Top 100 Summit Executive Council Creates SBB Business Model for Managed Print
February 16, 2016
Calgary, AB - February 16, 2016 - Print Audit®, along with 29 dealer and distribution partners, has completed a 12 week Executive Council for the development of a viable Seat Based Billing (SBB) model for Managed Print. SBB for MPS has been designed as an alternative to the highly commoditized CPP billing method currently employed by the industry. SBB offers stronger protection of dealer profits while at the same time delivering additional savings for customers through efficiency improvements.
One of Print Audit’s key missions is to “Save the office equipment industry” and SBB will help to deliver on this. Declining pages per user, fracturing OEM stability, increased competitive pressures and the commoditization of the traditional CPP model are forcing the office equipment industry to develop a new business model for the future of Managed Print. The SBB Executive Council has come up with a model that will drive a new era of MPS.
“The existing CPP model for MPS has been around for over 15 years and dealers have been looking for new ways to grow their businesses in challenging times.” stated West McDonald, Vice President of Business Development for Print Audit. “SBB will give office equipment dealers a way to increase their total profits while shutting out less advanced competitors. We are all very excited to have completed a viable SBB model so that progressive dealers can start taking advantage of SBB today.”
Seat Based Billing comes with a host of benefits for both dealers and end-users alike:
- 100% budgetable printing costs: No more counting. A fixed monthly fee per user for managed print.
- Cost reduction through workflow improvements: Delivers customer savings while increasing dealer total profits.
- Unified billing: The same billing model for MPS, Managed IT Services, and DMS.
- Improved security: User-based accounting and print tracking.
The SBB Executive Council was created at the Top 100 Summit. The Top 100 Summit is an event where dealer principals gather to build and refine the business model of the future. To learn more about SBB and to see if you are eligible to attend the exclusive Top 100 Summit, visit http://www.printaudit.com/top100
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My take on this -
SBB isn't going to save the industry, but it might help "re-invent this business".
“A Print Policy is the documented outline of procedures, illustrating the organization’s current output-related decision-making processes. This policy is endorsed at the highest level of executive management, contains milestones, and supports the organization’s business goals.”
I've seen implementations streamline work processes, enforce SLA's and reduce costs by millions.
I'm a believer.
It's obvious the best Print Policies are created when working with outside experts.
But who?
On one side stands the copier/printer specialists, mavens of the printed document, leasing, and deal crafting.
Residing across the hall, masters of storage, operating systems, PC's, mobile devices, and even printers, hang their shingle. That leaves you, the "IT Guy" responsible for endpoints, Windows upgrades, and those pesky copiers and printers, stuck in the middle - again.
Should you place a call to your IT VAR or copier dealer? Yes.
"The fewer prints you generate, the less they get paid - simple math."
Long ago, I felt the most qualified managers of output devices came from the office printing/copier side. In some cases, this is still true.
Here's the rub: a copier dealer, indeed, any business surviving or thriving on the number of prints you generate, cannot in good conscience, help you manage away the mystery and reduce output.
Why would a copier/printer company train salespeople to reduce revenue? It's an obvious question. One you should ask those "MpS" providers still promising "30% savings".
My recommendation is to work with the group that doesn't survive on your print volume.
No matter who you choose, your partner in Print Policy development should: Be neutral about printers
The first qualification is to regard each printer as an end-point inside life cycle services. Sure, printers can be dirty and require physical intervention. Yes, they jam and run out of toner right before a big print project. And yes, as much as 60% of help desk calls are print related. Yet successful management of assets originates from a position of neutrality.
Neutrality - your output devices represent zero revenue and hold no negative emotional attachment to either contributing party.
Have a holistic view Your provider must consider the entire output and input fleet, including copiers, printers, print servers, print queues, label printers, fax machines, fax servers, scanners, and yes, even dual monitors.
Endpoints are the beginning; every vendor, provider, and partner relationship is to be documented, holding all accountable.
Once the points and processes are determined - from assessment to retirement - everything is diagramed.
The result is a large flowchart. Imagine.
Think of your Print Policy as the Vanguard for your IT Policy
As the decision and support process for print and copy fall into the IT realm, covering output devices, conducting end-user assessments, and documenting workflow can be labor intensive.
A Print Policy requires time, expertise, and an end-user interface. But when the process is complete, establishing the same for a comprehensive IT Policy is easier.
Utilizing the process of generating a Print Policy can be replicated in determining your organization's entire IT policy.
Don't waste the opportunity.
There are more considerations, but these three are significant. If you're interested in a deeper understanding, reach out to me, at greg@grwalters.com.
Collaborative Consultant Group LLC to begin marketing DOCassess & MPS in a tablet to the BTA Dealer Channel.
TORONTO, Ontario – January 28, 2016. Office Document Consulting Inc., a global leader in simplifying the MPS approach and automation of print assessments, today announced the addition of Collaborative Consultant Group to its Global Distribution Team.
“We began focusing on a distribution model in early 2015 and I am very pleased to announce the addition of CCG, Collaborative Consultant Group as our newest distributor.” said Mike Lamothe, President of Office Document Consulting, Inc. “with increased demand of our flagship product DOCassess we began looking for a partner in the United States.” CCG has an established consulting practice supporting dealers and channel partners making a transition into managed print. “it made perfect sense to me, Mike has done a great job building his practice and with the additions of DOCassess and our other solutions CCG will be in a strong position to help their customers succeed”
“Collaborative Consultant Group has been working with our dealers using a “ground up” approach. Providing sales reps the ability to make decisions based on actionable data we see as the real silver bullet. We are excited to join forces with Office Document Consulting and combine world class solutions with real world experience to help our clients achieve growth and drive margins that can be predicted and effectively managed” said Mike Lecak, President of Collaborative Consultant Group, LLC.
About CCG Collaborative Consultant Group LLC.
Located in San Diego, California, CCG is a comprehensive consulting firm within the office imaging and technology industry focused on providing a hands-on approach with its clients delivering proven strategies that positively impact bottom line results. Mike Lecak is a 32 + year veteran of the industry and brings a unique perspective to business planning and execution most critical to owners and senior leaders interested in employing the latest in best practices. To learn more about Collaborative Consultant Group please visit: Collaborativeconsultantgroup.com or call 480-335-7210.
About Office Document Consulting, Inc.
Office Document Consulting Inc. is one of the global leaders in print assessment software and continues to provide innovative solutions to further automate the assessment process. With the launch of DOCassess Platinum and Mobile Mapping App V2 ODC continues to simplify and automate the entire assessment process. To learn more about all of ODC’s software solutions visit www.officedocumentconsulting.com or book a webinar
email info@docassess.com or call 647 389 5048
"Please State the Nature of The Medical Emergency"
About a year ago, the owner of an office equipment dealership rang me up asking for advice.
His largest "managed print services" (toner) account was being threatened by an IT company offering a full range of IT services including supplies and service delivery on 'his' printers.
He was in a panic.
Like dozens before him, he wanted somebody to say it was going to be okay; that what he was doing today, "building long and deep relationships with his customers", providing "the best service at the lowest price", was enough to save the patient - his 20-year-old, $5 Million, family-owned business.
I told him to change.
I told him hope resided in a future with fewer technicians and reduced overhead. I repeated the "change your business model" mantra, begged him to exit toner delivery and get into the IT side of the world. I offered contact information at Collabrance; urged him to reach out to a little know company called PrinterLogic and talk to his customer about reducing costs by eliminating print servers.
He fought me.
Of course, I proposed taking a quick look at his operation, giving some basic recommendations, and making the necessary connections for him to explore - all for $2,500.00. No warranty or money-back guarantee, but for the price of a trip to ITEX, he could have gained a fresh perspective and possibly made some profitable connections.
He didn't.
I have no idea if his business still feeds families or drifts on the waters of denial.
Here we are on the edge of 2016. The copier industry insists on fooling itself into relevancy as small dealers are gobbled up and bigger ones sell out to investment groups. The OEMs? Splitsville.
Today, if you were to ask, "Greg...what the hell can I do now? I've social media'd up my company, I'm first in google search, but MpS flopped, managed IT services are not working and the only people buying copiers are schools, churches, and the government!"
You've tried digital signage
You've looked at water service
You're not sure about managed services
Your managed print services program is not delivering 42% GP
3D Printing looks cute, but you can't seem to get your head around a profit model
Now what?
One word, kid - "TeleHealth"
I'll let you do the googlitizing. The fastest-growing area for technology and monthly recurring revenue is the healthcare arena and has nothing to do with printers or copiers. I'd think about assembling and supporting connected, healthcare devices.
Not heart monitors - think bigger. Think about this:
It's connected, contains technology components, requires assembly, and clients might pay for 24/7 monitoring and service. Relevant. Expanding. Service-based.
Like those forgotten print jobs, the WSJ reports Xerox will leave their hardware business in the exit tray.
Are you seeing double? One business for hardware, one for services. Didn't Xerox just buy their services division a few years ago?
Not only this, but Icahn will be given the seats on the board of the company holding Xerox's services business, the Journal reported.
Tell me again, how the copier is still relevant?
Two of the largest technology companies in the world have now split in two.
From the Xerox announcement:
"Today’s market realities require greater agility and flexibility, the ability to innovate and adapt technology to address clients’ fast-evolving needs, and a more focused and efficient approach to operations and capital allocation.
As a result, it has become increasingly clear that the Document Technology and BPO businesses serve distinct client needs, have different growth drivers, and require customized operating models and capital structures. Thus, the separation of the two businesses will enhance their competitive positions and create significant value creation opportunities, including:
Enhanced strategic and operational focus. Each company will leverage its areas of strength and differentiation to address distinct market trends and opportunities. The Document Technology company will invest selectively in growth areas while ensuring continued operational discipline and capturing transformative productivity. The BPO company will focus on leadership in attractive market segments to deliver differentiated solutions to its clients and drive profitable revenue growth. Simplification of organizational structure and resources. Each company will be able to adapt faster to clients’ changing needs, address specific market dynamics, target innovation and investments in select growth areas and accelerate decision making processes. Distinct and clear financial profiles. The separation will enable each company to leverage its distinct growth profile and cash flow characteristics to optimize its capital structure and capital allocation strategy. Compelling equity investment cases. As standalone companies, both companies will offer distinct and compelling investment propositions with differentiated financial profiles, growth drivers and business prospects."
Xerox also announced today a three year strategic transformation program targeting a cumulative $2.4 billion savings across all segments. The program is inclusive of ongoing activities and $600million of incremental transformation initiatives. The company expects $700 million in annualized savings in 2016.
Take a look at the graph.
What could this mean? Icahn is satiated for a bit. The hardware business, once separated, may be easier to sell.
The Death of the Copier is, once again, substantiated.
"Greg, what were the biggest events or issues from last year?'
...a seasonal tradition.
This year, like last year, my initial reaction is, "Not much." Which is soon followed by a wave of angst.
Most of the industry is insane.
OEMs keep releasing new models...which aren't all that new...like it's 1999. Mobile print, document management, managed print services, automatic toner replenishment, managed services, and that fictitious managed network services are all the 'rage'. Same as last year.
The consolidation continues as dealer after dealer is gobbled up by yesterday's rival or taken over by a capital investment firm. Same as last year.
Clients aren't making copies and office print is on the decline. Same as last year.
But there are golden nuggets in 2015; it wasn't simply the "Year of Tears".
1. HP Split - Jettisoning print
This was no surprise.
I believe the world of print is heading into HP's wheelhouse - smaller devices, low operating costs, and direct supplies management.
Managed print services is not complicated. When considering the influences, especially MPS automation, there's no need for a dealer. With today's technological advances in M2M, a national company can provide toner and service more efficiently than a 'local' reseller.
Someday, HP will deliver MpS anywhere in the country - without a local service network. No need for a middleman.
Xerox is in decline and Icahn, the Master of Disaster, buys more and more. He's going to oust Ursula then slice and dice the Big X - another Kodak moment.
Meanwhile, Lexmark the wallflower, hikes up her skirt, beguiling suitors with promises of MpS, revenue streams. Multiples are good, but who's going to ask Lexi to dance?
HP's vision, as mentioned above, is one of continuous transformation. As business evolves, and technology removes the mundane components, like print, loud, hot, expensive machines designed to make marks on paper, lose relevancy.
Consultants still place the OEMs in the upper right and tag big spenders as 'visionary' - whoever has the largest marketing budget or the nicest rooms in town, gets the best reviews and accolades.
Elsewhere, offshore concerns are marching to the 'print/copy is relevant' drum, churning out devices like crazy.
All points Terminus. Like Childhood's End, one day, the memory of a once great paper-making machine will be remembered in song, not substance.
3. Epson: Shining Star, for you to See
Yes, I mocked the hell out of the 'bags of ink'. But I poke fun at those who attract. You should consider Epson for the following reasons:
De-emphasize print - I know it hurts, but the print is not all that important, and the walk-up copy is dead(except for SLED) in the end, print is simple because fewer people print. Why fight the trend? You cannot win. Epson takes the complexity out of printing with this device Just sell it.
"Close and forget" mentality - Imagine a device that requires one or two touches a year and one toner delivery every three years. Quick, do the math. Get a good chunk of margin up front, put the device on MpS, and forget about it.
No technicians, no toner delivery, just monthly billing - That's all.
About this time last year, my advice to independents was to jump on the reduce-print-servers bandwagon. I told a bunch of dealers to get with a company called PrinterLogic - they didn't. Today, Printerlogic is banging big deals all over the world.
You could have been part of that movement. You could have been telling your clients how to reduce the cost of print by decreasing the number of print servers. You could have elevated the MpS discussion above and beyond toner and service calls. You could have sold a bunch of stuff, too.
But you didn't and now you've lost a bunch of accounts.
Boo, f'n, who. If you're not retiring or selling out, get on the ink-bag train. Call Epson, now, but it might be too late.
10 Years Out -
What is the future of print, in the year 2025? No business print. Little in education, more in government, and healthcare will be paperless.
The Internet of things will be the Internet of everything - plants will talk with light bulbs which will communicate with coffee tables, the paint on your walls, and your inhaled nano's. Everything, everyone will be connected, all the time.
Information will finally move at the speed of thought.
How about in the year 2020? Just like the computer dealers of the 1980s, copier dealers will fade into history. Few copier dealers will remain.
I'll keep saying Merry Christmas until another country celebrates "the Holidays" on the Moon; on account of the United States of America, as of this date, is the only country to have done so...pass the eggnog.
Back in the day, every single salesperson worth his or her quota carried a Franklin planner. Heck, I think HP, IBM, and Canon gave every rep a planner and the "Seven Habits..." in lieu of a PC and printer.
Instead of checking smartphones and pecking the qwerty, we'd unzip and unfold our cool, custom binders, jot down notes, check off tasks, and review calendars. And by 'jot' I mean, write down...with a pen or pencil...on paper even.
"...sometimes, reps would copy entire months, off the glass, and submit these "reports" to management..."
Scheduling the next appointment was in real-time, face to face, and "...if it didn't make it in my Franklin, it didn't exist..."
Business cards were stuffed in plastic sleeves for easy access and we wrote down phone numbers.
No. Really...we did.
At the end of the day or week, one might review the past and plan future action items or follow-up tasks. Again, we wrote on paper. More advanced users would apply sticky notes, and custom forms. (show-offs)
Leadership loved these things.
Old-school sales managers would surprise audit your Franklin, checking for scheduled meetings over the next couple of weeks - funnel review included handing your planner over to your manager.
Sometimes...and get this...sometimes, reps would copy entire months, off the glass, and submit these "reports" to management. Penny a click, penny a click...
So here's my plan.
If every single HP, Lexmark, Xerox, Canon, Ricoh, Epson, Samsung, Muratec, or Memjet, sales rep indeed, if every sales, branch, or district manager, each VP, AVP, and C-Suite employee in every manufacturer and dealer ordered a Franklin planner today, the industry would lead by example. The industry would save itself.
For this to work, The 'Planner' must be the required tool for funnel reviews and account planning. Follow me here...if the industry is serious about saving itself by repeating the same mistakes over and over, it should drink its own champagne and regress back to paper.
Move off Outlook, turn off the carphones. Get back to alphanumeric pagers, pink phone message pads, and overhead transparencies.
Fewer screens, more carbon paper.
Worried about productivity? Hear meetings without beeps, whistles, and tweeting sounds. No more heads buried in a keyboard checking Facebook during your copier technology roadmap presentation.
Nirvana...truly.
Go full tilt. Stop "selling the cloud" and referring to yourself as a technology company - everybody knows you're just trying to make your MFDs relevant.
Do you want relevance? Move your entire ordering process back to paper.
CRM? Yeah, it's a 1-30 tickler file. Slide deck? Sure, it is a deck of real slides.
If the industry wants to return to the hey-days of 1986, I say, put your value prop where your toner bottle is and get rid of your digital technology.
I dare you. I double-dog, dare you. I can't wait to see the direct reps sporting pleather binders and a return of the receptionist!
Require your professional salespeople to scan their Franklin at 7:00 AM and again at 5:30PM. Penny a click, penny a click...
While you are at it, bring back the original QWERTY and put the receptionist to work, typing up proposals. And yes, make 20 copies for every meeting. Penny a click, penny a click...
"Receptionist Wanted: Must type 120 words per minute and be versed in grammar."
Gosh, the possibilities are endless...
Satire -
We all know nobody in the imaging industry is going to lead into the past by giving up all their paper-reducing technology.
I guess the big question is, how can they expect their clients to do so?
Four years ago, if you told me I would be in Oconomowoc, Wi, helping a VAR go national and rediscovering the future of office print - I would have slugged you in the head.
Well, this is PRECISELY the situation I find myself in. In a land of fried cheese, beer, and cities named after Indians.
"Sassenach"
Through the hoopla, laughter, and tears, when I look back to 2011, I can't help but shake my head, roll my eyes and ask,
It's been so long, I had forgotten about this little paperback - thank the copier gods for old buddies to remind me of past lives.
I don't care if he read it, the picture is worth cases of book sales.
The book is available on iBooks, which is cool and Amazon, of course:
Believe me, I'm not retiring on this and I don't necessarily believe it is all that good. But, the seal has been broken. I've got enough content bouncing around to fill a large volume with funny, real world sales and copier stunts.
11/2015 Mergers, acquisitions, sell-outs and less paper. 2016 will see the beginning of the End.
More signs. The tipping point is in your rearview mirror, if this is news to you, it's too late.
Today, Xerox may be running out of ink with quarter after quarter of declining technology business. They've also decided to scrap the wax.
Lexmark, after years of building a portfolio of MPS contracts is finally ready to sell out.
HP, the thickest of the thick, is splitting into two. HPG, (HP Inc.) can now move quicker and turn their profits into R/D for print. Will this five billion dollar start-up be the last print vendor standing? Can the old Printelligent model work? Mother Blue has been adding vans almost as fast as she's laid off employees. She has an impressive array of services, and a behemoth of a team ready to take the argument to the streets - direct.
Samsung may gobble up Nuance, enhancing a practically non-existent MpS program.
The independent channel continues to shrink and evolve. Just this week, Loffler joined the Xerox dealer channel and Marco cashes in, selling to an equity firm.
On top of all this, the American Forest & Paper Association released their yearly report stating, "...total printing-writing paper shipments were down 4% in September as compared to September 2014." The same report a year earlier sited a 7% drop from 2013 to 2014.
Taken individually, the list has one dimension.
But observed from a distance, and just to the side, these points reveal a multi-dimensional reality: The deluge is here.
Knee deep in a receding surf for the last 18 months the final Wave is coming. If you haven't sold or gotten out the only choice you have is to hunker down and hope for the best.
So what does it mean?
The End is just the beginning...ask yourself this one question,
"If office print disappeared tomorrow, what would I be doing the day after?"
Whatever answer you come to, you are absolutely correct.
These thoughts are my personal critique of an industry, not an individual.
Weeks ago, over one hundred leading MpS providers congealed in Park City, Utah to discuss the future of MpS. It was a great educational and entertaining event - recommended.
This event was one of the best I've attended in years - only the MWAi show from last year, stands above. West put together a great agenda and was able to recruit a diverse set of industry luminaries.
Here's a quick list of observations from The Top 100 - "MpS is Changing" conference:
The venue: Superb.
Event organization: Stellar.
Promotion: Unparalleled.
Presenters: Both gargantuan and irrelevant.
Content: Both significant and forgettable.
Off-line conversations: The best in over a decade.
For a detailed tracking of the event, talks, and feedback, see Ken's, Art's, West's, and Andy's most accurate reports.
The video, recorded, edited, and presented on-site, nearly live, is one of the best promotional pieces in the niche. It was organic and fun. See it here.
Enough of us patting each other on the back, like we’re all buds. Here's a two word summary of the show: "Points Missed."
It has been said our niche moves at the speed of an HP Series II - I don't agree with that 100% of the time, but after this conference, I'm having second thoughts.
I've stewed on this for what seems years - why do so many still believe in the old models? Why don't they see what others see?
In a juxtaposition with the best content I've witnessed, the audience comments were befuddling. I sat there, shaking my head, not at the presenters(mostly) but frustrated over the 1970 mentality of the audience. Still!
Here it is. A list of call-outs from my perspective:
"Automatic Toner Fulfillment": 2007 called...
"If you sell hammers, everything looks like a nail" so, if you sell re-man toner, all the world is an empty printer, right?
ARRRG.
Getting toner to the right desk at the right time is something we've cut our teeth on, back in 2007. Staples delivers more toner to more desks, on time, "automatically" than anybody else and they use people. Automation for automation's sake is not visionary.
The fact that we are looking at ATF as a new advantage, in 2015, is trite - Clients expect every MpS program can 'get toner to the user' as a mundane function.
There is no such thing as "MNS": Really.
This irks me on a personal basis. Nobody in real IT refers to anything as managed network services; it is simply managed services. Whenever we say "MNS", we look like wanna-be, IT knuckleheads. If you're IT contacts don't flinch or roll their eyes every time you say "MNS" they are being polite.
When the Epson dude referred to his ink bags as "disruptive", I think most in the room assumed it was we doing the disrupting.
Immediately, calls of, "how can I make money the old fashion way, when I sell the machine and lifetime ink all upfront?"
The answer is, "you can't make money the old-fashioned way..."
But here's the miss: we won't be using ink-bags to disrupt, this disrupts Managed print Services.
It's the other way around: bags-o-ink AND "Instant Ink"(DOTC, 2011) will move the channel closer to irrelevancy. Not because wet-toner is better than dry-toner - the iceberg here is "Lifetime Supply". Buy a printer and never purchase toner or ink again. All the costs, revenue, and profit are upfront. An offering, so simple a monkey could sell it.
The 'lifetime' model will remove MpS from the lexicon because there is no need for a relationship.
Those MPS consultants and OEM programs that stress toner as "the most important component" of MpS have led us down the primrose path.
This one issue, redefined as "MpS" is slipping from the dealer channel into the hands of surviving mother-ships.
"Toner" is not a relationship and the biggest reason OEMs say they need an independent dealer channel is to maintain the relationship. Well. The relationship is getting thinner every month.
Think about it, the 'lifetime ink' business model eliminates:
Meter reads - no billing
Monthly billings - see above
Deliveries - UPS
Phone orders - machines phone home
Service calls - these things don't break
Quarterly reviews - why?
Contracts
Independent Dealers
Etc.
If I were getting into managed print services today, I would become an Epson reseller and push those guys to start releasing model after model, ASAP, before HP kicks their super-duper, closed loop MpS machine into gear.
I mentioned this during the Q&A, and nobody understood what I was saying.
...chunks...blown...
points...missed...
Watch Epson. Watch HP MPS.
In The End: It's Not Me, It's You
I've seen great things in our niche. I've seen companies make the leap, shun the old ways, and thrive.
I've also seen organizations espouse the future, make cosmetic changes and fail - the road back to 1991 is littered with used-up MPS Directors. Settling into the old ways of selling copiers, hiring sales managers from yesterday's enterprise, 'trapping customers', paying salespeople a pittance yet expecting them to be professionals, and forcing equipment quotas on their customers - is the easy thing to do.
I've been ringing the bell for years - "MPS is the gateway to something bigger than toner and copiers...". I evangelized the new ways only to see big equipment manufacturers hijack and kill innovation, searching for more shelf space and stickier schemes.
It is the way of things.
But it doesn't need to be your way. Many have made the shift, pivoting off the copier and into fertile markets. It isn't easy to break free the ordinary ways, but it's got to be done.
Conferences that break the mold, separate the future from the past are few and far between - this Top 100 is one of the less ordinary get-togethers. If you were there, you are one of the less ordinary people and nowadays, the Life Less Ordinary is the life evolutionary...
