Blog after blog tells the same tale about the troubles in the print industry: “The number of printed pages continues to decline” or “Customers aren’t buying as many printers.” You might think that times are tough for Xerox channel partners, but on the contrary. Business is booming for many of our partners; some are even expanding globally with lucrative contracts. So, how do they do it? How do they turn the tables on a struggling economy and a struggling industry?
Seeing opportunity where others see challenges
The very nature of business is filled with ebbs and flows, of hardships and successes. It’s not surprising that the companies who come out on top are those with a “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” philosophy. They see opportunity when others see challenges. They look at customers spending less as an incentive to broaden their customer base and offer new services. To these folks, focusing on the possibilities of tomorrow allows them to come out stronger – with a renewed vision and a certain sense of pride that comes from weathering the storm.
How do you strengthen your business when times are tough?
In this article, Xerox channel partner, RDT Office Solutions Group Ltd. (RDT), share their secrets for developing a stronger company with Xerox products and solutions. Their willingness to shift gears has helped them rebuild their business from a struggling technology hardware ‘reseller’ to a global channel partner with over £7 million in annual revenue for 2014. And, they are just getting started. In fact, this London based Xerox channel partner with merely 35 employees is slated to achieve 58% growth as a business this year alone and are confident that they’ll attain double-digit business growth in the next 2 years.
The four step approach used by RDT
Identify the obstacles and act quickly
Like many businesses selling printers and MFP hardware, the economic recession hit RDT especially hard. As customers tightened their belts and budgets, RDT simply wasn’t selling as many machines and their bottom line reflected these changes. They quickly realized that they needed to shift the focus of their business away from being a single solution to becoming a value added resource.
When offering new solutions you need the infrastructure to back them up
As a smaller company, RDT knew that Managed Print Services (MPS) and other new services would pave the way for additional business. RDT founder and CEO, Derek Russell, shares that, “We knew we had to offer more, but didn’t want the infrastructure headaches. We knew we needed Xerox.” Working side by side with his Xerox business development manager, Derek and his staff successfully transitioned their positioning with customers. They are now viewed not only as a services provider, but, more importantly, as a strategic partner – one that is capable of boosting productivity, saving money and improving workflows. Russell adds, “Our business goal is to make life easier for our customers with Xerox solutions.” Currently, RDT receives 40% of their revenue from services. It is expected that this will increase to 50% in 2015.
Position you & your staff for success
With new customers, RDT often start their conversations with the benefits of managed services as well as document management and workflow solutions. But, what sets them apart from the competition is their ability to offer the big box capabilities of managed services with a small town feel. Their “Global Solutions, Local Support” approach along with Xerox toolset has helped them win big contracts. Derek adds, “It used to be a challenge just to deliver solutions in the UK, and now we easily deliver globally. It’s a massive benefit to use the Xerox toolset to offer a global reach.”
Swing for the fences
With a lofty goal of supplying print across the globe, RDT recently rolled out a pilot program for an international global media company. The project included print server consolidation using Cirrato software as well as WAN traffic reduction. RDT began by auditing the entire print estate using their Xerox toolset; this provided total visibility on the usage and associated costs. By understanding the current environment, RDT and the key stakeholders were able to design and implement a customized solution resolving many of the global and local businesses challenges. RDT provided proactive management of the equipment automating time consuming tasks such ordering toner and calling for engineers allowing the IT and business departments to focus on their core business.
Print savings, improved visibility & environmental impact
The success of the pilot program was quickly apparent for both RDT and the customer. By partnering with Xerox and RDT, the global media company has the following successes: 48% print savings and a 99% reduction of WAN traffic caused by printing eradication. This equates to over £350,000 per annum savings on direct costs, improved visibility and environmental impact.
Russell adds, “We are grateful to Xerox for their willingness to help us during our transition. They were there with us during difficult times, on the front lines, determined to help us restructure our business.” He invites other partners to follow in his footsteps.
Are you ready to transform your business and go global?
Learn how Xerox can help your business expand into new sources of profitable revenue, by connecting Xerox technology and managed print with your unique solutions to simplify how your customers can get work done. Become a Xerox channel partner today
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