{"id":7975,"date":"2014-09-25T15:59:12","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T22:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theweekinimaging.com\/?p=7341"},"modified":"2016-09-15T09:53:27","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T16:53:27","slug":"the-uncomfortable-truth-dealers-should-know-before-getting-into-3d-printing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2014\/09\/the-uncomfortable-truth-dealers-should-know-before-getting-into-3d-printing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Uncomfortable Truth Dealers Should Know Before Getting into 3D Printing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theweekinimaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/truth.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-7342\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theweekinimaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/truth-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"truth\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>Dealers who attended the BTA Grand Slam event in Baltimore last week expecting to hear how easy it is to make the transition into 3D printing during Airwolf 3D President Mark Mathews\u2019 presentation on 3D printing heard some sobering words instead.<\/p>\n<p>It was great to see Mathews, former president of Toshiba Americas Business Solutions, back in action after nearly two years on the sidelines.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t like he was telling dealers to forget about 3D printing either. He just didn\u2019t paint a rosy picture or over hype the opportunity. Instead het focused on the harsh realities of selling a technology that\u2019s generating a lot of buzz but not a lot of business yet in office imaging circles.<\/p>\n<p>One hears the word \u2018print\u2019 and the logical assumption is it\u2019s just another printer. But as Mathews said, \u201cThis is very different than anything you do today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The technology may be different, but the similarity is that 3D printing offers a recurring revenue model for hardware, consumables, and service. It\u2019s also a B2B sale something most dealers understand. So what\u2019s not to like about it?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a technical sale, which means you must understand materials, CAD, and the vertical you&#8217;re selling to,\u201d emphasized Mathews.<\/p>\n<p>Equally sobering is that 80 percent of service calls are related to the print process, and that\u2019s where things can get complicated.<\/p>\n<p>Despite that, Mathews reported that every channel in America is interested in this space. For dealers considering getting into this space, it helps to know who you\u2019re up against. Mathews reports that those selling 3D printers encompass 3D printer dealers, established distributors, educational VARs, FabLabs, industrial machine resellers, startups, CAD resellers, direct, and service bureaus.<\/p>\n<p>Still interested?<\/p>\n<p>Consider that this market is expected to grow between 25 and 50 percent over the next five years with the potential to become a $13-$22 billion market in this time frame. Another plus for the imaging dealer community is that Mathews noted that the channels are in flux with no clear leader.<\/p>\n<p>Target markets include corporations, educational institutions, government agencies, healthcare, manufacturing, and consumers to name just a few.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA customer with engineers on staff doing CAD work is your target,\u201d said Mathews.\u201dThere are 20-million CAD seats worldwide with 35 percent of those in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even though everybody is talking about 3D printing, it\u2019s not a brand new technology. 3D printers have been around since 1984.<\/p>\n<p>If the technology has been around for 20 years, why the big interest now?<\/p>\n<p>To hear Mathews tell it, we\u2019re in the midst of the third industrial revolution\u2014digitalization of manufacturing. This is causing mass customization and he foresees a time when centralized production will deteriorate and move to small companies. Other factors driving this revolution is mistrust of China, expiration of patents, maker movement, Internet software, new materials, improving economics, and economic pressures leading to shorter and quicker development cycles.<\/p>\n<p>Airwolf 3D develops and markets desktop engineering 3D printers. Currently, 90 percent of its sales are over the Internet and Mathews is looking to build a distribution channel.<\/p>\n<p>He shared a few questions that dealers need to ask themselves to help decide if 3D printing is right for them.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do I have the right customer base?<\/li>\n<li>Do I have similar products?<\/li>\n<li>Am I willing to commit and develop the resources? \u201cIt will take time, money, and manpower, \u201csaid Mathews. Resources are in the market if you want them. Plan on one to two years to be fully competent.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>How do I want to get in? (Sales, FabLab, Service Bureau)<\/li>\n<li>What brand do I sell? He pointed out there are a couple of full-line providers such as 3D Systems and Stratays that are making noise in the office imaging space, but on the desktop side where Airwolf 3D plays, Mathews reports there are 250 options although less than 20 of these are what he describes as \u201congoing concerns.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>He closed his presentation with positive words for dealers to ponder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a huge market, it\u2019s growing, fascinating, and fun, and if you have the right skill set and are willing to make the investment, it\u2019s worth it. But compared to MPS on the difficulty scale, where MPS is a 3, 3D printing is a 10.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The truth sometimes hurts, but for any dealer considering 3D printing, honesty about the opportunity, particularly from a standup guy like Mathews, was in all dealer\u2019s best interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dealers who attended the BTA Grand Slam event in Baltimore last week expecting to hear how easy it is to make the transition into 3D printing during Airwolf 3D President Mark Mathews\u2019 presentation on 3D printing heard some sobering words instead. It was great to see Mathews, former president of Toshiba Americas Business Solutions, back in action after nearly two years on the sidelines. It wasn\u2019t like he was telling dealers to forget about 3D printing either. He just didn\u2019t paint a rosy picture or over hype the opportunity. Instead het focused on the harsh realities of selling a technology that\u2019s generating a lot of buzz but not a lot of business yet in office imaging circles. One hears the word \u2018print\u2019 and the logical assumption is it\u2019s just another printer. But as Mathews said, \u201cThis is very different than anything you do today.\u201d The technology may be different, but the similarity is that 3D printing offers a recurring revenue model for hardware, consumables, and service. It\u2019s also a B2B sale something most dealers understand. So what\u2019s not to like about it? \u201cIt\u2019s a technical sale, which means you must understand materials, CAD, and the vertical you&#8217;re selling to,\u201d emphasized Mathews. Equally sobering is that 80 percent of service calls are related to the print process, and that\u2019s where things can get complicated. Despite that, Mathews reported that every channel in America is interested in this space. For dealers considering getting into this space, it helps to know who you\u2019re up against. Mathews reports that those selling 3D printers encompass 3D printer dealers, established distributors, educational VARs, FabLabs, industrial machine resellers, startups, CAD resellers, direct, and service bureaus. Still interested? Consider that this market is expected to grow between 25 and 50 percent over the next five years with the potential to become a $13-$22 billion market in this time frame. Another plus for the imaging dealer community is that Mathews noted that the channels are in flux with no clear leader. Target markets include corporations, educational institutions, government agencies, healthcare, manufacturing, and consumers to name just a few. \u201cA customer with engineers on staff doing CAD work is your target,\u201d said Mathews.\u201dThere are 20-million CAD seats worldwide with 35 percent of those in the U.S.\u201d Even though everybody is talking about 3D printing, it\u2019s not a brand new technology. 3D printers have been around since 1984. If the technology has been around for 20 years, why the big interest now? To hear Mathews tell it, we\u2019re in the midst of the third industrial revolution\u2014digitalization of manufacturing. This is causing mass customization and he foresees a time when centralized production will deteriorate and move to small companies. Other factors driving this revolution is mistrust of China, expiration of patents, maker movement, Internet software, new materials, improving economics, and economic pressures leading to shorter and quicker development cycles. Airwolf 3D develops and markets desktop engineering 3D printers. Currently, 90 percent of its sales are over the Internet and Mathews is looking to build a distribution channel. He shared a few questions that dealers need to ask themselves to help decide if 3D printing is right for them. Do I have the right customer base? Do I have similar products? Am I willing to commit and develop the resources? \u201cIt will take time, money, and manpower, \u201csaid Mathews. Resources are in the market if you want them. Plan on one to two years to be fully competent.\u201d How do I want to get in? (Sales, FabLab, Service Bureau) What brand do I sell? He pointed out there are a couple of full-line providers such as 3D Systems and Stratays that are making noise in the office imaging space, but on the desktop side where Airwolf 3D plays, Mathews reports there are 250 options although less than 20 of these are what he describes as \u201congoing concerns.\u201d He closed his presentation with positive words for dealers to ponder. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge market, it\u2019s growing, fascinating, and fun, and if you have the right skill set and are willing to make the investment, it\u2019s worth it. But compared to MPS on the difficulty scale, where MPS is a 3, 3D printing is a 10.\u201d The truth sometimes hurts, but for any dealer considering 3D printing, honesty about the opportunity, particularly from a standup guy like Mathews, was in all dealer\u2019s best interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[82],"tags":[1710,1457,1680,238],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7975"}],"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=7975"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7986,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7975\/revisions\/7986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}