<\/strong>Electric vehicle (EV) chargers
Josh Lane,
President and CEO<\/em>
Resist the urge to call ACDI the \u201cPaperCut people\u201d even though their name is often connected with the ubiquitous print management solution. There\u2019s no pigeonholing this company, and over the past 24-30 months, it\u2019s been carving out a niche with EV charging stations and associated components. The journey was all about finding a way to extend dealer partner value beyond the print\/fleet\/document management tools, according to Lane. ACDI has signed up a number of prominent dealers since the beginning of 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1-Josh-Lane-ACDI.jpg\")
As diversifications go, EV chargers, software, et al., have numerous elements in their favor. For one, there\u2019s the market potential and the untapped nature of it. Experts have predicted that by 2030, electric vehicles will represent 40% of all new vehicle sales. Is there currently a corresponding number of EV charging stations to match that capacity need? Not by a longshot. Secondly, as upfront investments go, EV chargers\/accessories pale in comparison to cybersecurity and managed services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lane approached, by design, a select core of major dealers with the proposition. This allowed dealer and provider to learn on the go, and from ACDI\u2019s point of view, it enabled the company to better mesh the selling aspect of the hardware and software with the installation component. The approach Lane takes to the offering is unlike anything else in the ACDI stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It all begins with a commitment to innovation, followed by intensive training and ongoing sales support as well as technical training and support. ACDI asks each of its dealers to identify an internal \u201cchampion\u201d who will quarterback the cause and motivate the dealer team. Add in marketing materials and special project guidance, and it equals a path forward into an offering that\u2019s largely foreign to the dealer space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s quite a bit we package into the onboarding process,\u201d Lane notes. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty intensive early on because it\u2019s so new and easy to generate momentum, awareness and activity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ACDI can enable a dealer to sell EV chargers almost on day one, but in order for them to be truly self-sufficient and rely on ACDI for tier two or tier three support, it\u2019s generally a 30-60 day process. There are three manufacturers in ACDI\u2019s catalog for dealers to choose from, two of which include the opportunity to sell residential charging stations\u2014an awareness play that could be a gateway to large companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Given the anticipated capacity needs, Lane is bullish on the possibility of placements in the parking lots of health care, education, retail environments, event stadiums and multi-family properties (condos). These are the cream of the early adopter crop, and a majority of them have established sustainability initiatives. And the interest isn\u2019t relegated to major metropolitan cities; the more rural geographies will have the need for an EV charging infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOver time, these stations will evolve from a \u2018nice to have\u2019 to a \u2018need to have\u2019 as amenities for employees, customers, students and faculty,\u201d Lane said. \u201cIt\u2019s growing and changing, and our teams are constantly receiving information from different entities, electric companies, co-ops and so forth that may help drive sales in the regions that our resellers are playing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n EV chargers also check off the recurring revenue box, and like its new neighbor, the MFP, offer refresh\/renewal potential, acquisition potential and the service component. There are creative financing opportunities available\u2014late last year, GreatAmerica Financial Services announced an EV program with a fixed monthly payment for end-users. Lane and ACDI will work closely with dealers to help them build a portfolio and brand around EV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FP Mailing Solutions<\/strong> One of the beauties of doing business with Francotyp-Postalia is that there\u2019s no guesswork when deciding whether its line of postage meters and other equipment (folders inserters, etc.) that serves the mailing community is a good fit for a given dealer, courtesy of the mailing quota index. This tells the manufacturer how many mailing machines are located in a ZIP code, which provides the dealers insight into what their markets can bear and whether it will provide a legitimate ROI. It also insulates FP Mailing from oversaturating a market with excessive resellers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another feather in the OEMs\u2019 cap is that the dealer network represents a lion\u2019s share of the brand\u2019s resellers. It will work with newly signed dealer partners to develop a business strategy and go-to-market approach, according to Hannon, and determine how much knowledge the reseller has with mailing equipment to craft a proper training regimen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn the postage meter side, we have to do some training from a technical and service standpoint; there\u2019s the compliance area, because postage meters are considered currency printers,\u201d Hannon offered. \u201cIf dealers have a stock of meters in their warehouse, they have to account for it. The initial training can get them to a point where they\u2019re running comfortably. Mailing equipment tends to run well\u2014it\u2019s a straight path for an envelope. So there\u2019s not a whole lot the dealer needs to do from a service standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The folder inserters can be a bit more complicated from the service end, but for 80% of the FP Mailing equipment, the manufacturer can get dealers up to speed training-wise in about a week. This includes administrative training for the dealer\u2019s staff, during which FP\u2019s dealer support team walks admin through the use of the customer portal\u2014order entry, install base info, invoicing and payments, calculating commissions, etc. FP Mailing can host classes or travel to the dealer if there\u2019s a large class or demo equipment involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FP Mailing is always a call away with subject matter experts. While dealers can manage the vast majority of technical issues, the OEM\u2019s regional assistance teams come in handy with questions about specific rates and presorting. With other mailing products the dealer may not be comfortable addressing, FP can provide installation and customer training (alongside the dealers, if they wish).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, even with some more esoteric equipment, Hannon estimates that 80% of dealers sell the full FP Mailing catalog. \u201cA lot of dealers are pushing their reps to be more solutions oriented\u2014they want to get as many products into the end-user as possible to be that full-service shop,\u201d he said. \u201cSome will stick to just the meters and folder inserters, but eventually most will come around to selling it all. They kind of have to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other considerations dealers weigh include whether a dedicated or regular MFP rep is needed (it works both ways, so it largely depends on the dealer\u2019s setup). As Hannon works with dealers on a business plan, it\u2019s vital to ensure mailing suits their processes rather than forcing changes. The compensation structure for mailing gear is similar to printers, while the up-front investment is comparatively minor; Hannon called it a \u201csmall opening order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf a dealer has a solid installed base and they\u2019ve never sold mailing equipment, their techs still have visibility into what equipment clients have,\u201d Hannon said. \u201cThat provides the groundwork for dealers to get accustomed to selling to existing customers. But also, a lot of dealers use mailing equipment to get in the [prospect\u2019s] door because it\u2019s a differentiator, and it\u2019s a smaller ticket item. So it works for existing and net-new clients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paitec USA<\/strong> In the world of mailing equipment, it doesn\u2019t get more niche than pressure seal machines. These units can operate as a stand-alone or inline with printers to produce single-page self-mailers such as checks and tax statements by payroll companies, government agencies, universities and private enterprises. The models offered by Paitec utilize dry cohesive glue technology and are ideal for low-volume mailing jobs. A second variety, not offered by Paitec, is the spray glue (dots) employed most by advertising mailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paitec has a trio of reseller personas, so to speak: dealers that specialize in business forms and related items, but don\u2019t service the machines; office dealers that service what they sell; and internet dealers that also lack the service component. The first and third flavors of dealers rely on Paitec\u2019s national network of dealers and third-party service agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the biggest selling points is the simplicity of the machines in both design and maintenance, according to Waganheim. The operating components consist of pulleys, gears, rollers and belts, so any dealer tech who has worked on an MFP, postage meters or folder inserters can be trained on the pressure sealers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have video training for dealers so their techs can be familiar with how our machines look with the covers off,\u201d Waganheim explained. \u201cFor others, we can talk to them by phone, or they can read our service manual and parts list, and they\u2019re good to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the mechanics aren\u2019t that sophisticated, Waganheim finds the biggest challenge is teaching dealers the concept of pressure seal technology. Most dealers are familiar with the folder inserter machines, so they need to understand how to qualify (and quantify) a prospect. Dealers have tripped over somewhat obvious volume minimums; a machine that can handle 10,000 forms a month isn\u2019t going to crank out that many in a day, particularly when its feed table holds just 50 forms at a time. Also, a payroll company with multiple clients will have great volatility in its batch counts\u201450, 75, 300\u2014whereas a university may have just one batch of 5,000. Paitec has nine unit SKUs to choose from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a low initial investment, simplified servicing and a wide vertical opportunity, single-page mailers are more economical than their multi-part brethren and represent an easy sell to clients who mail. \u201cThe only things dealers really need to consider are who\u2019s backing the equipment and how supportive they can be. My business partner Peter [Nguyen] and I were equipment dealers for 20 years before we started this company. We know what a good dealer needs from a good vendor. And we\u2019ve worked hard to exceed what we expected from our own vendors back in the day. Our dealers tell us that we\u2019re responsive and easy to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Intermedia<\/strong> Not so fast, says O\u2019Dwyer. Unified communications (UCaaS) is a massively growing market driven by two factors: the ongoing transition to the cloud and the hybrid workforce. It\u2019s fun that we speak of phones when the focus is on software and services as opposed to the actual handsets and bases. But what are we really talking about? For Intermedia, it\u2019s all about UCaaS\u2014voice, video, contact center, chat, secure file sharing\u2014and gaining a slice of the $79 billion market growing at an annual clip of about 30%. O\u2019Dwyer feels this is a massive opportunity for office equipment dealers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to UCaaS, it\u2019s all about embracing the model that\u2019s most lucrative for a dealer\u2019s ROI standards. The agent model is an easy sell that yields a commission, but the client is turned over to the provider (including invoicing and ongoing customer management) and you lose out on top-line revenue. Perhaps more preferable is the full reseller capability that retains both the customer and that revenue. This model closely resembles that of copier dealers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Intermedia offers each model, and some dealers take advantage of both. \u201cThere may be some relatively small customers that need 24\/7 support, and you don\u2019t want to deal with them,\u201d O\u2019Dwyer noted. \u201cWith others, you may want that full reseller capability. The big challenge for dealers that move into a reseller model is dealing with the complicated taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That headache has been removed courtesy of Intermedia\u2019s partner portal, where dealers can manage their accounts\u2014quoting, support and invoicing\u2014and Intermedia can also calculate the taxes. The sophisticated portal also provides sales and technical training along with marketing collateral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once dealers have signed on to represent Intermedia, they receive a full partner experience that includes training as well as sales and marketing plan development that will enable them to embark on a first engagement in a very short time. Dealers are assigned a sales executive partner and solutions analyst by Intermedia to help with initial customer engagements, follow-ups and demos. White label phone and email support add a nice bow to an offering that\u2019s been recognized by JD Power seven years in a row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O\u2019Dwyer believes any dealer that has customers with on premises phone systems is an ideal candidate for UCaaS. \u201cIf your dealership isn\u2019t talking to them about moving to the cloud, then someone else is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RingByName<\/strong> White glove support is the calling card for RingByName: 24\/7 dealer support for pre- and post-sales, customer demos, troubleshooting and customer onboarding. One of the best elements of RingByName\u2019s support function is that it can be engaged to whatever degree the dealer partner craves, be it thorough hand-holding or limited interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have some dealers that want us to just support them and leave their customers alone, and we have others who want us to help their customers directly,\u201d Goodwin noted. \u201cWe\u2019re versatile and can abide by whatever the dealer\u2019s comfort level is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new dealer\u2019s time to market when partnering with RingByName is rather brief, and Goodwin credits the company\u2019s developers with making the interface and admin screen as user-friendly as possible. Any aspect of the customer\u2019s instance configuration can be modified or edited within three clicks, and even the most technically challenged will find the interface to be easy sledding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As far as service delivery goes, there are other considerations to take into account. \u201cThe only concern I have is if a business is located in an older building that might have legacy wiring or legacy network gears,\u201d Goodwin added. \u201cIn that case, they will need to update the Ethernet wiring, add wireless access points or update the equipment. If not addressed properly, the customer\u2019s experience will be sub-optimal. That will lead to dissatisfied customers and will burn up a lot of support time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, one aspect that makes RingByName successful in partnering with dealers is because it helps certify that the customer\u2019s network and Internet is capable of supporting VoIP. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" OK, so we\u2019ve identified three diversification outlets for dealers to consider, and you\u2019ve probably read the main article detailing your fellow resellers and their journeys into offering mailing equipment, EV chargers and unified communications. But why stop there? The team at ENX Magazine can do a little more to pique your curiosity. What follows is a breakdown of five leading providers to the dealer space, covering all three disciplines. We would\u2019ve liked to add a second EV charger provider, but there\u2019s only one household name currently addressing it at the office technology dealer level, and that\u2019s ACDI Energy Services. We\u2019re providing dealers who may be looking to diversify their 2024 product catalogs with a little insight into each provider, the considerations to keep in account for this offering and the extent\/nature of reseller support provided by our panelists. ACDI Energy ServicesElectric vehicle (EV) chargersJosh Lane,President and CEO Resist the urge to call ACDI the \u201cPaperCut people\u201d even though their name is often connected with the ubiquitous print management solution. There\u2019s no pigeonholing this company, and over the past 24-30 months, it\u2019s been carving out a niche with EV charging stations and associated components. The journey was all about finding a way to extend dealer partner value beyond the print\/fleet\/document management tools, according to Lane. ACDI has signed up a number of prominent dealers since the beginning of 2022. As diversifications go, EV chargers, software, et al., have numerous elements in their favor. For one, there\u2019s the market potential and the untapped nature of it. Experts have predicted that by 2030, electric vehicles will represent 40% of all new vehicle sales. Is there currently a corresponding number of EV charging stations to match that capacity need? Not by a longshot. Secondly, as upfront investments go, EV chargers\/accessories pale in comparison to cybersecurity and managed services. Lane approached, by design, a select core of major dealers with the proposition. This allowed dealer and provider to learn on the go, and from ACDI\u2019s point of view, it enabled the company to better mesh the selling aspect of the hardware and software with the installation component. The approach Lane takes to the offering is unlike anything else in the ACDI stable. It all begins with a commitment to innovation, followed by intensive training and ongoing sales support as well as technical training and support. ACDI asks each of its dealers to identify an internal \u201cchampion\u201d who will quarterback the cause and motivate the dealer team. Add in marketing materials and special project guidance, and it equals a path forward into an offering that\u2019s largely foreign to the dealer space. \u201cThere\u2019s quite a bit we package into the onboarding process,\u201d Lane notes. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty intensive early on because it\u2019s so new and easy to generate momentum, awareness and activity.\u201d ACDI can enable a dealer to sell EV chargers almost on day one, but in order for them to be truly self-sufficient and rely on ACDI for tier two or tier three support, it\u2019s generally a 30-60 day process. There are three manufacturers in ACDI\u2019s catalog for dealers to choose from, two of which include the opportunity to sell residential charging stations\u2014an awareness play that could be a gateway to large companies. Given the anticipated capacity needs, Lane is bullish on the possibility of placements in the parking lots of health care, education, retail environments, event stadiums and multi-family properties (condos). These are the cream of the early adopter crop, and a majority of them have established sustainability initiatives. And the interest isn\u2019t relegated to major metropolitan cities; the more rural geographies will have the need for an EV charging infrastructure. \u201cOver time, these stations will evolve from a \u2018nice to have\u2019 to a \u2018need to have\u2019 as amenities for employees, customers, students and faculty,\u201d Lane said. \u201cIt\u2019s growing and changing, and our teams are constantly receiving information from different entities, electric companies, co-ops and so forth that may help drive sales in the regions that our resellers are playing.\u201d EV chargers also check off the recurring revenue box, and like its new neighbor, the MFP, offer refresh\/renewal potential, acquisition potential and the service component. There are creative financing opportunities available\u2014late last year, GreatAmerica Financial Services announced an EV program with a fixed monthly payment for end-users. Lane and ACDI will work closely with dealers to help them build a portfolio and brand around EV. FP Mailing SolutionsPostal\/mailing equipmentMichael Hannon,Managing Director for North America One of the beauties of doing business with Francotyp-Postalia is that there\u2019s no guesswork when deciding whether its line of postage meters and other equipment (folders inserters, etc.) that serves the mailing community is a good fit for a given dealer, courtesy of the mailing quota index. This tells the manufacturer how many mailing machines are located in a ZIP code, which provides the dealers insight into what their markets can bear and whether it will provide a legitimate ROI. It also insulates FP Mailing from oversaturating a market with excessive resellers. Another feather in the OEMs\u2019 cap is that the dealer network represents a lion\u2019s share of the brand\u2019s resellers. It will work with newly signed dealer partners to develop a business strategy and go-to-market approach, according to Hannon, and determine how much knowledge the reseller has with mailing equipment to craft a proper training regimen. \u201cOn the postage meter side, we have to do some training from a technical and service standpoint; there\u2019s the compliance area, because postage meters are considered currency printers,\u201d Hannon offered. \u201cIf dealers have a stock of meters in their warehouse, they have to account for it. The initial training can get them to a point where they\u2019re running comfortably. Mailing equipment tends to run well\u2014it\u2019s a straight path for an envelope. So there\u2019s not a whole lot the dealer needs to do from a service standpoint.\u201d The folder inserters can be a bit more complicated from the service end, but for 80% of the FP Mailing equipment, the manufacturer can get dealers up to speed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4418],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58836"}],"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=58836"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58976,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58836\/revisions\/58976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1-ACDI-Energy-Services-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Postal\/mailing equipment
Michael Hannon,
Managing Director for North America<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2-Mike-Hannon-FP-Mailing-Solutions-2.jpg\")
FP Mailing Solutions<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2-FP-Mailing-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Pressure seal machines
Art Waganheim,
Vice President of Operations and CFO<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/3-Art-Waganheim-Paitec-1.jpg\")
Paitec USA<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/3-Paitec-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Unified communications
Noel O\u2019Dwyer,
Manager, Strategic Alliances<\/em>
If one were to poise EV chargers against unified communications and ask which one offers the best diversification opportunity, the answer isn\u2019t as simple as you may think. We haven\u2019t begun to see the heights to which EV chargers will scale, and judging by all available studies, demand will be greatly outpacing supply. On the other hand, every business uses a phone system, so that market is as close to 100% penetration as one can get. How much business can one glean just by flipping clients from one system to another (the musical chairs game that is the consumer market notwithstanding)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/4-Noel-ODwyer.jpg\")
Intermedia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/4-Intermedia-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Unified communications
Chuck Goodwin,
Sales Engineer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/5-Chuck-Goodwin-RingByName.jpg\")
RingByName<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/5-RingByName.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n