There was a time,
not too long ago, when the secondary surplus supply market
provided some extra income to enterprising technicians, sales
reps, delivery staff and leasing recovery companies. Workers were
always on the lookout for a spare box or bottle of toner or
developer that was left behind.
There was a huge market for these stray toners in the 80’s and
90’s, as surplus supply companies were a readily available
resource for the dealer to buy needed supplies at a discount. They
were a legitimate way to sell toner returned with traded in
equipment, over stocked or legacy units, as well as a legal way
for unsavory individuals to push recycling to the level of
thievery.
These ‘abandoned’ supply units rightfully belonged to the original
Cost per Click dealer who had sent them in good faith or blind
ignorance, but all too often the reality of greed sets in. The
belief of finders-keepers outweighed the need to return the toner
to the original issuing dealer. Some offending finders became
active lookers. Any toner found on a shelf in the customer’s
supply room, in the delivery truck, or left on a shop bench became
fair game.
As toner began to increase in price, copier dealers became much
more protective of their inventory of supplies. Toner was more
closely tracked with operating systems that were able to better
calculate and co-ordinate usage rates and distribution. Business
savvy dealers openly discussed the issue of the dealership
retaining the ownership of any supplies found by an employee
during working hours. Policy and Procedure manuals specifically
addressed the issue of employee theft, including the unauthorized
removal of supplies from a customer’s office, company vehicle or
from any location within their own company. Sales, service,
warehouse and delivery staffs were periodically reminded of their
responsibility to protect the property owned by the dealership. By
the early 2000’s the number of surplus supply businesses was
greatly reduced, and internal toner theft appears now to be at a
tolerable level.
But the chicanery has shifted to a new category. Today the need
for genuine OEM single use empty laser toner cartridges – better
known as virgin empties - is at an all time high. With the
increase in Managed Print Services there is a new market of
buyers, sellers and collectors of these needed virgin empties.
Many of the workers who were once able to gain profit from full
toner cartridges are now on the lookout for these much in demand
empties, as compatible supplies are being used at a
record-breaking rate. The ongoing diligence from the OEMs to sue
and prosecute those who are infringing on their patents is
tightening the Asian influx and distribution of compatibles in
North America. Several OEMs are using strong ecological
advertising campaigns to encourage the consumers to recycle used
cartridges by returning them directly to the OEM using prepaid
returned tags that are in each box. Schools, churches, and many
charity organizations have recycling programs.
Historically, when a MPS or CPC program is initiated, the customer
is using OEM products. In the early months or years of the new
agreement, the empties being removed are genuine OEM products on
their first usage cycle. These virgin OEM units are highly sought
after and return top dollar to the recycler. As your MPS
agreements increase, so will the opportunity for someone to profit
from the empties. If your dealership does not proactively put
together an in-house plan to reap the financial benefits of
collecting and returning empties, someone else will.
Now is the time for your dealership or service department to
establish a successful, ongoing returns program to control and
profit from the collection and reselling of these empties. Your
dealership’s field service reps are in your MPS customer’s office
on a regular basis, removing, installing, and monitoring the ink
and toner cartridges being stored by the end-user, which become
the empties you can recycle and resell. This is a joint venture
that will require more than just telling your techs to pick up the
used printer cartridges.
First, establish the servicing dealer’s right to keep all empties.
This can be accomplished by updating their Managed Print Services,
standard Cost per Click or Maintenance Agreements to allow the
servicing dealers to remove, keep, recycle, reuse or legally
dispose of any item removed from the customer’s equipment. A
simple addition to all your maintenance agreement along the lines
of ‘Used parts and empty supply containers become the property of
{your company’s name}’ gives your dealership the legal right to
remove and keep all empties and used parts.
Next, establish an in-house program that directly rewards the
employees who are actually picking up, storing, boxing up,
returning and keeping track of those empties. Allow them to share
in the benefits from the money earned from the returns program.
This will encourage those that are involved with collecting and
processing the empties to help the recycling program become a
success.
Here are a few ways the money earned from empty returns can be
enjoyed by everyone in the company who made it successful:
• Periodic pizza party or company lunch
• Company picnic
or barbeque
• Sponsoring a
local sports team
• Donating to a
local charity
• Periodic cash
bonuses to all employees taking part in recycling
• Pay for
additional staff training expenses
• New TV or
furniture for company lunch room
Servicing dealers can keep track of the payments received from the
recycling program and use part or all of the earned money to
increase a sense of personal involvement through tangible rewards.
This work–reward connection will encourage employees to be
actively involved in the empties collection program.
I just received a press release from a well-known California based
compatibles seller announcing a “new and aggressive Empties Buy
Back program as part of the company’s large eco-accountability and
sustainability goals…offering up to $20.00 for a number of empty
HP cartridges.” $20 can buy a large pizza.
Dealers or service departments should work with their own team of
employees to create and reap the benefit of an active empties
collection program. Tap into the MPS frenzy by creating a
recycling program that both saves the buying dealer money and
rewards your employees who are directly involved in the
collection, storage, palletizing, returning and keeping track of
those items returned. This type of innovative rewards program can
help kick-start a new avenue of increased revenue. Every MPS click
helps empty a cartridge.
Ronelle Ingram,
author of Service With A Smile, also teaches service seminars. She
can be reached at
ronellei@msn.com
