The Changing Vendor Landscape

Wide-format, says Marco Boer, vice president of I.T. Strategies, “is a mature market and the number of machines being sold is going down, though they are getting more productive.”

Marco Boer, I.T. Strategies

Because of this, he says, equipment manufacturers face a conundrum typified by less frequent sales of more reliable printing equipment. What are they to do? Boer says he’s seeing two ways equipment manufacturers are addressing this challenge. The first, he says, is through partnership and consolidation – as was recently witnessed when Agfa and EFI joined forces on certain equipment. The other is to look past the printing device and offer deeper (or different) levels of software and service. “If I know you’re going to be there to help,” Boer adds, referencing equipment manufacturers, “that gives an advantage.”

As the wide-format segment evolves, and particularly as the printing devices wide-format producers use have become more robust, the needs of wide-format PSPs have changed. They want different things from their vendor relationships.

Ted Corman, CEO of Firehouse Image Center (Indianapolis, Indiana) says his company is seeing an increasing number of sales visits from equipment OEMs seeking to engage the company. He says OEMs are being much more diligent on the sales side. About the consolidation of industry OEMs, Corman is of the opinion that, overall, it is not a good thing for the wide-format segment. “I think it kind of stunts research and development when consolidation takes place,” he adds.

Queried about how he sees the technology user/vendor relationship changing, Josh Hope, Director of Marketing for Mimaki USA says he thinks today’s users are much more experienced and knowledgeable. He adds that because today’s wide-format devices reliably “do what they need to do,” the attention of wide-format producers has shifted toward other areas including inline finishing and workflow.

Hope sees vendor consolidation – particularly among EOMs – as “kind of a double-edged sword.” While he says having a single vendor that offers a wide range of solutions to fulfill a variety of needs can be a great thing, that type of variety is not required by all wide-format producers. Some producers, he says, will seek vendors that specialize in specific areas – those with a tighter focus on specific technologies or applications. One positive side of consolidation, he adds, is that end-users may be able to benefit from economies of scale because larger OEMs can produce and ship at lower expense.

Service Considerations

Asked whether he sees the service relationship changing between wide-format producers and their vendors, Boer says, “Ultimately, no.” Because printing equipment is becoming more reliable, he says, companies are seeking to change the service models they are offered. “They want to make sure the vendor can be there to fix what they can’t fix on their own,” he says. “They want a per-visit charge, but that goes against models based on monthly service plans.”

Ted Corman, Firehouse Image Center

The availability and quality of equipment service, says Corman, “is still a huge concern.” He says that while the increased reliability of equipment is a great thing, “you still have to have those folks at your beck and call if anything goes down.” He says today’s equipment is not so reliable that Firehouse Image Center has any interest in canceling its service contracts. He adds that while he views a recent offer of three free years of service from equipment OEM swissQprint as “interesting,” he adds that he has yet to see a printer that doesn’t require service: “There are too many moving parts.” So, it seems, service continues to be a strong aspect of the vendor relationship.

Further, he says he believes that “the service side has gotten much better than it was two or three years ago.” He thinks OEMs have undertaken concentrated efforts to “clean up” their service departments.

Addressing Brand Loyalty

As the nature of relationships between wide-format producers and vendors continues to change, Boer believes brand loyalty is increasing. This is because, he says, it makes it easy to do business with them, given an existing relationship. Boer believed that more than likely, the producer will buy the next generation of a machine they are satisfied with. Note that “satisfaction” is a keyword here: Boer describes two situations that may lead producers to seek another vendor. The first situation is a negative service incident and the bad feelings that can follow it – for instance, a machine is down for multiple days either because a service technician isn't available or needed parts cannot be acquired. The other is when the preferred vendor does not offer a desired technology – the availability of white ink, for example – a situation that can “force” a producer to look elsewhere. “Often, once a company moves … the customer may never go back,” Boer adds.

For Corman and Firehouse Image Center, what would it take to lure that shop – which is well equipped with equipment from both Durst and EFI – away from its loyalty to those OEMs? Corman says making that kind of jump is more complicated than simply buying a new machine from another business. “I’m not interested in having a third ink set in-house, he says. “I’m not interested in having a third service person in-house. We know the [OEM] companies we deal with, we know their techs, but that’s not to say I’m not looking at what other companies are offering out there.” To lure his company away from its current affiliations, he says, “They would have to make a really strong case.”

Josh Hope, Mimaki USA

Echoing Corman, Hope says OEM brand loyalty can be a bit more complicated than it may seem on the surface. He says that while many users are loyal to a specific brand, others are may loyal to a specific workflow. This can expand choices, he says, because the use of third-party workflows can increase compatibility across brands.

It is not so much the machine that can lure wide-format PSPs away from one vendor to another. It is instead, Hope says, those things that support that machine and its use: customer service, technical service, the availability of parts and consumables. It can be referred to as the long tail of the investment. “The machine does what it needs to do,” he clarifies, “and the vendor needs to provide consistency. If they can’t provide that day-in and day-out, it’s a real problem.”

What PSPs Want

Asked what today’s wide-format producers want most from their vendors, Boer begins his answer with “stability:” the imperative need that the company will “be there” when needed. Beyond that, – and this is a significant concept – Boer says they should make sure their vendors have a roadmap so they can grow together. They want to make sure manufacturers are co-investing in their future.

Corman says what today’s wide-format PSPs need most from their vendors is “affordable automation.” He says that, for his shop, robotic materials handling units are still too expensive – a reality that he hopes, in time, will change. High-volume producers, he says, are currently looking at every opportunity to automate via both mechanical and software-based solutions.

While Hope says he can’t speak to the preferences of all wide-format companies, he does say that the overall build quality of machines is resonating strongly. They seek solid systems, reliable systems, and minimal maintenance, he says.