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The way I see it, change must happen when flow has been blocked or stopped. Regardless if it’s something big or small, in our personal life or at work, adjustments or overhauls are needed to reestablish harmony. Take the print industry, where the global supply chain crisis forced us to dissect a part of the process that many had perhaps taken for granted for too long.
Distribution. I know you dealers out there know what I’m talking about.
Dozens of distribution centers sit alongside the highways through Pennsylvania and into Ohio. Which is where my wife, our daughter, and I headed last month for a pair of basketball tournaments (had two more in Kentucky the following week). We’re from North Jersey, our daughter plays for an AAU program in New York State—we log crazy hours in hotels, you betcha. But how apropos that we were cruising past these receiving-bays-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see monstrosities, as distribution has been more than just a topic of interest for several of us at Keypoint Intelligence recently.
| A basketball tournament wristband. I finally felt important. |
Some might describe the changes in the print industry supply chain as “fundamental” or “evolutionary.” Others would lean toward “necessary.” Long portions of general sessions at vendor dealer meetings were dedicated to supply chain damage control/limitation in 2021-2022, and the manufacturers have seemingly remained vigilant and proactive. Efficiency is forever under the microscope, from workflows in distribution to performance on the basketball court.
TD SYNNEX helps countless print vendors and the greater technology community. Tech Data had been handling device distribution for Sharp, adding the managed IT piece (a separate conversation) after the merger with SYNNEX. On April Fools’ Day this year, Xerox and Distribution Management expanded their relationship to include a wider range of MFPs and printers. No one—except for distributors, of course—wants inventory nowadays, so it’s a slam dunk for the channel. And considering distributors can not only deliver but also install in some cases, dealers should be happy as it allows them to do more of what they do best: sell product and provide service.
I’ll add that it’s further proof to us that meaningful partnerships can result in two-way growth.
| From Vonnegut’s brain to his fingers, through this typewriter and onto paper. |
We stayed in Indiana between the tourneys in Ohio and Kentucky. My mind had shifted from distribution centers on the outskirts of civilization to the inner workings of artificial intelligence (AI)? cities? Not sure. Then, during a sightseeing excursion in Indianapolis, we happened upon the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. He’s a favorite writer of mine, so we paid the admission fee and in we went. I encourage you to check this blessed little place out if you’re ever in town (flipping through old pressings of his titles is worth the price alone), but I tell you: Vonnegut, with his otherworldly sci-fi/dystopian chops, would have a field day with all this AI business.
Now, to answer the question my wife asked me before we’d departed for our fortnight of basketball, the one activity I wanted to do during our time off in Indiana was to experience the roundabouts of Carmel (emphasis on the first syllable). I’d learned in the last year or so that the city constructed 141 traffic circles from 1998-2022 (total stands at 150 today). With 100,000+ residents and the largest high school in the state, Carmel has 15 traffic lights. But, as you must surely know, traffic lights are expensive to install and, let’s be honest, they slow things down.
Roundabouts, on the other hand, enable free-flowing movement. Yes, you have to stop or at least pause before entering a rotary, but… We have traffic circles galore here in Jersey (jug handle lefts too, another separate conversation), but this whole Carmel thing is a quirky curiosity to me. Then again, the purpose of unlocking traffic equates in some way to unlocking the flow of information in business, and this is what dealers at their core strive for with customers. From managed IT services (MITS) to managed print services (MPS) and everything else, everyone just wants that flow of information. City planning is, apparently, not much different than designing solutions for your clients.
| A roundabout in Carmel, IN. Just can’t get enough of these things. |
It’s mid-August. School will soon be back in session. For many that means budget season is on the horizon, like when you crest the highway and have a beautiful new scene to study. Not to return to inventory and warehouses and the value of quality distribution partners, but it is a terrific time to take stock of things. The budgeting process calls for give and take, artful compromise, and you’ll have plenty to ponder. Could be about the dealer’s strategy, it probably includes an analysis of your portfolio of products and services, or maybe it’s more specific to features of your cyber package or the process of securing new logos.
Vendors have decisions to make, directions to explore, and transformation to embrace. They’re constantly thinking about the operational efficiencies they can gain anywhere in their business, including from that network of middlemen we’ve come to know as distributors (they do more than just distribute these days). You should be thinking about it, too. As dealers, remaining strong through the gusts of wind that force you to swerve on the road is essential. You have the tools needed to solve client challenges—MITS, digital transformation (DX), production print, perhaps even some AI skills—and you know how to marry them into a cohesive system.
To unlock communication as well as potential.
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