The webinar briefing was spearheaded by Phil Boatman, manager alliances, North American Business Dealer Channel, with presentations by Clark Bugg, director of the North American Business Dealer Channel, and Cassandra Johnson, manager of partner development, North American Business Channels. Chavers dropped in remotely toward the end of the presentation to handle the Q&A session.<\/p>\n
Focusing on Strengths<\/strong><\/p>\n The sale of the Enterprise Software division underscores Lexmark\u2019s commitment to focusing on its core competencies in areas where it feels it has demonstrated industry leadership, namely the A4 space, full spectrum security and MPS, the latter count bolstered by its focus on analytics and predictive maintenance.<\/p>\n Phil Boatman, manager alliances, North American Business Dealer Channel, Lexmark<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWe have the best A4 platform in the industry, bar none, and our strategy is designed to help our dealers succeed despite some of the headwinds out there in terms of declining pages and declining sales of A3 devices,\u201d Boatman offered. \u201cWe want to help our dealers exploit some of the fastest-growing segments.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Lexmark sold its Enterprise Software division, the manufacturer still maintains a focus in this area by leveraging partnerships with providers such as ACDI, Y Soft, Nuance and Ringdale, among others, to \u201cintegrate our technology at the edge of customer environments. This allows Lexmark to be really more dynamic in the channel,\u201d Boatman said.<\/p>\n Boatman also pointed to an assortment of awards garnered by Lexmark in 2017, highlighted by four Buyers Laboratory wins (two PaceSetter awards, color printer\/MFP line of the year and an editor\u2019s pick), a Frank Award (its fifth) by the Cannata Report, its designation as a Military Friendly company and a Corporate Equality Index award for workplace equality.<\/p>\n Partner Investments<\/strong><\/p>\n Bugg noted that Lexmark celebrated the tenth anniversary of its BSD program by continuing to invest in its partner relationships. This was evidenced by Lexmark\u2019s investment in 16 sporting events, which drew 75 partners and more than 250 participants. He believes it has provided a salutary impact on sales, with a year-to-date unit increase of 16 percent and a 14 percent rise for color machines.<\/p>\n Clark Bugg, director of the North American Business Dealer Channel, Lexmark<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThe goal we have in our organization is to ensure we are the highest-growth OEM for our dealers,\u201d he remarked. \u201cWe want to be that growth partner for dealers; we\u2019re rolling up our sleeves and working alongside them to find creative ways to win new business together. We know it doesn\u2019t make sense for dealers to just look for share shift\u2026true growth is the goal we have for our entire team.\u201d<\/p>\n Bugg credits much of Lexmark\u2019s success to the valuable input it receives from its advisory board. This provides guidance and insight as to potential dealer growth areas with Lexmark, along with feedback as to how the OEM can improve its approach. A customer survey question on growth opportunities indicated that the top three driving forces centered on MPS, software solutions and A4 product offerings, which Lexmark feels it is well positioned to address.<\/p>\n Technology leadership is another quality in which Lexmark feels it takes a leadership role. \u201cBy owning our A4 technology, we\u2019re able to work hand-in-hand with our dealers to address those mission-critical areas within key vertical markets and really be a consultant to them and help grow new business,\u201d Bugg added. \u201cTo that end, we\u2019re offering boot camps to some of our top dealers, both here in Lexington and also in the field within our dealers. This gives them the chance to sit down with our key stakeholders, both within the BSD program as well as our industry consultants who spend their time in the field at the end-user level. Our dealer reps can come in and learn directly from consultants about new ways we can grow new business in the field together.\u201d<\/p>\n On the Road Again<\/strong><\/p>\n Lexmark has a tentatively scheduled another series of roadshows\u001b for this year that will likely be held in concert with future product releases. The common theme is to bring a collaborative approach to the challenges and changes to dealer business that will help position those customers for more wins.<\/p>\n Cassandra Johnson, manager of partner development, North American Business Channels, Lexmark.<\/p><\/div>\n Johnson wrapped up the presentation with a look at the importance of Lexmark Fleet Intelligence (LFI). Launched in 2017, LFI is a fleet assessment tool that enables dealer partners to present customized data-based proposals to their customers in an effort to optimize printing fleets and improve return on investment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key to successful MPS engagement is going to begin with a really good assessment,\u201d she said. \u201cMany of our partners have strong assessment processes in place, and while most would probably say that while they\u2019re very good at it, an assessment is time-consuming. What LFI does is offload a lot of the burden from our dealers and enable them to leverage Lexmark\u2019s back-end infrastructure, processes and decades of performing thousands of assessments. This allows them to work more closely with their customers and not miss out on opportunities because they didn\u2019t have the bandwidth to perform the number crunching, presentation building and data analysis.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at the many offerings that can really help meet some of the needs voiced in our dealer survey\u2014where MPS was a clear focus\u2014LFI will help them to leverage Lexmark\u2019s expertise and win more opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n In short, Lexmark seeks to take advantage of its close relationships with the dealer channel to bring to market technologies that fall within the OEM\u2019s wheelhouse. As to new product announcements, stay tuned for more information throughout the year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With the conclusion of an utterly-exhausting 2017 calendar year that followed an equally game-changing 2016, Lexmark took an hour to compose itself and provide a BSD channel perspective update via webinar for journalists and analysts on Dec. 11. In terms of breaking news, Lexmark was simply spent. After all, the manufacturer had been quite active the previous 18 months, ushering in new ownership (Apex Technology), a new president and CEO (Rich Geruson) and the sale of its Enterprise Software business (to Thoma Bravo). Check out the January issue of ENX Magazine for a one-on-one with Greg Chavers, vice president, North America Channel Sales, which details all of the company\u2019s headline-grabbing exploits. The webinar briefing was spearheaded by Phil Boatman, manager alliances, North American Business Dealer Channel, with presentations by Clark Bugg, director of the North American Business Dealer Channel, and Cassandra Johnson, manager of partner development, North American Business Channels. Chavers dropped in remotely toward the end of the presentation to handle the Q&A session. Focusing on Strengths The sale of the Enterprise Software division underscores Lexmark\u2019s commitment to focusing on its core competencies in areas where it feels it has demonstrated industry leadership, namely the A4 space, full spectrum security and MPS, the latter count bolstered by its focus on analytics and predictive maintenance. \u201cWe have the best A4 platform in the industry, bar none, and our strategy is designed to help our dealers succeed despite some of the headwinds out there in terms of declining pages and declining sales of A3 devices,\u201d Boatman offered. \u201cWe want to help our dealers exploit some of the fastest-growing segments.\u201d Although Lexmark sold its Enterprise Software division, the manufacturer still maintains a focus in this area by leveraging partnerships with providers such as ACDI, Y Soft, Nuance and Ringdale, among others, to \u201cintegrate our technology at the edge of customer environments. This allows Lexmark to be really more dynamic in the channel,\u201d Boatman said. Boatman also pointed to an assortment of awards garnered by Lexmark in 2017, highlighted by four Buyers Laboratory wins (two PaceSetter awards, color printer\/MFP line of the year and an editor\u2019s pick), a Frank Award (its fifth) by the Cannata Report, its designation as a Military Friendly company and a Corporate Equality Index award for workplace equality. Partner Investments Bugg noted that Lexmark celebrated the tenth anniversary of its BSD program by continuing to invest in its partner relationships. This was evidenced by Lexmark\u2019s investment in 16 sporting events, which drew 75 partners and more than 250 participants. He believes it has provided a salutary impact on sales, with a year-to-date unit increase of 16 percent and a 14 percent rise for color machines. \u201cThe goal we have in our organization is to ensure we are the highest-growth OEM for our dealers,\u201d he remarked. \u201cWe want to be that growth partner for dealers; we\u2019re rolling up our sleeves and working alongside them to find creative ways to win new business together. We know it doesn\u2019t make sense for dealers to just look for share shift\u2026true growth is the goal we have for our entire team.\u201d Bugg credits much of Lexmark\u2019s success to the valuable input it receives from its advisory board. This provides guidance and insight as to potential dealer growth areas with Lexmark, along with feedback as to how the OEM can improve its approach. A customer survey question on growth opportunities indicated that the top three driving forces centered on MPS, software solutions and A4 product offerings, which Lexmark feels it is well positioned to address. Technology leadership is another quality in which Lexmark feels it takes a leadership role. \u201cBy owning our A4 technology, we\u2019re able to work hand-in-hand with our dealers to address those mission-critical areas within key vertical markets and really be a consultant to them and help grow new business,\u201d Bugg added. \u201cTo that end, we\u2019re offering boot camps to some of our top dealers, both here in Lexington and also in the field within our dealers. This gives them the chance to sit down with our key stakeholders, both within the BSD program as well as our industry consultants who spend their time in the field at the end-user level. Our dealer reps can come in and learn directly from consultants about new ways we can grow new business in the field together.\u201d On the Road Again Lexmark has a tentatively scheduled another series of roadshows\u001b for this year that will likely be held in concert with future product releases. The common theme is to bring a collaborative approach to the challenges and changes to dealer business that will help position those customers for more wins. Johnson wrapped up the presentation with a look at the importance of Lexmark Fleet Intelligence (LFI). Launched in 2017, LFI is a fleet assessment tool that enables dealer partners to present customized data-based proposals to their customers in an effort to optimize printing fleets and improve return on investment. \u201cThe key to successful MPS engagement is going to begin with a really good assessment,\u201d she said. \u201cMany of our partners have strong assessment processes in place, and while most would probably say that while they\u2019re very good at it, an assessment is time-consuming. What LFI does is offload a lot of the burden from our dealers and enable them to leverage Lexmark\u2019s back-end infrastructure, processes and decades of performing thousands of assessments. This allows them to work more closely with their customers and not miss out on opportunities because they didn\u2019t have the bandwidth to perform the number crunching, presentation building and data analysis. \u201cWhen you look at the many offerings that can really help meet some of the needs voiced in our dealer survey\u2014where MPS was a clear focus\u2014LFI will help them to leverage Lexmark\u2019s expertise and win more opportunities.\u201d In short, Lexmark seeks to take advantage of its close relationships with the dealer channel to bring to market technologies that fall within the OEM\u2019s wheelhouse. As to new product announcements, stay tuned for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":27614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,1866,87,1638],"tags":[228],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27602"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27602"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27635,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27602\/revisions\/27635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Lexmark-Boatman-2-240x300.jpg\")
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