How Selling Less Stuff Translates to More Profit
Amy Westervelt, Contributor
Long before everyone was talking about “the cloud” and software as a service, there was the printing and copying industry, selling services instead of products. Today that industry still stands as a great example of how companies can sell a service rather than a product and make far more profits doing so.
According to Canon‘s managed services division, the 2012 into 2013 year marks the first time that the scales have tipped toward service as opposed to machines when it comes to printing. ”
There’s been a decrease in the amount of equipment sold because businesses are using equipment more efficiently, and it’s being better managed,” says Kristin Merry von Manowski, an advisor on enterprise solutions for Canon’s Managed Print Services division.
That means most companies are printing more sustainably. “Machines are also being returned to the original manufacturer for recycling, and more toner is being collected for recycling as well,” says von Manowski. “The influence of managed services has been huge in terms of the impact the overall industry has on the environment. Divisions like ours help get the devices back in, help clients utilize the equipment they have in the most efficient manner possible, and are also spreading best practices throughout the industry.”
It also means savings for companies and, in the long-term, more profit for Canon. Valerie Belli, founder of Canon’s managed services division, points to clients like Time, Inc. and Computer Associates as being early adopters who have seen the choice of going with managed services over simple procurement pay off in various ways. Computer Associates saved 31 million sheets of paper last year, a feat that not only saved the company money, but also helped it move from 30th place to 9th place in Newsweek’s sustainability index.
“We’re starting to really see companies shift from just doing surface ‘green’ things to looking at what’s going to make a real difference,” von Makowski says. “Companies used to really pay attention to procuring green devices–always Energy Star–but they’re understanding now that it’s WHAT YOU DO with the equipment to drive down costs, environmental impacts, and so forth that makes the difference. Green devices can be over-procured and under-utilized, toners could be not recycled properly, and that makes for an unsustainable program. If you procure the right things, but then fail to use the technology ideally, that’s not great. It’s about putting the right equipment in the right place and setting them up to reduce impacts.”
It’s advice like that that helps endear Canon to clients more than any one printer or copier. And that keeps the company turning a profit even as sales of its equipment might be diminishing.
“Clients are like hey why are you talking to us about less equipment?” Belli says. “Guess what? I want to keep you as a client forever and if I don’t tell you this stuff someone else will. It’s better to have a long-term client than to have one for 5 years and then lose them.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/am...ates-to-more-profit/
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