Too much of a good thing?
As yet another big name in the supplies field stumbles and falls, it begs the question about whether wide-format digital print is really in need of so many providers or if there are more than enough options out there already. Unlike the traditional printing markets, wide-format is still new enough to be a consideration for existing distribution companies to add to their product mixes. After all, everyone involved wants inks and materials; most want technical support and good maintenance – but as investing companies become more savvy about what can and can’t be done with their machines, how many really need a vast choice of supply channels? Would fewer resellers provide a tidier distribution structure overall or is the opposite true?
Choice is what users want and choice is what you get if there is a good selection of distributors and resellers available to the market. Yet we have seen consolidation amongst machinery manufacturers reduce the pool from which printing equipment can be sourced and this has simplified the equipment maze for many would-be investors. Are we now going to witness a reduction in the supply channel, too, or will new options come on-line to broaden the options which are available?
Most resellers offer a range of products because the very nature of their business is reliant on more than one manufacturer. Loyal customers return time and time again when they want general consumables and these are the channels which often benefit from an existing user’s business when a new machine is purchased. Familiarity makes dealing easy across the board.
We as a nation are turning away from a call centre mentality and many yearn for a return to personal service, even if we’re only after a litre of ink or a single roll of material. When we’re emptying out bank accounts and borrowing money to invest in capital equipment this personal touch becomes even more important because we want to know that the supplier understands our business needs and that he or she is to be trusted with the working methods of individual companies.
But some suppliers are also having a tough time as they are reliant on their product catalogues containing goods that are actually available ex-stock, they’re expected to rush in at the drop of a hat and help customers who’ve run out of media or ink on a Friday evening, yet they know all the time they’re competing on price and delivery time. Flip the coin and, on the other side, the argument shows that the growth in Internet sales has spread to the wide-format digital arena so that equipment, software and consumables can be bought online. But customers here are those who aren’t fussy about dealing with a friendly individual and whose main priority is fast delivery at the lowest price.
We are a relatively small geographical island area which has its share of businesses in which we are deemed to be skilled, and printing is one of those. But demographics and demand inevitably leads to a critical mass and it’s little wonder that supply channels are now in the tricky position of trying to mean all things to all men. Many of today’s wide-format print providers have neither the space nor the desire to hold vast stocks of materials and, thus, they also expect their distributors to act as a repository for many of those ‘might need’ goods.
When a supply channel fails, end customers move on somewhere else – they have to in order to fulfill their own orders. Where once loyalty was key, today logistics and cost are of greater relevance. The question is, are we over-run with resellers offering everything from capital intensive machinery, through software, materials and inks, down to cleaning wipes – or can the industry remain competitive with a leaner channel which is knowledgeable within our market?
