono and colour laser printing. Our highly competitive product range meets all business needs across mono, colour, single-function and multi-function laser devices. – Earls Court, London IPEX – Excel, London www.northamber.com Northamber is the longest established trade-only distributor of IT equipment in the UK. Since 1980, Northamber has been your partner in IT distribution. Today we are widely recognised as the largest UK owned trade-only distributor in our industry. @KYOCERADUK Big Data – Excel, London 24–29 @Northamberplc In a nutshell, we are a total document and IT solutions provider. We offer a range of services tailored to your specific needs, from streamlining costs, to enhancing business processes and increasing staff productivity. www.sharp.co.uk Sharp make business equipment that is market leading and award winning this is why we keep innovating, to provide efficient reliable and cost effective solutions for our customers ever changing business needs. 01908 547980 www.olivetti.com Olivetti, established in 1908, is widely acknowledged as Europe’s leading office products manufacturer. Olivetti’s extensive product portfolio provides its dealer network with a full complement of innovative solutions includes award-winning business colour and mono MFPs, desktop printers, tablets and laptop PCs, educational whiteboards, retail and hospitality Cash register and EPOS systems and solutions for banking and finance document and signature management. www.lexmark.com With our extensive understanding of technology and unique, industry-specific knowledge gained from developing custom output solutions for thousands of organisations, Lexmark has the expertise to help you uncover hidden opportunities in your output environment and implement strategies and processes to streamline the flow of information in your business Print.IT Reseller 35 X551dw = £379.20 CV037A#A81 SRP: £479.00 -£150 -£100 £229.00 exVat X576dw MFP = £539.88 CN598A#A80 SRP: £679.00 -£200 X451dw = £225.57 CN463A#A81 SRP: £299.00 -£100 -£100 £379.00 exVat -£50 £149.00 exVat X476dw MFP = £379.20 CN461A#A80 SRP: £479.00 -£100 -£50 £329.00 exVat Record-Breaking Speed. Mind-blowing price. The HP Officejet Pro X-Series can boast world-record output speed. Your customers can print 500 pages in just 7 minutes1, whilst saving up to 50% on cost per page. It’s the perfect product for SMBs as it does not compromise on quality, reliability or energy-efficiency. The price shown includes the following promotional discounts:2 DEMO Trade-in Cashback Free Warranty Try and Buy Cost Per Page calculator Visit www.westcoastprintin.co.uk/officejetprox to learn about our Managed Document Services and to find out about the amazingly low Total Cost of Ownership on X-Series printers. Trust Westcoast for your HP Hardware and Supplies. We’re always happy to help. You can call us on 0118 912 6000 | www.westcoast.co.uk 1 adjudicated by the Guinness World Records and validated by testing and printing expert Terry Wirth of Wirth Consulting.org. Technical details are posted online. Record only tested on X551dw and X576dw MFP models. Comparison based on manufacturer’s published specifications of fastest available colour made (as of March 2012) and includes colour laser MFPs <€1,000 and colour laser printers <€800. For more information see www.hp.com/go/printerspeeds. 2 Terms and Conditions Apply: prices quoted are based on net cost to reseller after cashback and trade-in are claimed and exclude VAT. Cashback and Trade-in Values will vary.
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