Rob Sethre
It looks like we’re going to beat this dead horse a little longer or at least until there’s nothing left to say on the subject. Last week I interviewed Rob Sethre of Photizo Group who disputes claims that MPS has become a commodity. Click here to read that article. This week Sethre is back with additional clarifications as to why MPS has yet to be commoditized. Not everyone agrees. See this week’s Off the Record for another, albeit brief point of view.
Sethre received a lot of feedback from last week’s article, most positive while some was a misunderstanding of his logic. If you remember, he used the example of a PrintFleet server that is never used or is underutilized.
“It’s a tale of two data streams with that server in a corner somewhere delivering valuable data,” explains Sethre. “And you’ve got the one case that I illustrated last week—somebody who puts in a significant investment, but doesn’t follow it to the logical end step of getting it properly implemented and executing on that data. That’s the danger of underutilizing a valuable tool and that’s where you get into so-called commoditization.”
The flip side of this scenario finds the same data stream and a similar-sized fleet with the data delivered to someone who is more enlightened and understands that something has to happen next with that data, such as integrating it into their billing systems. One of the dangers of all this data is dealing with what might be viewed as an overabundant resource.
“Part of the task is how to filter and parse the data,” notes Sethre. “Okay, my super-smart system knows I need to deliver a toner cartridge or a service, or I know what to bill on this fleet and how to reconcile the last bill with this one because I have real-time information. It’s interesting to think about these parallel uses. If it’s falling into a black hole [because no one is acting on that data] versus somebody else who has a highly leveraged system and they’re making money with exactly the same data.”
How do you prevent that data from falling into a black hole?
“You add value on top of a good standard tool set,” responds Sethre. “Using PrintFleet for example, it’s a super tool set if it’s properly implemented and leveraged; then it becomes a profit driver. Somebody else might be disappointed in that tool or any tool they put in because they’re not using it in the same way. That leads to this discussion of commoditization.”
Which brings us back again to the subject of commoditization, which Sethre still isn’t buying.
“This discussion around commoditization has taken several turns, which means some people really believe it. There are more high-quality standardized tools than a couple of years ago, but that’s standardization not commoditization.”
He adds that there’s a lot of variety in the market and a mix of who’s using these tools and who isn’t, both on the dealer and OEM side of the equation.
“They can look at that high-value tool set and make 180-degree different decisions about the value of it to their business. They can be literally looking at the same data stream or tool set and being very entrepreneurial while others are trying to figure out if there’s a business in this or not.”
One segment of the MPS business that Sethre emphasizes is far from commoditized is the upper end.
“If somebody looks at the high-end of the market, what we call Stage 3 and Stage 4, that’s easy, more services, more everything. I’m fixated right now on the mainstream of MPS, Stage 1 and Stage 2, and I’ll say that’s not commoditized either. We’re still in the early days of people effectively using all the resources available to them. You’ve got to bring them in and you’ve got to utilize them. That’s the story as far as I’m concerned.”
How many of thousands of dealers are out there that could be profiting from MPS?
“There’s only a small minority that have taken off on this,” estimates Sethre. “There are a lot of dealers and geographies that are green fields and there’s lots of room to develop.”
