MARCO & KMBS U.S.: Is There More Than We See?
When MARCO exercised the advantages of the new Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S. dealer contract, was the day I believe its dealers should have realized their lack of importance to an OEM they have been loyal to, in some cases, for decades.
In my concern, last year, when the retired BTA lawyer blessed Konica Minolta's new dealer contract, was the day the industry’s dealers should have heard alarm bells loudly!
As MARCO deploys more W2 technicians nationwide, what comes next?
Here are some of the possibilities I see.
Over the last couple of years, we have seen restrictions on non-compete contracts become less restrictive. Will we soon see MARCO courting a dealer's technicians? As an example, maybe some of the industry’s technicians living in the cold of Maine want to move down to Florida or maybe Hawaii.
Once KMBS U.S. takes away its national accounts from a dealer and gives them to MARCO, will KMBS U.S. then provide pricing advantages to MARCO, affording MARCO an opportunity to win against the dealer in one of the dealer’s own accounts?
If that last question is true today, it would mean to me that this whole W2 national technician situation was always about MARCO expanding its service and direct sales nationwide. If so, that seems to me to be a sneaky way to set up MARCO as a national dealer.
What about all the state and government contracts? Will MARCO be the KMBS U.S. Mega dealer to receive all services for KMBS U.S. direct business as well?
Will KMBS have dealers install equipment where MARCO has limited W2 technician support, then take the account away from the dealer and give it to MARCO? As we all know, setting up and delivering an account is very labor-intensive, whereas servicing it is much easier, especially with new equipment. If so, that would be terrible!
How these questions are answered will, in my thinking, amplify what I see as THE ABSOLUTE STUPIDEST DECISION Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S. has ever made.
One can imagine there must be more to the KMBS U.S. decision that caused this much disruption to its dealer distribution in the U.S. If not, I am also thinking Konica Minolta Corporate needs to make some quick human capital changes with leadership in the U.S. marketplace - I would add the sooner the better.
At the last Business Technology Association (BTA) meeting, held in sunny Florida, there was a panel discussion with some of the OEM leaders, moderated by the retired BTA lawyer who seems to be in control of the moderator’s hat at the BTA and other venues. On that panel was the president of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S. dealers.
One question was about dealer vs. direct business, and all the leaders, including the one from KMBS U.S., said dealers were important and accounted for the largest share of their product distribution to end users.
Did the KMBS U.S. leader at the time understand that, within a few weeks, KMBS would launch what I see as an attack on the very foundation of the KMBS dealer infrastructure?
I often wonder if the industry had panel discussions that weren’t coordinated to appease, would the conversation be more relevant and meaningful?
So, now that Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S. (KMBS U.S.) has shared its behavior in taking away KMBS U.S. national accounts from dealers and giving them to MARCO, should MARCO’s Other OEMs Fire MARCO?
It does seem that KMBS U.S. and MARCO have aligned in a very disruptive way and other OEMs doing business with MARCO I believe should be concerned. I am also thinking that KMBS U.S. dealers must also be concerned and rethinking their continued relationships with KMBS U.S.
I do see an advantage for any OEM who truly values their dealer partners to meet with all the KMBS dealers not only in the U.S. but globally after all maybe the U.S. is just the starting point for Konica Minolta Business Solutions national dealer strategy.
The industry’s marketplace is going to get very ruthless in its competition. The days of wandering in complacency to avoid tough decisions must end. The days of the industry’s media and consultants copying and pasting press releases and handing out gratuitous accolades like candy to kids at Halloween MUST be replaced with real thought leadership. Or these folks should seriously consider retiring.
I believe the gloves are coming off, and we will see real changes as OEMs and dealers reimagine their go-to-market strategies.
In closing, it’s important to understand that I believe MARCO is challenging the status quo, and I do not see their actions as a bad thing for MARCO. I see MARCO using the KMBS U.S. dealer contract to their benefit. I mean, after all, a year ago I imagined and warned that a MEGA dealer could benefit greatly by the new Konica Minolta dealer contract.
Where I see a bit of naivety with MARCO, is the belief that dealers would line up in support of MARCO, also servicing the dealer’s own national accounts. As I am thinking the dealer community is witnessing MARCO working with KMBS U.S. in a very ruthless way! I find it hard to imagine that a dealer would be comfortable helping MARCO build out a successful national service footprint that one day could easily circumvent all the dealers who helped them build it.
Maybe the conversation that the MARCO leaders had in a recent interview regarding that subject was just an attempt to distract the dealer community?
Maybe it was also naivety that MARCO, misunderstood that the industry’s outdated media and good-ole-boy platforms are not the only venues where dealers can gain insight and thought leadership. It is situations like this that inspire me more every day.
The way the OEMs decide to go to market is the issue the industry needs to pay attention to. Last year, when I screamed about the KMBS U.S. dealer contract being blessed by the retired BTA lawyer, those screams were about how I imagined the new KMBS U.S. dealer contract could facilitate what we are actually seeing today.
The response to my screams by some was to go to legacy media platforms and use language such as, "Oh, I don’t see them doing this or that."
My industry friends, when there is more emphasis on hoping something doesn't happen than on preventing it, the outcome is that hope was, in fact, a delusion.
It’s important that the dealer community, not only here in the United States but globally, pays attention to how the OEMs realign, as it’s obvious many more alignments are coming.
Unfortunately, I am concerned that many of our industry’s dealers are being manipulated into a false sense of comfort, forcing them to stay quiet when they need to be screaming.
As I shared on Friday's episode, (link provide below) I welcome any KMBS U.S. Dealer to come on the show and share their thoughts regarding this situation.
Friday's episode regarding KMBs U.S.
Ray Stasieczko
Stay tuned to my YouTube Series, The End Of The Day With Ray!
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