{"id":36198,"date":"2019-09-26T12:37:43","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T19:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=36198"},"modified":"2019-09-26T12:37:45","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T19:37:45","slug":"charting-the-future-of-the-online-retailer-in-the-office-technology-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2019\/09\/charting-the-future-of-the-online-retailer-in-the-office-technology-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Charting the Future of the Online Retailer in the Office Technology Space"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The fear of the unknown can be most gripping. But business\ngoes on, and the highest-performing dealerships are always prepared to turn on\na dime when market forces evolve. The same could be said for the online\nretailer\u2019s role in the office technology industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week we wrap up our look into the subject of the online\nretailer and its real\/perceived impact on our industry. It\u2019s been repeated ad\nnauseam that the impact of Staples acquisition of DEX Imaging will soon be made\nknown, especially as the latter ramps up its efforts to add staff across the\ncountry. And as many have speculated, it almost certainly won\u2019t be the last\npairing to create a new business model to garner (steal, abscond with) customer\nshare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin Morris, president and CEO of OneDOC MPS, has worked\nalongside the Doyles in the past and has great respect for the model they have\nused to grow. For now, all eyes are on them and what happens next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kevin Morris, OneDOC MPS<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that companies similar to DEX around the country\nwill look at that same type of scenario and team up with someone to expand\noperations,\u201d Morris said. \u201cDan Doyle\u2019s always wanted to be a nationwide player.\nI believe other companies will look at that model, companies of similar size\nthat will replicate that effort. I think some will sit back for a little while\nto see if DEX is successful with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extended Engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key for dealers will be to ensure their clients are\nengaged at all levels. \u201cIf we don\u2019t, we\u2019re certainly out there as a target for\nthese types of companies,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a call for action for us to get\nour (stuff) together if we haven\u2019t done it well. A lot of people would echo\nthat sentiment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chip Miceli, Pulse Technology<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of the keys will be for dealers to continue down the\nroad of offering a more robust menu of services, notes Chip Miceli, president\nof Pulse Technology. He finds it quite perplexing that there are those members\nin the dealer community who still do not embrace MPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my view, that\u2019s akin to running a business and not\nowning a computer, or having a website,\u201d Miceli said. \u201cThose who have been\nreluctant to adopt MPS will either do so or lose business and end up being a\nprime target for an acquisition. We\u2019ll also see more and more traditional\ndealers adopting managed network programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dave Clark, AIS<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The next few years will see the heavy hitters emboldened by\nacquisition, and Dave Clark\u2014vice president of sales for AIS\u2014expects the\nhigh-volume aspect of the trend to continue for another two or three years. At\nthe lower end of the spectrum, the smaller dealers will look to exit because\nthey\u2019re either \u201csuffering and being suffocated, or they realize they don\u2019t have\nthe wherewithal and financial resources to keep up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result could well be an attrition rate that\u2019s higher\nthan the industry has ever experienced. \u201cWhat you\u2019re going to see is a bunch of\ndealers that maybe nobody expected two to three years ago to be the leaders of\nthe industry because they were forward-thinking way back when to anticipate\nwhat is happening now, rather than trying to play catch-up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivering the Goods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the long run, according to Clark, dealers need to explore\nthe criteria of what a company needs to do in the channel to ensure it remains\nrelevant and is viewed as a valued technology provider with their clients. That\nencompasses three elements: the infrastructure, offerings and wherewithal to\ndeliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you do, you have a great value proposition, then you can\nride this wave and it does nothing but grow your business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kevin DeYoung, Qualpath<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kevin DeYoung, president and CEO of Qualpath, has been\naround long enough to see the cycle of M&A and its impact on the industry.\nThe \u201crule makers\u201d as he calls the larger organizations, take out the smaller\n\u201crule breakers\u201d, build capacity and share, amortize out their acquisition, and\nshow profit and revenue growth. That creates a gulf or gap in the market in\nspeed, flexibility and sensitivity. That opens the door for smaller players to\nre-enter the market and address those gaps in the SMB space, and the cycle\nbegins again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re always going to have the established businesses\nwhich will show up with a different type of model, a different type of\ntransactional profile,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ll start to destabilize the market a\nlittle bit until they gain share and become the new rule maker, waiting for the\nnext rule breaker to show up and destabilize them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like his colleagues, DeYoung sees value in staying close to\nthe market and your customers. \u201cYou need to see how customers are responding to\nyour value proposition and see how your retention is,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of these\nthings look good on paper, and in some cases, it boils down to execution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fear of the unknown can be most gripping. But business goes on, and the highest-performing dealerships are always prepared to turn on a dime when market forces evolve. The same could be said for the online retailer\u2019s role in the office technology industry. This week we wrap up our look into the subject of the online retailer and its real\/perceived impact on our industry. It\u2019s been repeated ad nauseam that the impact of Staples acquisition of DEX Imaging will soon be made known, especially as the latter ramps up its efforts to add staff across the country. And as many have speculated, it almost certainly won\u2019t be the last pairing to create a new business model to garner (steal, abscond with) customer share. Kevin Morris, president and CEO of OneDOC MPS, has worked alongside the Doyles in the past and has great respect for the model they have used to grow. For now, all eyes are on them and what happens next. \u201cI think that companies similar to DEX around the country will look at that same type of scenario and team up with someone to expand operations,\u201d Morris said. \u201cDan Doyle\u2019s always wanted to be a nationwide player. I believe other companies will look at that model, companies of similar size that will replicate that effort. I think some will sit back for a little while to see if DEX is successful with it.\u201d Extended Engagement The key for dealers will be to ensure their clients are engaged at all levels. \u201cIf we don\u2019t, we\u2019re certainly out there as a target for these types of companies,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a call for action for us to get our (stuff) together if we haven\u2019t done it well. A lot of people would echo that sentiment.\u201d One of the keys will be for dealers to continue down the road of offering a more robust menu of services, notes Chip Miceli, president of Pulse Technology. He finds it quite perplexing that there are those members in the dealer community who still do not embrace MPS. \u201cIn my view, that\u2019s akin to running a business and not owning a computer, or having a website,\u201d Miceli said. \u201cThose who have been reluctant to adopt MPS will either do so or lose business and end up being a prime target for an acquisition. We\u2019ll also see more and more traditional dealers adopting managed network programs.\u201d The next few years will see the heavy hitters emboldened by acquisition, and Dave Clark\u2014vice president of sales for AIS\u2014expects the high-volume aspect of the trend to continue for another two or three years. At the lower end of the spectrum, the smaller dealers will look to exit because they\u2019re either \u201csuffering and being suffocated, or they realize they don\u2019t have the wherewithal and financial resources to keep up,\u201d he said. The result could well be an attrition rate that\u2019s higher than the industry has ever experienced. \u201cWhat you\u2019re going to see is a bunch of dealers that maybe nobody expected two to three years ago to be the leaders of the industry because they were forward-thinking way back when to anticipate what is happening now, rather than trying to play catch-up,\u201d he said. Delivering the Goods In the long run, according to Clark, dealers need to explore the criteria of what a company needs to do in the channel to ensure it remains relevant and is viewed as a valued technology provider with their clients. That encompasses three elements: the infrastructure, offerings and wherewithal to deliver. \u201cIf you do, you have a great value proposition, then you can ride this wave and it does nothing but grow your business,\u201d he said. Kevin DeYoung, president and CEO of Qualpath, has been around long enough to see the cycle of M&A and its impact on the industry. The \u201crule makers\u201d as he calls the larger organizations, take out the smaller \u201crule breakers\u201d, build capacity and share, amortize out their acquisition, and show profit and revenue growth. That creates a gulf or gap in the market in speed, flexibility and sensitivity. That opens the door for smaller players to re-enter the market and address those gaps in the SMB space, and the cycle begins again. \u201cYou\u2019re always going to have the established businesses which will show up with a different type of model, a different type of transactional profile,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ll start to destabilize the market a little bit until they gain share and become the new rule maker, waiting for the next rule breaker to show up and destabilize them.\u201d Like his colleagues, DeYoung sees value in staying close to the market and your customers. \u201cYou need to see how customers are responding to your value proposition and see how your retention is,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of these things look good on paper, and in some cases, it boils down to execution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":36199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[3155,3460,3521,697],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36198"}],"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=36198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36200,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36198\/revisions\/36200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}