What The Hell Are They Thinking?
Over the last couple of months, I have been pretty outspoken regarding the Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S. leadership’s decision regarding national contracts. It still absolutely amazes me how silent the industry is on this subject. What The Hell Happened To The Dealers Voice?
Is Konica Minolta U.S. controlled by gangsters? Are dealers afraid they will be whacked if they speak out? Seriously, folks, the silence is deafening.
I was completely in disbelief when I saw an article written in the Cannata Report dated June 22, 2026. I really am starting to believe that some of the industry’s publications participate in these attempted distractions, knowing I will call out their insanity and drive folks to read their publications of alternatives to reality.
Over a year ago, when the ENX Magazine article published, the story regarding the new KMBS U.S. dealer agreement I was the only one in the entire industry who screamed WTF! So, naturally, back a year ago it was an easy decision for the subject of some of my outrage, the retired BTA Lawyer, to head over to the Cannata Report and record an episode of Fridays With Frank.
An episode where I shared my concerns a couple of times. I couldn't have been the only one thinking - here’s another look over here instead of there, facilitated by the industry’s media.
By its appearance, this whole KMBS story is being controlled by KMBS and some of their media friends.
The hard thing to say: I now believe that the BTA (Business Technology Association) is also being controlled by a couple of media outlets, along with KMBS U.S.
Here’s my thinking: I am screaming at the industry about the KMBS U.S. national contract issue, which does involve the retired BTA Lawyer, so please keep in mind the new BTA Lawyer is the Retired BTA Lawyer’s son as you read this.
So here we are more than a few months into this issue regarding the KMBS U.S. national contracts, and the current BTA Lawyer has said nothing regarding this important issue.
I, as many others, believe it’s issues like this that once made the BTA very valuable. The hard-fighting BTA for dealers' rights and prosperity. I guess those days are over.
Instead, the current BTA Lawyer heads over to the Cannata Report, where he discusses issues dealers have with other dealers. I want to share the first two paragraphs of this Cannata Article with the current BTA Lawyer.
‘Unfair competition and restrictive employment covenants are two concerns top of mind for dealers these days, according to Greg Goldberg, who serves as general counsel for the nearly 500-member Business Technology Association (BTA).
“One topic that keeps coming up is unfair competition,” Goldberg shared. “The scenario goes like this: A sales rep from Dealer A spreads false information about Dealer B.” They might say that Dealer B is going out of business, for example, that Dealer B’s customers are leaving in droves, or that Dealer B just lost its top technician.
So, we have an issue involving KMBS U.S. and dealers, and the BTA Lawyer shows up in an industry publication and discusses dealer-on-dealer issues. He did bring artificial intelligence into the conversation. Unfortunately, like others, I see this whole article as a distraction from the KMBS U.S. issue I believe he should have been addressing.
Keep in mind, I understand that if the BTA lawyer is, in fact, working behind the scenes regarding the KMBS U.S. issue, he probably would not discuss it. However, it's been months, and nothing is keeping the BTA Lawyer or its director from publicly announcing that they are, in fact, taking the issue involving Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S. and their dealers seriously and are looking into it.
He could also instead of discussing dealer vs. dealer he could have written an article describing the potential issues with open territories and MEGA Dealers with W2 technicians in those territories. He could have discussed why it’s important for dealers to review their contracts with all OEMs and ensure that OEMs cannot simply take away national contracts mid-contract without cause, that dealers have built infrastructure to serve and support for a specific contract term.
That subject coming from the BTA Legal advisor, could have carried weight, thereby alerting dealers to potential issues with other OEMs, as we currently see with KMBS U.S.
In fairness to the BTA, I did hear that the BTA sent out a survey to Konica Minolta Dealers. However, that just seems like a way to procrastinate having a conversation that would definitely get the attention of KMBS U.S., and maybe the fear of conflict is contributing to what I see as procrastination by the BTA leadership.
Quite honestly, the article's editor should have addressed the issue regarding KMBS U.S. and could have easily said that the BTA has no comment. I guarantee to all my industry friends that if the media wasn’t afraid of KMBS U.S., this story would have received much more attention.
Who else believes that the writer of the article was told to say nothing about the KMBS U.S. issue? I would also ask the same question regarding the podcast host of the Stramaglio Show I called out last week, for refusing to even mention Konica Minolta during a 38.33-minute interview with two leaders of the MEGA dealer who is actually the benefactor of the KMBS U.S. decision regarding national contracts.
I guess generic information from the BTA, the Cannata Report, and The Stamiglio Show would appease the dealer community. Again, another look over here-instead of over there scenario. Something the industry’s media facilitates very well.
When you read that recent article in the Cannata Report. Just ask yourself this: why is this article being published now, and why is the BTA Lawyer not discussing the biggest issue between dealers and an OEM in probably a decade?
Unfortunately, many would answer that question as I would. The industry’s media and some of its leaders are too busy with flattery and pandering to address any reality grounded in the least bit of conflict.
Let’s now go back to April 2025. The start of my frustration regarding the KMBS U.S. issue. As my platform gains more followers daily, some of the audience may be behind on how this issue got my attention to begin with.
It started with an ENX Magazine article published in April 2025. In that article, there was an interview with the sitting KMBS U.S. President of dealer distribution. The interview was a question-and-answer session on the new KMBS U.S. dealer agreement program.
In that interview, the President of Dealer Distribution at Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S. discussed the retired BTA Lawyer. She noted Bob Goldberg, the retired BTA Lawyer, had given the new program his legal blessing.
Yes, I was outraged and produced a couple of End Of The Day With Ray episodes on the subject and wrote a couple articles. The context of my content was why is the retired BTA Lawyer blessing any OEM contract? I was also questioning who compensated the retired BTA Lawyer for reviewing the KMBS U.S. contract and blessing it? I believe those are fair questions that are still unanswered.
So here we are 15 months since the ENX Magazine article, and KMBS U.S. is doing some questionable things regarding national contracts. The good news for KMBS U.S. is that none of the media is questioning anything. Of course, the bad news for KMBS U.S. is that I am questioning everything.
The days of hoping to stay hidden behind the editors of the copy-and-paste media and the spewing of flattery on pandering podcast are over.
What these publications misunderstand is that some of what they report benefits the industry’s dealers and has value to the industry. However, when they use their platforms to help hide reality, they are actually providing a disservice to the dealer community they all claim to love and support.
Now I want to share something regarding the BTA that actually upsets me to have to say.
I believe it’s time for dealers to consider looking outside the BTA for help with overreaching OEMs or the help dealers may need in navigating OEM contract issues. Maybe dealing with non-competes and mundane dealer issues is now the BTA legal service.
Last Friday on my daily show The End Of The Day With Ray, I discussed the BTA (Business Technology Association)'s 990 Tax filing and found that the organization was sitting on over $10 million in assets! Yes, that is TEN MILLION between the BTA entity and the BTA Scholarship entity; it became very clear to me after seeing that that the BTA is being run as a risk-averse association, and unfortunately it seems that fighting for its dealer members is now seen as a risk of some sort.
In closing: To my media and analyst friends, yes, it can be a lonely place to share one’s thoughts and passion for the industry. However, our industry doesn’t need more pandering or unwarranted flattery; it needs to navigate based on reality.
Ray Stasieczko, Host of The End Of The Day With Ray!
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