![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Mark_Sengstock.jpg\")
Impact of Lake Forest, Illinois, has utilized a managed\nservices scenario, notes Mark Sengstock, director of enterprise solutions. But\nperhaps its greatest benefit is as a gateway offering in digital\ntransformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have been able to offer these solutions similarly to a\nmanaged offering that, in most cases, builds a relationship with an\norganization,\u201d he said. \u201cIt places you as the trusted advisor for digital\ntransformation across a road map that might be years long. That is not a sale,\nit\u2019s a mutually beneficial partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Stickier, the\nBetter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Robert Woodhull, marketing director for Woodhull LLC of\nSpringboro, Ohio, notes the subscription-based model used by software companies\nhas become more prevalent, enabling the \u201csticky\u201d relationship with clients.\nThus, recurring revenue has not been an issue for the dealership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe find it\u2019s also the best margin area for us,\u201d Woodhull\nnotes. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to keep as many parts on hand; there\u2019s not a lot of\noverhead. There\u2019s not the same expense involved (as an MFP) to keep the machine\nmoving. But getting people to be comfortable with a subscription can be a\nchallenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n LDI Color ToolBox of New York City has artificial\nintelligence\/augmented reality tools on display in its showroom, courtesy of\nits partnership with VNTANA, which has placed a kiosk to showcase its hologram\ntechnology. Brian Gertler, senior vice president of LDI, notes it is too early\nto forecast the recurring revenue picture, but as is the case with most IT\nproducts, there is an expectation of ongoing maintenance, service and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAn undeniable value is our prospect and client recognition\nof LDI as a thought leader,\u201d Gertler said. \u201cLDI\u2019s consistent ability to speak\nto emerging technologies provide the trust and credibility necessary to excel\nin today\u2019s marketplace and establish long-lasting, strategic partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trusted Providers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to taking on new, nontraditional technologies,\nDOCUmation of San Antonio, Texas, ensures it can apply the level of exceptional\nservice that clients have come to expect from the dealer. According to Hunter\nWoolfolk, co-president, that puts the onus on his company to partner with\ntechnology OEMs such as Ricoh who are trusted providers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is a recurring revenue model, due to us packaging it\nas a service,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just one more tool in our belt. We believe the\nfuture workplace is going to involve interactive technologies. We talk about\nways for businesses to work smarter and Ricoh is providing us the technology to\ndo that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe offer service either on its own or bundled. We do the\nservice and have Ricoh supporting us on the back end, like we do with MFPs.\nThat\u2019s the benefit of having an IT division with strong technology personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all smart office\/future office technologies lend\nthemselves to post-sale margin in terms of service. Chelsey Bode, president of\nPearson-Kelly Technology in Springfield, Missouri, notes many third-party\nproducts from Konica Minolta\u2019s Workplace of the Future platform do not offer\nmuch in the way of margin. The dealer bundles some professional service hours\nfor ongoing support and tries to bundle with other products as often as\npossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHowever, we\u2019re not really after all of the Workplace of the\nFuture offerings for gross profit purposes,\u201d she notes. \u201cThese offerings are\nused more as a marketing tool, helping reps open up dialogue with businesses\nthat wouldn\u2019t have talked to them before. Additionally, it gets prospects into\nour offices, and then it\u2019s served the purpose for us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As we dig deeper into the topic of smart office\/future office opportunities for office technology dealers, the conversation invariably turns to post-sale revenue. Certainly, the opportunity to go wider and deeper with clients on MFP box alternatives can open the conversation to future opportunities, but if your company is selling interactive white boards or digital receptionists, does it really allow for post-sales service support revenue? Let\u2019s turn to our dealer panel for answers. Impact of Lake Forest, Illinois, has utilized a managed services scenario, notes Mark Sengstock, director of enterprise solutions. But perhaps its greatest benefit is as a gateway offering in digital transformation. \u201cWe have been able to offer these solutions similarly to a managed offering that, in most cases, builds a relationship with an organization,\u201d he said. \u201cIt places you as the trusted advisor for digital transformation across a road map that might be years long. That is not a sale, it\u2019s a mutually beneficial partnership.\u201d The Stickier, the Better Robert Woodhull, marketing director for Woodhull LLC of Springboro, Ohio, notes the subscription-based model used by software companies has become more prevalent, enabling the \u201csticky\u201d relationship with clients. Thus, recurring revenue has not been an issue for the dealership. \u201cWe find it\u2019s also the best margin area for us,\u201d Woodhull notes. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to keep as many parts on hand; there\u2019s not a lot of overhead. There\u2019s not the same expense involved (as an MFP) to keep the machine moving. But getting people to be comfortable with a subscription can be a challenge.\u201d LDI Color ToolBox of New York City has artificial intelligence\/augmented reality tools on display in its showroom, courtesy of its partnership with VNTANA, which has placed a kiosk to showcase its hologram technology. Brian Gertler, senior vice president of LDI, notes it is too early to forecast the recurring revenue picture, but as is the case with most IT products, there is an expectation of ongoing maintenance, service and support. \u201cAn undeniable value is our prospect and client recognition of LDI as a thought leader,\u201d Gertler said. \u201cLDI\u2019s consistent ability to speak to emerging technologies provide the trust and credibility necessary to excel in today\u2019s marketplace and establish long-lasting, strategic partnerships.\u201d Trusted Providers When it comes to taking on new, nontraditional technologies, DOCUmation of San Antonio, Texas, ensures it can apply the level of exceptional service that clients have come to expect from the dealer. According to Hunter Woolfolk, co-president, that puts the onus on his company to partner with technology OEMs such as Ricoh who are trusted providers. \u201cThere is a recurring revenue model, due to us packaging it as a service,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just one more tool in our belt. We believe the future workplace is going to involve interactive technologies. We talk about ways for businesses to work smarter and Ricoh is providing us the technology to do that. \u201cWe offer service either on its own or bundled. We do the service and have Ricoh supporting us on the back end, like we do with MFPs. That\u2019s the benefit of having an IT division with strong technology personnel.\u201d Not all smart office\/future office technologies lend themselves to post-sale margin in terms of service. Chelsey Bode, president of Pearson-Kelly Technology in Springfield, Missouri, notes many third-party products from Konica Minolta\u2019s Workplace of the Future platform do not offer much in the way of margin. The dealer bundles some professional service hours for ongoing support and tries to bundle with other products as often as possible. \u201cHowever, we\u2019re not really after all of the Workplace of the Future offerings for gross profit purposes,\u201d she notes. \u201cThese offerings are used more as a marketing tool, helping reps open up dialogue with businesses that wouldn\u2019t have talked to them before. Additionally, it gets prospects into our offices, and then it\u2019s served the purpose for us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":31531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[1186,764,715,3654,795],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34903"}],"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\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34903"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34904,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34903\/revisions\/34904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Robert-Woodhull.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Brian-Gertler.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hunter-Woolfolk.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Chelsey-Bode.jpg\")