There may be a time soon; Dealers will wish they were much farther along in their digitalization.
As the world realizes with the Coronavirus, those paths to success that were taken for granted can quickly become obstructed with unimaginable roadblocks.
When current circumstances get disrupted, the pressures of that disruption will defeat many who took for granted past comforts. As today the world is realizing how quickly things can become unraveled.
I am thinking how troubling it could be for many in the Imaging Channel whose digitalization is far from complete. Dealers who are still without E-Commerce capabilities have, no way for customers to pay them online, and have no way for customers to communicate with them in a digital world outside of email.
My friends in the Imaging Channel, it's time to equip your business with digital capabilities: capabilities where customers can visit you, select the products they want from you, and then pay you for the products they bought. All without human intervention.
I hate to think about how much commerce could slip through the hands of the channel as workers find themselves at home by the millions, and as business to business transactions move online to avoid offline engagements.
Jeff Bezos will find his Amazon in a great situation as many BtoB resellers neglected to modernize their business models, enabling them to operate in the intersection between the digital and physical worlds.
My friends, it is times like this that must open our minds and wake up those stubborn to yesterday. The BtoB deliverable is going to shift in ways many will not be prepared for the time to prepare is NOW!
The lessons of this virus are lessons for both Buyers and Sellers, who both neglected their digitalization. So, Sellers don't let your Buyers digitize before you.
It's time for the dealers to stop bogging themselves down with yesterday's mindsets and explore what could be based on what should be. Because what could be is coming soon.
Every dealer must understand that all the manufacturers who have helped convince dealers they didn't need to build e-commerce platforms. Will themselves be selling online through their own websites and the websites of all the distributors who have been selling their products online for a couple of decades. Amazon and CDW are just two. They might not be able to sell all your customers. However, they sure as hell could sell a bunch of them. #A4Revolution.
"Status Quo is the killer of all that will be invented."
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Many in the industry are asking themselves - what the hell is taking so long for the private equity roll-ups to do something? Or asking why has DEX Imaging not bought anything since breaking away from Staples? Some are asking what is the end game for Visual Edge IT, or Why is MARCO still in the hands of Norwest, or when will Oval Partners dumb Flex, or if Konica Minolta U.S. direct will go in the hands of Gamut & DEX Imaging. What about UBEO? Or, Novatech. I am thinking all the private equity is questioning the past strategies and thinking twice about additional funding.
It seems as these accolades should have more details and MATH! Copy & Pasted press releases will not help the industry navigate based in reality! RICOH Show the numbers!
It seems the industry’s media and analysts who attended the press conference held by Konica Minolta regarding the KM new Dealer agreement forgot to ask questions. So, in this episode I share my questions and thinking regarding their new Dealer Agreement! As a hint I think Konica Minolta is positioning for a big change with dealer distribution. A Change most of the Konica Minolta Dealers won’t like!
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