{"id":6877,"date":"2014-04-25T08:49:13","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T12:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theweekinimaging.com\/?p=6877"},"modified":"2014-04-29T09:47:02","modified_gmt":"2014-04-29T13:47:02","slug":"10-impressions-from-kyoceras-fy15-pan-american-dealer-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2014\/04\/10-impressions-from-kyoceras-fy15-pan-american-dealer-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Impressions from Kyocera\u2019s FY15 Pan-American Dealer Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG064\"<\/a>If it\u2019s early Spring it must s time for Kyocera Document Solutions America\u2019s FY15 Pan-American Dealer Meeting. \u00a0This year\u2019s event was held, where else but Las Vegas at The Venetian, one of my favorite hotels. Kyocera seems to work from a template with these events and deviate too much from one year to the next with the agenda and the general content, particularly in the General Session. It is a business meeting after all and why mess with a formula that works?<\/p>\n

The theme of this year\u2019s meeting was \u201cEmpowerment! Commitment to Partnership,\u201d emphasizing the two\u2013way relationship between Kyocera and its dealers. As Kyocera Document Solutions America president and CEO, Norihiko Ina told the General Session audience, \u201cWe empower our dealers, and they empower us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of my more cynical colleagues from the analyst community may quibble about the lack of content at some of these events, but if one delves deeply enough, there\u2019s plenty of content to go around even if it isn\u2019t always the groundbreaking product announcements that used to take place at these events in past years. With that in mind, I\u2019d like to share with you my 10 impressions from Kyocera\u2019s FY15 Pan-American Dealer Meeting.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s absolutely, positively all about apps – <\/strong>Kyocera introduced a dozen apps last fiscal year. At this meeting they introduced a dozen more that will be rolled out over the next fiscal year. Based on my conversations with an unscientific sampling of three dealers at the meeting, the challenge Kyocera has is convincing some smaller dealers to embrace these applications even if they\u2019re nothing more than an enabler to sell more Kyocera hardware. Based on the demos I witnessed of some of the new apps at the Technology Fair, these are some credible enablers.<\/p>\n

Some of the more notable app introductions include DMConnect, a Kyocera-developed document management system connector that enhances Kyocera\u2019s DMS Link (an app that links Kyocera MFPs to a user\u2019s existing document management system) by providing more than 20 new features along with enhanced Active Workflow Technology and Survey Assistant, a business application based on Kyocera\u2019s Teaching Assistant app, which is big in the education market. However, Survey Assistant can be applied to any market, not just education, and polls an audience and provides feedback as well as detailed analytics and reporting. Also new and improved is Kyocera\u2019s Print Optimization suite, a group of applications designed to manage print queues and provide device monitoring across all products within small businesses all the way up to the enterprise. Kyocera also expanded its PinPoint Scan, enabling scanning to mobile devices across all platforms for smart phones and tablets.<\/p>\n

A vertical market focus \u2013<\/strong> The focus on vertical markets was one of the central themes at the General Session and within the Product Showcase where vertical market stations devoted to healthcare, education, finance, legal, and manufacturing were set up to demonstrate vertical applications using Kyocera hardware.<\/p>\n

Going back to the apps, some of Kyocera\u2019s most popular business apps have been packaged together to simplify sales into key vertical markets. There\u2019s a total of 12 packages available with six designed for the more basic customer workflow requirements that can be sold by new sales reps as well as six Pro packages for more advanced dealerships and more complex customer workflows.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s most notable about these apps is that Kyocera\u2019s intent is not to duplicate the solutions and services provided by its third-party partners, but to complement their offerings and provide its dealers\u2019 \u00a0sales and pre-sales teams with the most appropriate, cost-effective resolution to a customer\u2019s business needs.<\/p>\n

\"IMG057\"<\/a>A continued focus on Total Document Solutions \u2013<\/strong> This may not be the most novel business initiative in the office imaging industry, but it is one that Mr. Ina and other Kyocera executives referenced repeatedly during the General Session. Noting that Kyocera offers unique hardware, not only A3 MFPs, but also A4 MFPs, and printers based on Kyocera\u2019s long-life technology as well as business applications based on Kyocera\u2019s HyPAS solution platform and third-party solutions, Mr. Ina said, \u201cOur unique capability enables us to offer balanced deployment to your customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe TDS message is more than a marketing sound bite, more than a program; it is an evolving, business way of life for us at KDA and a growing number of you,\u201d added Peter Hendrick, vice president of marketing. \u201cAnd still an important step in transforming your business from a box-seller to a more consultative role with your customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, over 115 dealers from across the Americas have made a commitment to empower their sales and support staff by fully embracing this business initiative. Kyocera will continue to support its dealers with basic MPS training and infrastructure needs all of which, Hendrick said are still a core component to being a certified Kyocera or Copystar TDS Provider to their customers.<\/p>\n

Meet ADIMO \u2013<\/strong> This is Kyocera\u2019s solutions sales approach, referenced numerous times during the General Session and focused on in depth during a two-hour General Session presentation. ADIMO stands for Assess, Design, Implement, Manage, and Optimize. \u201cWe can say that, when combined, this is the \u201cKyocera Total Document Solutions initiative\u201d we provide to our customers,\u201d explained Mr. Ina.<\/p>\n

Upward revenue mobility in most Pan-American markets –<\/strong> Kyocera\u2019s U.S. distribution channel is doing something right because it\u2019s grown by 5 percent during the past fiscal year with much of that growth attributed to sales of color units according to Mr. Ina. The company enjoyed similar 5 percent growth in Brazil and Latin America and 6 percent growth in Mexico. No specific numbers were provided for Canada although Mr. Ina reported that the last fiscal year started off slow, but ended on a positive note. Interpret that as you will.<\/p>\n

Social media initiatives \u2013 <\/strong>Expect to see an expansion of Kyocera\u2019s social media efforts, notably on Facebook, Linked-In, and YouTube during the current fiscal year. \u201cWhat my team and I have learned quickly about this B2B social media world is that there is a fine line between engaging and entertaining,\u201d said Hendrick. \u201cKDA\u2019s social media effort is not in place to entertain. It speaks more about us, the more human side of our brand, the socially responsible side, and how our technology helps deliver a resolution to customers\u2019 document imaging challenges and needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking at some of those earlier initiatives by the numbers, Kyocera has received more than 112,000 views for what Hendrick called \u201cour most important document campaign on YouTube\u201d while Facebook likes have grown to over 12,000. He added that communicating Kyocera\u2019s core competency, combined with the dealer\u2019s core competency in their local market, is more important than ever.\u00a0 To get dealers engaged in social media he recommended they do a few simple things, including going to Facebook and \u201cliking\u201d Kyocera\u2019s Facebook page and sharing relevant content with employees and customers.\u00a0 In addition he asked that they subscribe to the Kyocera channel on YouTube and leverage the many videos there.<\/p>\n

Product fare \u2013<\/strong> It\u2019s not a dealer meeting without new product introductions and this year Kyocera expanded its A4 black & white MFP lineup with four new models in the Ecosys M3560idn Series. Also announced was A4 MFPs operating at speeds up to 62 ppm. The new MFPs have a 7-inch touch-screen control panel with an identical tablet-like home screen as found on Kyocera\u2019s A3 devices. Dealers were also treated to a preview of new color A4 MFPs and printers along with the Ecosys M6535cidn Series and the Ecosys P7040cdn Series.<\/p>\n

Enhancing the warranty program \u2013<\/strong> This announcement by Terry Knopsnyder, vice president of engineering, received big applause from the dealers and eliminates the need for dealers to return defective parts for warranty credit. To place a parts warranty claim, dealers log into Kyocera\u2019s Order and Tracking System, fill in the appropriate information as in the past, and the system immediately validates the warranty and prompts the dealer to attach any necessary paperwork and accepts the return request. The request will then be verified by a Kyocera customer service agent and a credit issued in approximately 48 hours. This initiative eliminates waiting for packages to be delivered, physical inspections of parts, and UPS return-freight charges.<\/p>\n

Focus on R&D \u2013<\/strong> Not content to remain complacent, President of Kyocera Document Solutions Katusumi Komaguchi reported that\u00a0the company\u00a0has continued to aggressively invest in R&D regardless of the economic situation. The company has been focusing more on optimization of R&D locations, globally in recent years, including a system for all software for lower end products to be developed at the R&D center in the Phillipines. In the future, hardware for the lower end products will be developed in emerging countries as well so the development team in Japan can focus on developing high-end products. The plan is to open a new R&D center in Kyocera\u2019s Vietnam factory, which opened last year.<\/p>\n

Future hardware and software introductions<\/strong> \u2013 Mr. Komaguchi reported that as the document business becomes more complex, he believes Kyocera\u2019s mission is to provide a variety of hardware and software to satisfy the broadest variety of customer needs. Expect to see more sophisticated A4 MFP in the company\u2019s product portfolio in the future as well as an effort to increase the competitiveness of current hardware models. He added that Kyocera is in the process of improving software by modularizing HyPAS so that dealers can respond to a variety of demands from their customers more quickly by combining modules. As MDS becomes a key services offering, Komaguchi noted that he believes demands from customer will go beyond device optimization and management of printed documents and that vendors such as Kyocera will need to be able to manage workflow and ECM in the future. \u201cWe will actively develop strategic collaboration with the third party vendors in addition to our own development in order to support you in these areas as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If it\u2019s early Spring it must s time for Kyocera Document Solutions America\u2019s FY15 Pan-American Dealer Meeting. \u00a0This year\u2019s event was held, where else but Las Vegas at The Venetian, one of my favorite hotels. Kyocera seems to work from a template with these events and deviate too much from one year to the next with the agenda and the general content, particularly in the General Session. It is a business meeting after all and why mess with a formula that works? The theme of this year\u2019s meeting was \u201cEmpowerment! Commitment to Partnership,\u201d emphasizing the two\u2013way relationship between Kyocera and its dealers. As Kyocera Document Solutions America president and CEO, Norihiko Ina told the General Session audience, \u201cWe empower our dealers, and they empower us.\u201d Some of my more cynical colleagues from the analyst community may quibble about the lack of content at some of these events, but if one delves deeply enough, there\u2019s plenty of content to go around even if it isn\u2019t always the groundbreaking product announcements that used to take place at these events in past years. With that in mind, I\u2019d like to share with you my 10 impressions from Kyocera\u2019s FY15 Pan-American Dealer Meeting. It\u2019s absolutely, positively all about apps – Kyocera introduced a dozen apps last fiscal year. At this meeting they introduced a dozen more that will be rolled out over the next fiscal year. Based on my conversations with an unscientific sampling of three dealers at the meeting, the challenge Kyocera has is convincing some smaller dealers to embrace these applications even if they\u2019re nothing more than an enabler to sell more Kyocera hardware. Based on the demos I witnessed of some of the new apps at the Technology Fair, these are some credible enablers. Some of the more notable app introductions include DMConnect, a Kyocera-developed document management system connector that enhances Kyocera\u2019s DMS Link (an app that links Kyocera MFPs to a user\u2019s existing document management system) by providing more than 20 new features along with enhanced Active Workflow Technology and Survey Assistant, a business application based on Kyocera\u2019s Teaching Assistant app, which is big in the education market. However, Survey Assistant can be applied to any market, not just education, and polls an audience and provides feedback as well as detailed analytics and reporting. Also new and improved is Kyocera\u2019s Print Optimization suite, a group of applications designed to manage print queues and provide device monitoring across all products within small businesses all the way up to the enterprise. Kyocera also expanded its PinPoint Scan, enabling scanning to mobile devices across all platforms for smart phones and tablets. A vertical market focus \u2013 The focus on vertical markets was one of the central themes at the General Session and within the Product Showcase where vertical market stations devoted to healthcare, education, finance, legal, and manufacturing were set up to demonstrate vertical applications using Kyocera hardware. Going back to the apps, some of Kyocera\u2019s most popular business apps have been packaged together to simplify sales into key vertical markets. There\u2019s a total of 12 packages available with six designed for the more basic customer workflow requirements that can be sold by new sales reps as well as six Pro packages for more advanced dealerships and more complex customer workflows. What\u2019s most notable about these apps is that Kyocera\u2019s intent is not to duplicate the solutions and services provided by its third-party partners, but to complement their offerings and provide its dealers\u2019 \u00a0sales and pre-sales teams with the most appropriate, cost-effective resolution to a customer\u2019s business needs. A continued focus on Total Document Solutions \u2013 This may not be the most novel business initiative in the office imaging industry, but it is one that Mr. Ina and other Kyocera executives referenced repeatedly during the General Session. Noting that Kyocera offers unique hardware, not only A3 MFPs, but also A4 MFPs, and printers based on Kyocera\u2019s long-life technology as well as business applications based on Kyocera\u2019s HyPAS solution platform and third-party solutions, Mr. Ina said, \u201cOur unique capability enables us to offer balanced deployment to your customers.\u201d \u201cThe TDS message is more than a marketing sound bite, more than a program; it is an evolving, business way of life for us at KDA and a growing number of you,\u201d added Peter Hendrick, vice president of marketing. \u201cAnd still an important step in transforming your business from a box-seller to a more consultative role with your customers.\u201d To date, over 115 dealers from across the Americas have made a commitment to empower their sales and support staff by fully embracing this business initiative. Kyocera will continue to support its dealers with basic MPS training and infrastructure needs all of which, Hendrick said are still a core component to being a certified Kyocera or Copystar TDS Provider to their customers. Meet ADIMO \u2013 This is Kyocera\u2019s solutions sales approach, referenced numerous times during the General Session and focused on in depth during a two-hour General Session presentation. ADIMO stands for Assess, Design, Implement, Manage, and Optimize. \u201cWe can say that, when combined, this is the \u201cKyocera Total Document Solutions initiative\u201d we provide to our customers,\u201d explained Mr. Ina. Upward revenue mobility in most Pan-American markets – Kyocera\u2019s U.S. distribution channel is doing something right because it\u2019s grown by 5 percent during the past fiscal year with much of that growth attributed to sales of color units according to Mr. Ina. The company enjoyed similar 5 percent growth in Brazil and Latin America and 6 percent growth in Mexico. No specific numbers were provided for Canada although Mr. Ina reported that the last fiscal year started off slow, but ended on a positive note. Interpret that as you will. Social media initiatives \u2013 Expect to see an expansion of Kyocera\u2019s social media efforts, notably on Facebook, Linked-In, and YouTube during the current fiscal year. \u201cWhat my team and I have learned quickly about this B2B social media world is that there is a fine line between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[82],"tags":[1363,1361,1352,1359,1358,225,475,1356,1362,1357,1360],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6877"}],"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=6877"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6881,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6877\/revisions\/6881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}