{"id":14270,"date":"2015-09-22T11:04:09","date_gmt":"2015-09-22T18:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=14270"},"modified":"2016-09-15T09:44:38","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T16:44:38","slug":"digging-deeper-into-clover-imaging-groups-diversification-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2015\/09\/digging-deeper-into-clover-imaging-groups-diversification-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Digging Deeper into Clover Imaging Group\u2019s Diversification Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"diversification3\"(Editor\u2019s note: The September feature in ENX is \u201cDiversification in the Supplies and Aftermarket Markets.\u201d That\u2019s the theme for this month too in ENX\/The Week in Imaging. Throughout the month we\u2019ll be presenting complementary editorial that delves deeper into how various suppliers and wholesalers are broadening their product offerings. Our conversation with Luke Goldberg offers a more in-depth look at Clover Imaging Group\u2019s diversification strategy and includes material that couldn\u2019t fit into the September feature because of space limitations.)<\/em><\/p>\n

For Clover Imaging Group, diversification is focused on services and products. On the services side there\u2019s a lot of different things Clover is doing, but whatever they do and wherever they go, the ultimate goal is increasing consumables sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course we want to sell more consumables because that\u2019s where we make our money and where the rubber meets the road,\u201d emphasizes Luke Goldberg, global SVP, sales & marketing, Clover Imaging Group. \u201cBut as the industry matures, resellers are expecting more from their suppliers than just a company that can move boxes from Point A to Point B. So taking these services and wrapping them around product to make those products even more attractive and adding more value to those products is the essence of how we use services. We\u2019re not making money providing these services; we\u2019re providing these services so our dealers are empowered to sell more of our products.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the thought process behind services at Clover, and the one service they\u2019re most renowned for is their MPS offerings\u2014a menu of turnkey Managed Print Services sold under the Axess and MPS engineered solutions brands from its West Point and MSE divisions offer everything from an entry to MPS to full blown MPS, including color cost of ownership, service and fulfillment, parts, training, and everything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe provide those services because we want to offer a platform where our dealers are able to sell more of our consumables (toner, ink, parts),\u201d states Goldberg. \u201cWhen you look at MPS the majority of money is still made on service, parts, and toner, not software. The software and service is a vehicle to sell more toner, ink, and parts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldberg contends that Clover feels it has the easiest to use, most comprehensive menu of MPS services that any wholesale provider offers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s everything from data collection side, ability to collect meters, to a program we call Auto Toner Fulfillment which completely automates the process of setting alerts and fulfilling toner directly to a specific department, printer or user within an organization,\u201d says Goldberg. \u201cIt makes the process proactive instead of reactive.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a company whose foundation is toner, ink, and parts, MPS is a natural way to diversify. But you cannot win at MPS unless you market it properly and Clover helps its resellers do that via a comprehensive, end user facing dealer marketing program. However, Goldberg acknowledges, \u201cWe\u2019re not a marketing company. We want to provide marketing support as part of our value-added services to enable our dealers to increase their presence, create their brand in their own right, and to grow their business.\u201d<\/p>\n

That marketing support takes various forms, including a cloud-based program where Clover has created a custom portal for its dealers called \u2018Empower.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThat portal allows our dealers to customize their own end user facing marketing campaigns with three mouse clicks at either no charge or for a nominal fee,\u201d says Goldberg.<\/p>\n

Clover has also become a Master Distributor for PrintReleaf, a sustainability program, which is another value add for its dealers. The program\u2019s software is attached to a data collection agent so the customer knows when they print 8,333 pages, Clover via PrintReleaf is replanting trees on behalf of the customer and end user to offset activities of printing in reforestation projects selected by the dealer.<\/p>\n

Service is another area of diversification and through Clover\u2019s Parts Division, Depot International. The company offers printer training in various locations across the country multiple times a year. This is designed to get the service end of its customer\u2019s business up to speed on new printers, new technologies, troubleshooting, etc. Clover also provides Help Desk support for its parts and MPS customers free of charge. For some of its larger dealers, Clover\u2019s turnkey outsourced Help Desk solution has been quite successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anybody else offering that type of service,\u201d states Goldberg.<\/p>\n

On the product side, Goldberg describes Clover\/Depot International as the leading parts supplier in the industry for both aftermarket and OEM parts. Depot is an HP Parts One partner and Lexmark Elite partner. They also offer multiple solutions for rebuilding fusers with OEM, rebuilt OEM or aftermarket parts. Overall Depot stocks over 15,000 new and remanufactured parts stocked in 10 DC\u2019S in the USA and Canada.<\/p>\n

Now Clover is diversifying into IT server and computer parts for resellers expanding into Managed Services. Goldberg concedes that if you\u2019d told him three years ago Clover would be selling thousands of IT, server and computer parts, he\u2019d have said we don\u2019t know anything about that, that\u2019s not our core competency. But it turns out that selling parts is<\/em> Clover\u2019s core competency.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we have a core competency in parts it makes it easier for us to understand that part of the business,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s just another consumable part for a different type of hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of a different type of hardware, as of last year Clover began offering filaments for 3D printers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too early to tell if it\u2019s going to set the world on fire,\u201d says Goldberg. \u201cWe offer 12 different types in both PLA and ABS plastic configurations. This is a new product line we\u2019re dabbling in because we\u2019re not really sure how our dealer channel is going to interact with this product opportunity. If it\u2019s a consumable item that goes into something that prints, that\u2019s something we want to at least understand if we should participate in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Editor\u2019s note: The September feature in ENX is \u201cDiversification in the Supplies and Aftermarket Markets.\u201d That\u2019s the theme for this month too in ENX\/The Week in Imaging. Throughout the month we\u2019ll be presenting complementary editorial that delves deeper into how various suppliers and wholesalers are broadening their product offerings. Our conversation with Luke Goldberg offers a more in-depth look at Clover Imaging Group\u2019s diversification strategy and includes material that couldn\u2019t fit into the September feature because of space limitations.) For Clover Imaging Group, diversification is focused on services and products. On the services side there\u2019s a lot of different things Clover is doing, but whatever they do and wherever they go, the ultimate goal is increasing consumables sales. \u201cOf course we want to sell more consumables because that\u2019s where we make our money and where the rubber meets the road,\u201d emphasizes Luke Goldberg, global SVP, sales & marketing, Clover Imaging Group. \u201cBut as the industry matures, resellers are expecting more from their suppliers than just a company that can move boxes from Point A to Point B. So taking these services and wrapping them around product to make those products even more attractive and adding more value to those products is the essence of how we use services. We\u2019re not making money providing these services; we\u2019re providing these services so our dealers are empowered to sell more of our products.\u201d That\u2019s the thought process behind services at Clover, and the one service they\u2019re most renowned for is their MPS offerings\u2014a menu of turnkey Managed Print Services sold under the Axess and MPS engineered solutions brands from its West Point and MSE divisions offer everything from an entry to MPS to full blown MPS, including color cost of ownership, service and fulfillment, parts, training, and everything else. \u201cWe provide those services because we want to offer a platform where our dealers are able to sell more of our consumables (toner, ink, parts),\u201d states Goldberg. \u201cWhen you look at MPS the majority of money is still made on service, parts, and toner, not software. The software and service is a vehicle to sell more toner, ink, and parts.\u201d Goldberg contends that Clover feels it has the easiest to use, most comprehensive menu of MPS services that any wholesale provider offers. \u201cThat\u2019s everything from data collection side, ability to collect meters, to a program we call Auto Toner Fulfillment which completely automates the process of setting alerts and fulfilling toner directly to a specific department, printer or user within an organization,\u201d says Goldberg. \u201cIt makes the process proactive instead of reactive.\u201d For a company whose foundation is toner, ink, and parts, MPS is a natural way to diversify. But you cannot win at MPS unless you market it properly and Clover helps its resellers do that via a comprehensive, end user facing dealer marketing program. However, Goldberg acknowledges, \u201cWe\u2019re not a marketing company. We want to provide marketing support as part of our value-added services to enable our dealers to increase their presence, create their brand in their own right, and to grow their business.\u201d That marketing support takes various forms, including a cloud-based program where Clover has created a custom portal for its dealers called \u2018Empower.\u2019 \u201cThat portal allows our dealers to customize their own end user facing marketing campaigns with three mouse clicks at either no charge or for a nominal fee,\u201d says Goldberg. Clover has also become a Master Distributor for PrintReleaf, a sustainability program, which is another value add for its dealers. The program\u2019s software is attached to a data collection agent so the customer knows when they print 8,333 pages, Clover via PrintReleaf is replanting trees on behalf of the customer and end user to offset activities of printing in reforestation projects selected by the dealer. Service is another area of diversification and through Clover\u2019s Parts Division, Depot International. The company offers printer training in various locations across the country multiple times a year. This is designed to get the service end of its customer\u2019s business up to speed on new printers, new technologies, troubleshooting, etc. Clover also provides Help Desk support for its parts and MPS customers free of charge. For some of its larger dealers, Clover\u2019s turnkey outsourced Help Desk solution has been quite successful. \u201cI don\u2019t know anybody else offering that type of service,\u201d states Goldberg. On the product side, Goldberg describes Clover\/Depot International as the leading parts supplier in the industry for both aftermarket and OEM parts. Depot is an HP Parts One partner and Lexmark Elite partner. They also offer multiple solutions for rebuilding fusers with OEM, rebuilt OEM or aftermarket parts. Overall Depot stocks over 15,000 new and remanufactured parts stocked in 10 DC\u2019S in the USA and Canada. Now Clover is diversifying into IT server and computer parts for resellers expanding into Managed Services. Goldberg concedes that if you\u2019d told him three years ago Clover would be selling thousands of IT, server and computer parts, he\u2019d have said we don\u2019t know anything about that, that\u2019s not our core competency. But it turns out that selling parts is Clover\u2019s core competency. \u201cBecause we have a core competency in parts it makes it easier for us to understand that part of the business,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s just another consumable part for a different type of hardware.\u201d Speaking of a different type of hardware, as of last year Clover began offering filaments for 3D printers. \u201cIt\u2019s too early to tell if it\u2019s going to set the world on fire,\u201d says Goldberg. \u201cWe offer 12 different types in both PLA and ABS plastic configurations. This is a new product line we\u2019re dabbling in because we\u2019re not really sure how our dealer channel is going to interact with this product opportunity. If it\u2019s a consumable item that goes into something that prints, that\u2019s something we want to at least understand if we should participate in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[82],"tags":[2166,1888,1665],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14270"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14270"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14380,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14270\/revisions\/14380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}