Ever since it entered the market in the 1990s, Epson America has been honing its reputation as a go-to source for document scanners for VARs, resellers, and the BTA channel, each of whom are finding these devices the ideal complement for document management and ECM engagements.
Actually, Epson has been offering scanners for longer than that, starting with photo scanners, which paved the way for its entry into document scanners. Since unveiling its first document scanner, Epson has enjoyed a steady upward trajectory, receiving a big boost in the mid 2000s with the introduction of its GT-S50 sheet-fed document scanner as the document management market grew, aided by the need for HIPPA compliance.
“That’s when we saw our role in the market increasing,” recalls Larry Trevarthen, director, commercial printing and scanning.
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- DS-6500
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- WorkForce DS-760
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- WorkForce DS-860
Anchor Products
Epson’s document scanners are primarily focused on the workgroup and the desktop, which Trevarthen says is where most market activity is occurring. The WorkForce DS-520, the WorkForce DS-760, and the WorkForce DS-860, which operate at 30, 45, and 65 ppm, respectively, represent the company’s anchor products, although Epson offers a variety of other scanners as well.
Since the beginning, the value proposition of Epson scanners has centered on quality and performance. That quality traces back to Epson being a market leader in photo scanners where image quality has always been paramount.
“We were able to bring great image capture through photo scanning and we made it more efficient when we went into document scanning,” notes Trevarthen. “Document management requires fast, efficient, high quality image capture, which can be quickly processed and passed over to a document management or content management system.”
As Epson has expanded its line into mobile, flatbed ADF, and into higher speeds, maintaining that quality and performance as well as making sure reliability and ease of use are there has been an ongoing commitment.
Making a Difference
A key differentiator that sets Epson scanners apart from competitors is that it offers one of the widest set of configuration options for the customer in the industry.
“An optimal deployment for a customer often will involve a variety of different scanners for different applications. For example, they may need mobile solutions for field staff, a fast scanner for centralized processing of large documents, and desktop scanners for client service personnel. With Epson, we can configure these scanners directly to a PC or over the network,” states Trevarthen. “We allow the end user customer to buy the right priced product for the configuration they need, which ultimately saves them money.”
In addition, all Epson document scanners can be integrated into the leading ISV (Independent Software Vendor) applications.
A Pleasant Surprise
One thing about Epson that some resellers find surprising is the breadth of its product portfolio and the depth of its programs which drive margin and profit the resellers can enjoy by selling Epson document scanners.
“Our products are generally some of the most cost competitive on the market, which allows the dealer to find profit in a couple of ways,” states Trevarthen. “First, they can place a device in a document management system for less money than they could put somebody else’s, but also at a higher margin. Because a dealer needs to allocate fewer dollars to the scanner, they can use the money they save on scanners and put it against software and consulting services which are much higher margin, as part of their overall document management solution.”
Epson’s programs are designed to help resellers grow while setting the company apart from the competition.
“Because we are focused on growing the market, growing the channel, and growing our partnerships, we’ve been putting programs, lead generation, and other tools together to help resellers be successful in this market where other vendors have been pulling back a little bit,” reveals Trevarthen.
All of these differentiators represent not only a win for the reseller who is also selling document management solutions, but for the end user as well.
“As much as we’re helping a VAR sell scanners, we’re really helping VARs put successful document management systems into place for their customers. That’s why we focus on making sure they make money on their scanners, but that we also support the overall profitability of their solutions.”
Trend Setting
Success in the document imaging industry requires an intimate knowledge of current and future trends and perhaps the biggest trends affecting Epson’s scanner line revolves around business efficiency and moving paper into electronic form.
“That’s expanding not only in business, but we’re seeing it expand in education, government applications, and a wide variety of verticals,” says Trevarthen. “Moving paper into digital systems allows for much faster speed in accessing the information, reducing storage costs, and generally making the overall company more efficient. The savings you get out of that efficiency usually more than pays for the electronic content management systems companies are putting in place. As more organizations, from large to small across different verticals, see these benefits that’s driving interest in document scanning.”
Overcoming the Challenges
The technology arena is a competitive one, and the challenges for an industry leading scanner manufacturer such as Epson can be found at both the user and reseller levels.
“One challenge is making sure the end user buys the right configuration for their office and their situation,” says Trevarthen.
That means moving away from a ‘one size fits all model,’ which leads to end users buying too much scanner for their needs. The variety of scanners and scanning speeds available from Epson eliminates that challenge.
Larry Trevarthen
“The second challenge is making sure the dealers and VARs understand the profit potential of selling scanners as part of an overall document management solution,” adds Trevarthen. “We drive everything we can through the channel and want to make sure we provide it with a complete set of tools to be successful.”
Those tools start with a broad product portfolio. As noted earlier, Epson has a variety of options to choose from with all products easily tied into virtually any software installation, eliminating compatibility or integration issues.
“Then it gets down to the basics—support, service, and ease of use,” says Trevarthen.
Service & Support
If you’re going to be serious about selling document scanners, you need a strong service and support organization in place and that’s what Epson has for its desktop and workgroup models. Here you’ll find Epson’s Preferred Plus Protection plan that offers a customer next business day unit exchange should something happen to their existing scanner. Epson also supports the dealer with technical support, pre- and post-sales support, product exchange, lead generation, bids, and other demand generation programs.
“One of the things we’re looking at is making sure that we’re a complete VAR product in all aspects,” says Trevarthen.
In Search of a Few Good Resellers
Epson continues to expand its distribution channel, starting with VARs who are operating as the systems integrators, putting in complete document management systems, and looking for a high quality, robust, and broad portfolio of scanners to place in customer environments.
“And certainly ones that are interested in growing their business, because Epson at this point in time is one of, if not the fastest growing provider in the document scanner market,” adds Trevarthen. “We’re doing that with aggressive programs, products, and service to the VAR channel. We are looking for VARs that are integrators and can support the customer on an ongoing basis.”
While you’ll often find Epson at distributor conferences and shows like ITEX, they’re also expanding their presence at BTA events given Epson’s printer portfolio. Even though the BTA channel tends to be more print centric, Trevarthen is finding that channel is also interested in scanning solutions.
“As they find out what they can do, not only with Epson printers, but also with Epson scanners, they’re looking for balanced deployment across print and scan and they’re finding us and we’re finding them,” notes Trevarthen.
Looking Ahead
It’s safe to say that Epson’s scanner line will continue to evolve over time even though in its current state it’s a rich line that covers most market bases.
“In the document scanner space, we are very focused on ensuring we have complete solutions for our end users and our channel partner. This includes a wide and competitive scanner portfolio, but also strong software partnerships and integration so the scanners fit easily into document management environments,” states Trevarthen.
As the industry moves away from high-speed, high-cost centralized devices towards decentralized devices and devices for the desktop, expect to see Epson in the thick of the action.
“You’ll see us rounding out the portfolio for the desktop in the workgroup,” says Trevarthen. “In addition we’ll continue to make innovations in the rest of our mobile and flatbed ADF product lines—those portfolios will remain viable for years to come.”
A lot of the strengthening of the Epson document scanner line is rooted in making sure there aren’t any gaps based on where Epson sees the market headed—the desktop and small workgroups.
“The thing that’s interesting about Epson,” concludes Trevarthen, “is we are very serious about growing our business in commercial and doing it in a variety of categories. We’re extremely channel centric in our approach. Our direct enterprise sales are fed back through the channel so we’re not competing with the channel in that regard. Consequently we are growing in the commercial sector faster than any of our competitors.”
