5 Questions for HP about the Acquisition of Samsung Printer Business Unit

Yup, because these models will not be available until May of 2017.  I agree, most are pushed up, and I'm not to worried

As of this date, BLI has published no specs on the new A3 product line.

HP's website has posted a few images.

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-ne...s/2016/GPC_2016.html

Tiered billing has been offered by Kyocera and Xerox for a few years.  I think the tiers are very low and a customer quickly gets knocked up to Tier 3 full or above market price.

Picked this up today:

Seems these new PageWide devices will offer tiered billing just the like the tried and test HP Edgeline.  Wow, this could get very exciting! 

SalesServiceGuy posted:

Any idea what an "in-cave stacker stapler is?  Is this the same as an Inner Finisher which fits inside the body of the copier and takes up no floor space?

Maybe they are calling the exit area in the MFP a cave, because it is surrounded on at least two sides. The finisher then sits in the cave?

SalesServiceGuy posted:

I hope HP (Hardly Profitable)'s idea of market innovation is not to make the whole industry hardly profitable.

Outside sales reps need to make a buck and will not flock to a new product that dramatically reduces their commission on every sale.  Kind of like the A3 to A4 transition of a few years ago.  Sales reps do not want to be forced to try and sell a lot more boxes to earn the same income regardless of how great the technology might be.  Did that, been there.

I'm not sure......will be interesting to see how the industry responds.  I think it may be time for HaaS or Seat Based Billing for MFP's. Get ahead of the curve and tie up your accounts now!

SalesServiceGuy posted:

Any idea what an "in-cave stacker stapler is?  Is this the same as an Inner Finisher which fits inside the body of the copier and takes up no floor space?

not here, I was going to google it to see

I hope HP (Hardly Profitable)'s idea of market innovation is not to make the whole industry hardly profitable.

Outside sales reps need to make a buck and will not flock to a new product that dramatically reduces their commission on every sale.  Kind of like the A3 to A4 transition of a few years ago.  Sales reps do not want to be forced to try and sell a lot more boxes to earn the same income regardless of how great the technology might be.  Did that, been there.

Any idea what an "in-cave stacker stapler is?  Is this the same as an Inner Finisher which fits inside the body of the copier and takes up no floor space?

I had the time at lunch today to listen to a recorded webex meeting from Photizo that offered up speculation on why HP bought Samsung.

Here's my takeaways:

• Patents, more than 6,500 of them
• 1,500 world class engineers
• The eventual replacement of all canon marking engines with Samsung

Thus, as there was much hype about the purchase of Samsung, I don't think was for the laser  based engines, but more for the patents, the engineers, and the laser engines for HP printers.

In addition, HP will now have access to many of the Samsung Dealers that they can pitch their A3 pagewide MFP's to.  I got the feeling that HP will pick and choose what dealers they want and what dealers they don't want. Not all Samsung dealers may have access to the A3 pagewide MFP's. 

Here's a cut from the MFP press release from HP:

Next generation A3 multifunction printers

HP’s full portfolio of A3 MFPs – including three PageWide platforms and 13 LaserJet platforms – will be available as 54 different SKUs with a range of finishing options, such as in-cave stapler stacker, hole punch, high capacity staple / stack and booklet makers, to provide the strongest customer experience. By providing a broad range of device options, HP is providing channel partners robust possibilities and pricing flexibility to meet the needs of their customers.

Next generation A3 multifunction printers

HP’s full portfolio of A3 MFPs – including three PageWide platforms and 13 LaserJet platforms – will be available as 54 different SKUs with a range of finishing options, such as in-cave stapler stacker, hole punch, high capacity staple / stack and booklet makers, to provide the strongest customer experience. By providing a broad range of device options, HP is providing channel partners robust possibilities and pricing flexibility to meet the needs of their customers.

The HP PageWide Enterprise and Pro platforms will make color affordable, along with best-in-class print speeds and lower energy consumption than in-class laser devices.1, 2 The simple architecture of HP PageWide – with only three components that may need replacing – will help lower servicing costs for channel partners. The single and multifunction devices will have print speeds ranging from 40 ppm to 60 ppm (up to 80 ppm in General Office mode). The HP PageWide Pro devices will be available beginning in spring 2017 while the HP PageWide Enterprise devices will be available in fall 2017.

The HP LaserJet Managed MFPs will be available as multifunction devices, with color or monochrome printing and speeds ranging from 22 ppm to 60 ppm. The new LaserJets will have long-life components, fast repair times, and will be available beginning in spring 2017.

"such as in-cave stapler stacker, hole punch, high capacity staple / stack and booklet makers, to provide the strongest customer experience"

Ok, so we're going to have to compete with ink based MFP's with finishing capabilities and they're going to be fast.  I can compete against ink vs toner, been doing it for years, however I'm concerned where the pricing will come in for the hardware and where the ink pricing will be. 

pHOTIZO showed a cost per page speed, meaning you take the price of an A3 50ppm color device and divide the cost by the speed. For example, the street price for a 5ppm color device (no accessories) is $11K. Thus the cost per page speed is $266 per 1 page.  Thus, $220 x 50 = $11,000

On the HP side, HP has the PageWide Pro 577, that system resells for $1,500.  Thus the cost per page speed $30. That's a huge difference.

The general consensus is that no one has any idea of where the pricing will be for the new PageWide PRO & PageWide Enterprise A3 devices will resell for.

I guess we'll find out more the closer we get to the fall of 2017.  Who knows we may see Samsung GUI's and feeders drive the PageWide engine. 

One thing we know for sure, is the best print will be on inkjet paper, business class speed will not offer acceptable quality and we've yet to hear about substrates. 

I'm somewhat concerned, however there is always a way to kill the elephant in the room.

What is puzzling to me is almost the same day that HP announced they were purchasing Samsung's print business, they launched a major new product line.

Are they going to ditch the new Samsung line?

Did HP buy Samsung's print business to take out a competitor and get the recurring revenue from parts, supplies and cpc contracts.

To me, HP has always been an abbreviation for "hardly profitable".

Following is communications guidance on the Samsung Printer Business Unit Divestment includes:

• The Samsung Electronics Press Release
• Q&A for Samsung Employees and Partners

 

“Samsung Electronics has reached an agreement to sell the entire global operations and assets of its printing business to HP Inc. This transaction is part of the Company’s efforts to concentrate on its core business areas.

Samsung will spin off the Printing Business Unit into a separate company as of Nov. 1 upon the approval of shareholders, and sell a 100 percent stake of the newly created company and overseas assets related to the business to HP.

Under the agreement, Samsung will source printers from HP and continue to market in Korea under the Samsung brand. The transaction is expected to close within one year, subject to the appropriate regulatory approvals.

Samsung Global Newsroom: https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-electronics-announces-divestment-of-printing-business-unit-and-nomination-of-jay-y-lee-to-the-board-of-directors

 

Q1: Why are you divesting the Printing Business Unit?
Samsung launched its printer business in 1991 and has secured a solid position in the A4 printer market. However, currently ranked the 10th-largest globally, the Printing Business Unit faces challenges due to its limited scale and sales networks. The overall market environment is also facing headwinds due to the widespread use of mobile devices as well as price competition.

HP has the scale, channel depth and market leadership to take advantage of our innovation and extend the strong work we have achieved to the broader print market. The two companies have many complementary facets including rich histories of innovation, engineering and R&D. It is for these reasons we decided to move forward with this transaction with HP.

Q2: What impact will this divestment have on Samsung’s existing printing business?
We do not anticipate any disruption to our normal business operations as a result of this divestment. Samsung has a robust print solution business, hence HP’s desire to acquire the business unit.

Q3: What will happen to the Printing Business Unit's existing clients and partners?
Upon close, HP will take over all the existing business relationships of Samsung's Printing Business Unit. We expect new growth opportunities given HP's leading position and scale in the global market.

Q4: Will there be any impact on customer services?
Until the transaction closes we will operate independently and expect no interruption to customer service. Upon close, HP will provide customer care for Samsung's current clients under its global service program.

Q5: Do you expect additional deals or other strategic business cooperation with HP?
HP, the leading global maker of printers and PCs, is one of the biggest customers of Samsung's semiconductor and liquid crystal display businesses. Samsung will continue to expand the long-standing strategic partnership with HP.

My coworkers and I are scratching our heads too.   

Art

It was great meeting you in San Diego….. Thanks again for the work you do on this blog.

Have a good week!

Kim Louden
Vice President, Sales
Tel 319-261-4057 Cel. 319.491.7096 Fax 319.261.6057
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I think I figured out what happened.  Their PR company accidentally sent out a press release from 15 years ago, not realizing that the core messages they put out were no longer relevant.  It's like having Comcast put out a press release that they just bought an ISP and they are going to completely disrupt the dial-up internet market. 

Interesting observations Art. 

I think everybody was thinking who in the copier industry was Samsung planning on buying.  Nobody thought that it would be Samsung who got bought up.  It is not like they needed the money.

I think there was some corporate pride at Samsung that they would become #1 in any industry that they entered.  It must have been obvious to Samsung that to conquer the consumer electronics industry is one thing put to conquer the business to business copier industry was unlikely.

Thanks HP for taking Samsung out of the picture and giving me a new line to put doubt in customers minds when competing against Samsung.

Larry Levine posted:

Love it Art! Curious what HP does with this acquisition. 

Yup we'll see, it's interesting that I had a conversation about the pagewide technology at the Top 100 Summit. 

Love it Art! Curious what HP does with this acquisition.