The June edict by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that essentially sidelined cartridges and supplies manufactured by China-based Ninestar should, in theory, have somewhat of a deleterious impact on managed print services (MPS) programs. But are the so-called cloned products helping to keep MPS costs down?
The whole question behind Ninestar’s alleged employment of forced labor practices is a hornet’s nest unto itself, and the saga has been catapulted into the purview of U.S. and international legal courts. Whether Ninestar merits inclusion on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List will be played out over the coming months and (perhaps) years.
One thing is certain: for now, goods produced by Ninestar in the impacted regions will remain off-limits, as the manufacturing concern grapples with its persona non grata (so to speak) designation. While certainly a highly inflammatory subject, we nonetheless asked our dealer panel if the Ninestar ban could have an impact on MPS programs. Albeit it is a minor sampling, these providers were unanimous in their assessment.
It’s an easy question for Hunter Woolfolk to answer. The co-president for San Antonio-based DOCUmation sources nothing but OEM-produced toner and supplies. It’s more of a service issue for the dealer; he caters to clients who expect nothing but the best, regardless of price. He believes independent testing bears out the need to stick to OEM product.
“From all our testing in the past, and our experiences, non-OEM supplies can be subpar,” he said. “And we just can’t give our clients a subpar experience. We’re not in the business of putting profits first and the client experience second.”
Inherent Dangers
For many dealers, the risk that accompany relying on non-OEM produced cartridges and supplies are too great to entertain in the name of cost savings.
“Marco also does not use cloned supplies, so this was a non-issue for our company,” stated Dan Larkin, solutions sales director for the St. Cloud, Minnesota-based giant. “We always lead with OEM supplies because we understand the hidden risks that cloned cartridges, for example, pose to our clients.”
Equally succinct was Jeff Wilson, vice president of business development for Flex Technology Group of Mesa, Arizona—like Marco, one of the industry’s biggest MPS players. “From the perspective of Flex Technology Group, we don’t see this having any impact on us,” he said.
Houston-based Stargel Office Solutions has focused on using OEM-sourced supplies for its MPS programs for the past five years. As such, TJ DeBello, vice president of sales, feels it’s as a non-issue.
“We don’t see it having much impact on our business,” he said.
Even for those dealers that expressed mild concerns, the Ninestar ban doesn’t pose any significant supplies disruption or alterations to programs. Ray Belanger, president of Bay Copy in Rockland, Massachusetts, isn’t overly concerned.
“We have not experienced anything along those lines yet, and we’ve been told by suppliers that there should be minimum disruption for us.”
As a Lexmark dealer (the manufacturer is owned by Ninestar) Mason Smith has been following the situation with mild interest. The president and CEO of MTS Office Systems in Anderson, South Carolina, hasn’t noticed any significant issues with being able to source toner and supplies, and increasing prices seem to be in line with the inflationary trends.
This also holds true for MFPs and other equipment.
“Knock on wood, things seem to be back to what I would consider a normal level,” he said. “Toshiba and Lexmark seem to have most of their back orders completely under control. But we haven’t had any issues with supplies.”
