As we put the January state of the industry report on trends and predictions to bed for another year, we conclude the overview with a look at the great unknown. We’ve said before that no trend arrives unannounced; hints of it slowly take form before exploding into a full-blown talking point.
Artificial intelligence is a prime example. AI and machine learning have slowly infiltrated our office technologies, and many observers expect it to grow exponentially in the coming years. So while AI wouldn’t quite constitute a “sleeper” trend, it definitely still hasn’t had its morning coffee yet.
We turn to our illustrious panel of industry experts one last time to get a feeling for what they believe might be the next big thing to take hold in the office equipment dealer space.
Brent Martin, director of marketing for ARLINGTON, believes AI is only the tip of the iceberg in an age of technology that tracks everything. People formulate habits and behaviors, and clearly our digital actions are being monitored. Google anything random, and then switch platforms to Facebook, for example, and you will see advertisements related to that search.
“We’re being monitored—Google is watching, Amazon, Apple Watch,” he said. “Everything is being tracked, and ultimately that’s going to be used to continue influencing the behaviors of consumers, resellers and decision-makers everywhere. I see that as an evolving trend in the next decade.”
No One Thing
A confluence of factors will dictate how business is done going forward, notes David Clearman, director of marketing and PLS Sales at Muratec America. The combination of the DEX Imaging-Staples union to AI and millennials becoming more a part of the decision-making process will impact how business is done and what it might look like in the not-too-distant future.
“I feel a massive change in the consumer acquisitions decision-making strategies will occur,” he said. “As the new principals and decision-makers grow into their roles, the generational outlook and the way they do business is going to change.”
While sticking to a rehearsed talk track for everything within a dealer’s portfolio may be sustainable in the interim, Jim Coriddi, vice president, dealer division for Ricoh USA, doesn’t believe it is a long-term solution for enhanced sales. He notes the dealers who have done their homework to better understand customers and their needs, while building trust and honing in on tailored solutions, will ultimately prevail.
“The pace of business is only getting faster,” Coriddi said. “Demand for effective processes that ‘just work’ is only increasing. Soon, that talk track isn’t going to cut it. Today’s customers want a consultative approach, focused on solving their unique challenges in ways that empower their businesses to perform better. And pretty soon, they’ll expect it.”
Laryssa Alexander, president, field service division of ECI Software Solutions, believes the need for a higher quality of service will ultimately create a “race to the top” that will enable dealers to differentiate themselves from the single-click online alternatives. To that end, dealers are increasingly using customer relationship management systems in order to provide better service.
“It can sometimes be the first thing to go when a business needs to tighten its belt, but it can also be an invaluable resource to be able to compete with the Amazons of the world,” she said.
Alexander also notes that remote work and shared working spaces are becoming increasingly popular, and it behooves dealers to adapt to those trends to retain and grow their businesses. She believes capturing print that’s not transpiring in a traditional office environment will enable the industry to remain resilient.
New Faces?
Cross-channel competition from players such as Staples may grow to include players even farther away from the traditional segment pool, notes Nick Capparelli, managing director, LEAF Commercial Capital Inc., a subsidiary of People’s United Bank, N.A. He adds that even accounting firms, among other verticals, are “dipping their toes in the market” and potentially encroaching on high-value opportunities such as managed IT.
“Many of these non-traditional providers will be pulled into the M&A stream, simultaneously bringing them under the control of dealers and integrating their know-how and markets into the dealer’s own,” he said. “It’s important that office technology businesses have ready access to capital provided by a partner that knows the industry in order to stay ahead of this trend.”
Chip Crunk, president and CEO of RJ Young, wonders how the dealer market will respond to exiting private equity, for the exit strategies could have long-term consequences. “We may see a manufacturer absorb one or more of the megadealers, or multiple megadealers merge to create a more nationwide model with IPO potential. There are a lot of interesting directions – all with certain risks.”
Although some manufacturers may still focus on their bread-and-butter MFP offerings, many others are grappling with what the “office of the future” will resemble. Dean Swenson, president of The Swenson Group, believes that entails OEMs introducing technologies that will enable dealers to capitalize on it.
“How AI, IoT, security, data and the like tie into our industry will be interesting to watch and benefit from,” Swenson said. “I think dealerships in five years will look a lot different than they do today.”
