My 2009 Favorite Posts: 11

While reviewing the past year's worth of posts, I stumbled on some of my favorites and a few that churned up some interest.

The Death of Managed Print Services : Photizo Identifies The Fourth Horseman

Copier & I.T. Sales People - Skip the Product or MPS Launch/Training - Get Business Training

MaNAgeD PRinT SerVIces - Does it Really Matter How WE Define It?

Killer Toner is Back: New Study Confirms Laser Printers release "tiny toxic particles" - But so does making Toast.

12 Things I Hate About Managed Print Services

Danger! Danger! Anyone Who Sells in Our Industry, The Copier Industry: Change or Die. I ain't kiddin either

The Demo From Hades: This Is What Happens When You Take Your Eye Off Your Opponent

Is Your Managed Print Services Practice Customer Centric or Process Centric? - Maybe We Should Ask Your Clients.

The Death of Managed Print Services : Photizo Identifies The Fourth Horseman

The "Hunters vs. Farmers" Sales Metephor - It's Dead: Let's Break Out of The Box

Today, I Had Drinks with a Hero...

Clouds of Misfortune Rolling in On The Winds of Change: Copier Industry Next to Fall?

12/2009 -

"It's the End of the World as We Know It."

"The Future Ain't What It Use to Be."

"Fail to study history, doomed to repeat it."

"See, I told you so."

"I shaved my legs for this?"

The other day, I read a post over at Callinan's blog, here. It's good, it's about changes in our industry.

And Ken Stewart has a pretty good grasp on the subject as well, go here, and see his newly re-minted theme - it's to die for!

I've run into a flurry of statements, lately, like these,

"...copier dealers need to change or die..."

"...MPS is not getting the return we expected..."

"...the best way to sell MPS is to start with changing people..."

"...how can we adopt MPS when one of the MPS goals is to reduce MIF..."

"...this will kill the industry..."

State of California Shuns HP in Favor of ACS - EDS Fallout?

At first the announcement by California Department of Health Care Services, stating it intends to award a $1.4 billion, 10-year contract to Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services, may not seem to fall within the MPS wheelhouse.

Under terms of the proposed contract, Affiliated Computer Services would process claims for 7 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries, starting early next year.

What makes this interesting to me is the fact that Affiliated Computer Services, ACS, has recently been purchased by Xerox.

And the current provider, for the last 18 years, was not HP but EDS - HP inherited the account when it purchased EDS.

Get use to this battle - HP and Xerox fighting over a "service", not hardware.

Still think I'm crazy about the "Death of the Copier"??

This could possibly effect some 2,000 jobs here in California.

Besides all the Xerox vs. HP intrigue, why is it that my state officials can possibly justify risking thousand's of jobs by not utilizing a Californian company?

I guess MPS is not the only place where logic sometimes does not prevail.

More here.

And here.

Merry Christmas - 2009

NER to Sell Imaging Supplies and Printer Parts Business Units to Clover Technologies Group

So, let me get this straight.

HP reaches out to NER as a "toner provider" less than six months ago, and that ISN'T enough to save a Division?

NER is selling off it's toner and imagining supplies division to concentrate and focus on Managed Print Services and Data Center Infrastructure.

The toner and supplies division is being gobbled up by Clover Technologies.

From the Clover site:

"...Founded in 1996 and with annual revenue of over $300 million, Clover is the global leader in providing businesses with total environmental solutions, including the recycling and remanufacturing of imaging supplies. Clover is the world's largest collector and recycler of cell phones, inkjets and laser cartridges. The complete line of Clover's quality toner and ink is available through leading office products distributors and resellers and marketed under a variety of private label brands..."
-----

Dropping the overhead intensive to concentrate on services - interesting.

GLASSBORO, N.J., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- NER Data Products, Inc. (NER) announces the sale of the NER Imaging Supplies division and its wholly owned printer parts subsidiary Image1 to Clover Technologies Group Inc. (Clover). The agreement will transfer all imaging activates including compatible laser toner, inkjet, narrow and wide impact ribbon production, and printer parts to Clover.

Clover will assume responsibility for the NER Denver, Image1 Plano, and NER Glassboro supplies operations that support these business units. Customer and vendor relationships will be assumed by Clover and business will continue at all of these locations. In addition, NER is pleased to announce that over 80% of the NER employees at these locations will become employees of Clover as of the first of the year.

"The decision to sell off business units is not taken without great consideration," said Stephen Oatway, President of NER Data Products, Inc. "Approximately seven years ago, we began the process of strategically transitioning the company from offering commodity products to offering value-added solutions. As a result of our efforts, we have become a leader in both Managed Print Services and Data Center Infrastructure Solutions.

In reviewing the direction of the company it was determined that a concentrated focus on these divisions was in the best interest of the company, shareholders, and customers moving forward. This strategic move allows us to focus resources on those business units that are poised for the greatest growth in the future."

The sale will be finalized December 31, 2009 and terms of the transaction are not disclosed. The newly reorganized NER will be strongly positioned to continue providing industry-leading Managed Print Services and Data Center Infrastructure Solutions to their channel partners and their customers.

Current customers for Imaging Supplies and Image1 products can find information about the business transition on the NER website -- www.nerdata.com

Managed Print Services Survey Over at P4PHotel: Xerox Didn't Sponser It, So Gartner Won't Cover It.

Art at P4PHotel has had a poll running for around a month - interesting and not so surprising results.

I have cut and pasted his entire article. You can find it here.

To me, this is a timely reveal, for I have, at this very moment, two separate "doom and gloom" MPS articles almost ready for post as part of my "Decade's End" run of pontifications.

Enjoy this.

Managed Print Service Poll "Review"

We've had this poll running for about a month now, or is it more like three weeks.

Ah, can't remember it's the end of the month, the quarter and the year and I'm being hammered every day about sales!!!!

Ok, back to the poll. We asked: You're now selling Managed Print Services "Your thoughts now". Basically tell us, it is working for you or not!

Here's the choices that vendors had to choose from and the percentages:

It's been a great success for us 27%
It's been ok for us 26%
It's not reaping the profits we thought it would 37%
If we had to do it over, we would not have gotten into MPS 10%

Very interesting to say the least, it seems to me that 47% or almost 1 out of every two vendors are not happy with the move. I thought it would have been more like 80% would have agreed with "It's been a great success for us".

I'm a follower of MPS, I believe it has it's place, however if 47% are unhappy, why is that? It's obvious that I can't answer that question, so I reached out to a friend of mine Greg Walters with Death of the Copier in Southern Cal, here's what he had to say......check back here in a few hours for the response!!

Here's Greg's opine:

You5 study does not surprise me. I know of a few very successful MPS Practices. But I have been taking many, many questions in the past 5 months all around getting an MPS Practice "going".

It seems that most MPS practices are set up on the wrong premise. Whether MPS is thought of as a marketing ploy to move more equipment, a strategic motion to secure existing accounts or a way to capture ongoing, single function volumes, most attention has been focused on "programs" and internal tactics.

We are ignoring or missing the Client in all this.

And...

All the MPS momentum gained from MPS ideas and programs and goals and potential is being bled off before it gets to the Selling Professional. Either the MPS philosophy is so weak, the sales person ignores and continues as always or the MPS philosophy is so complicated and nebulous, the sales person ignores and continues as always.

Here's the secret - Your study does note reflect MANAGED PRINT SERVICES problems, your study reveals basic, selling problems.

Put that on your whiteboard and gaze upon genius...

LOL!

Greg Walters
-=Good Selling=-