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Dealer or independent – Who is to blame?
Posted by
lostintexas
,
23 December 2009
·
216 views
For years independents and dealers have blamed one another for the current price influence on the industry.
For many years independents sold re-manufactured cartridges and aftermarket supplies to customers to bring the same quality repair or image to a business at a discounted price compared to what a dealer would traditionally charge. When HP as well as other manufacturers sold supplies and parts at OEM prices independents started to re-manufacture cartridges and assemblies to bring savings to small as well as large business. Law suites from both sides of the industry drug customers from supplier after supplier for the best price per copy. Small shops and independent repair shops saw this as a way not only to compete against larger dealers and manufacturers on price, as well as quality of services and parts. Customers saw it as a way to save money and get the best value for their dollar, weather it be a copy of their original or a printed document.
As large dealers and manufactures started to notice the trend they also started to look for ways to compete and draw back in some of the missing revenue. For the new competition, the independent repair shops, were bringing a new pressure to the corporate table. Manufacturing facilities started to take shape where smaller shops were lacking in man power or resources. While a small independent could only afford to manufacturer a small quantity of supplies or parts. The larger more resourceful manufacturers could products in larger qauntities on demand for a lower cost from bulk labor as well as bulk part purchasing power.
Now we see the opposite trend as small independent shops notice their profits sagging in these harder economic times. Customers once again start to seek out the lowest cost per copy from their office machines. Larger companies started selling in a larger volume through internet marketing campaign to further drive the cost of supplies and parts down with their increased purchasing power of raw materials.
Where will it end? I am not sure I can predict that. As machines become more and more complex manufacturers and large service companies are being forced to dedicate more and more time to other facets of the changing industry. These companies not able to dedicate as much funding toward the research needed to keep up with the demand placed on them by the ever increasing number of machine manufacturing companies as well as the number of models produced by the manufacturers. Color enabled devices are on almost every network in the American office and large dealers are being pressured to maintain service on an ever increasing level of technology and types of service requested by users. Small business owners from small IT firms to Small printer repair shops are again starting to put pressure on large companies by focusing on a single aspect of the industry again. Where a large dealer will have to cross train a technician on a small part of each aspect of the industry weather it be It related, machine mechanical troubleshooting or sales the smaller companies are able to focus on one aspect and provide a better service in that one area. Being able to focus on one part of the bigger picture and contract out the remaining services to other small business they can provide better service as a group of individual experts in one area than a team of people focused on many broad tasks.
For many years independents sold re-manufactured cartridges and aftermarket supplies to customers to bring the same quality repair or image to a business at a discounted price compared to what a dealer would traditionally charge. When HP as well as other manufacturers sold supplies and parts at OEM prices independents started to re-manufacture cartridges and assemblies to bring savings to small as well as large business. Law suites from both sides of the industry drug customers from supplier after supplier for the best price per copy. Small shops and independent repair shops saw this as a way not only to compete against larger dealers and manufacturers on price, as well as quality of services and parts. Customers saw it as a way to save money and get the best value for their dollar, weather it be a copy of their original or a printed document.
As large dealers and manufactures started to notice the trend they also started to look for ways to compete and draw back in some of the missing revenue. For the new competition, the independent repair shops, were bringing a new pressure to the corporate table. Manufacturing facilities started to take shape where smaller shops were lacking in man power or resources. While a small independent could only afford to manufacturer a small quantity of supplies or parts. The larger more resourceful manufacturers could products in larger qauntities on demand for a lower cost from bulk labor as well as bulk part purchasing power.
Now we see the opposite trend as small independent shops notice their profits sagging in these harder economic times. Customers once again start to seek out the lowest cost per copy from their office machines. Larger companies started selling in a larger volume through internet marketing campaign to further drive the cost of supplies and parts down with their increased purchasing power of raw materials.
Where will it end? I am not sure I can predict that. As machines become more and more complex manufacturers and large service companies are being forced to dedicate more and more time to other facets of the changing industry. These companies not able to dedicate as much funding toward the research needed to keep up with the demand placed on them by the ever increasing number of machine manufacturing companies as well as the number of models produced by the manufacturers. Color enabled devices are on almost every network in the American office and large dealers are being pressured to maintain service on an ever increasing level of technology and types of service requested by users. Small business owners from small IT firms to Small printer repair shops are again starting to put pressure on large companies by focusing on a single aspect of the industry again. Where a large dealer will have to cross train a technician on a small part of each aspect of the industry weather it be It related, machine mechanical troubleshooting or sales the smaller companies are able to focus on one aspect and provide a better service in that one area. Being able to focus on one part of the bigger picture and contract out the remaining services to other small business they can provide better service as a group of individual experts in one area than a team of people focused on many broad tasks.
