Each year, we poll our Elite Dealer honorees on the subject of the greatest challenges they faced during the previous 12 months, and ask them to provide insights on how they handled these issues. Virtually all of the challenges are universal, but every now and then, we’ll unearth circumstances that were of consequence to particular companies.
Being able to handle, or reconcile on some level, is what separates the great from the mainstream. We’ve compiled a representative composite of dealer viewpoints and strategies to share as we head down the final stretch of 2022 and look optimistically forward to the coming New Year. We’ll begin with that all-too-familiar subject.
Supply Chain
Much like Pink Floyd’s epic album, “The Dark Side of the Moon,” our friend the supply chain backlog seems to have no intention of leaving the top of the charts anytime soon. While anecdotally, there are indications that manufacturer backlogs have begun to lessen, many prognosticators have pointed to mid-2023 as being the tipping point for normalization. Here’s what a sampling of our Elite Dealers had to say about how they’ve dealt with the inability to source MFPs and other hardware.
For Copiers Plus of Fayetteville, North Carolina, the lack of equipment and supplies availability was only slightly more problematic than the lack of clarity as to when the shipments could be expected. There was an upside to the dilemma, however.
“It caused us to rework many processes and figure out ways to tap into resources outside of our normal routines and inherently made our customer service even better than before,” the dealer wrote. “We were forced to communicate more effectively as an organization, which helped us better adapt to issues and patterns we noticed.”
The ability to mobilize in the face of supply chain delays truly brought out the best in some dealers. Included in that list was Braden Business Systems of Fishers, Indiana.
“Supply chain has been our biggest challenge over the last two years. Our teams coming together, communicating and delivering great solutions to our clients has been amazing to watch,” the dealer noted.
Putting Out Fires
Some dealers pointed out that Konica Minolta had the added obstacle of enduring plant fires that disrupted the flow of toner to dealer clients. It certainly caused considerable consternation for The Swenson Group (TSG) of Livermore, California, but fortunately, that crisis has passed.
“We had to find alternative toner suppliers and manually allocate toner to our clients to ensure no one runs out,” TSG wrote. “This is no longer a big issue, but was painful earlier in the year.”
Another dealer that struggled with the toner situation was Martin Group of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The toner challenge was taxing on a day-to-day basis for the dealer’s staff and client base, but between quality customer care and managing expectations, Martin Group was able to formulate a game plan.
“We implemented a tracking system for all orders, and then we communicated with our vendor and internally with our team to come up with plans,” the dealer wrote. “Together with our dealers, and using the knowledge of our internal staff, we quickly produced solutions to keep our clients up and running. We changed out toner caps, used partials when available, placed loaners when needed, and even worked with competitors for new workarounds or sharing product availability.
“Communicating with our clients and keeping them as up-to-date as possible was the key to gaining their patience. We taught our clients how to manage their in-house printing to conserve toner when delays were inevitable. We relied on our personal relationships built over decades of service and our clients graciously extended us their patience and trust while we worked through delays that were out of our control. Our clients appreciated the transparent and honest communication because we used all of the materials we had in our possession to keep things running to the best of our abilities.”
Copier Fax Business Technologies of Buffalo, New York, noted that shipping and supply chain far outweighed all other issues. The frustration stemmed from some orders requiring months to process.
“At times, parts weren’t available for service,” the dealer reported. “We had to be creative in how we helped our customers and utilize strong communication skills.”
Noted imageOne of Oak Park, Michigan, “By keeping the team well informed of its impact on our financials, staying creative with customers to fulfill their needs with alternative solutions, and continuing to focus on the things we can control, the team has done well to weather the storm.”
Internal/External
Inventory woes plagued Kelly Office Solutions of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the inconvenience extended beyond the client. The dealer needed to ensure its sales staff would continue to be compensated.
“We worked closely with our customers and leasing companies to find ways to cover the customer and fund deals so the reps could survive until the inventory actually became available,” the dealer wrote. “Our manufacturers went above and beyond to help as well.”
Supply chain constraints can be particularly troublesome for small dealers. Having organizational firepower such as that enjoyed by Flex Technology Group (FTG) of Mesa, Arizona, helped to mitigate the issue.
“We’re addressing the issue by leaning on our size/scale/purchasing power with our OEM partners, increasing the level of communications, and giving them more of a lead time for deals in our pipeline,” FTG noted.
Extreme backorder scenarios could easily lead to frustration and lost business. But Advance Business Systems of Cockeysville, Maryland, capitalized on the situation as an opportunity to convey its value proposition.
“Advance was able to turn the situation into an opportunity to think outside of the box and over-communicate in order to create positive customer experiences and help organizations that would have otherwise faced disruption to their business,” the dealer wrote.
Just about every dealer relied on a superhero or two to spearhead the supply chain saga, and that was the case for UBEO Business Services of San Antonio, Texas. “We addressed this by staffing a rock star as our vendor relations leader,” the company noted. “He directly interfaces will all of our manufacturing partners to ensure we are doing everything possible to fulfill our orders.”
Come Clean
In the final analysis, most dealers hope that once the supply chain backlogs have been reduced to a manageable level, it’s a topic that won’t raise its head anytime soon. Coordinated Business Systems of Burnsville, Minnesota, is one of them.
“Communication with your manufacturer, honest communication with your customers—including saying ‘I just don’t know’—and not playing some of the games with masking the placement of used equipment that some vendors stooped to, [is the key],” the dealer wrote.
