Printacom, sole local brand representative of OKI Printing Solutions, has announced the appointment of Panasonic Business Systems (PBS) as an authorised reseller. This will expand the channels through which the vendor's class-leading colour printers are available and bolster Panasonic's classically MFP-focused arsenal with a range of colour printing devices.
Printacom managing director Neil Rom says the new relationship will be mutually beneficial, meeting both Printacom and PBS' goals for growth.
"Printacom has for some time been looking for a partnership which allows it to take more of OKI's range of colour printers to the corporate sector. PBS welcomes the partnership, allowing it to bolster its range of pure-play colour printing.
"Since PBS has excellent relationships with an extensive variety of corporate customers, we believe this move will expose the OKI range to customers in a market that to date we had not targeted," says Rom.
To ensure there's no possibility of a clash between PBS' range of offerings and the new offerings from OKI, only certain products in the portfolio have been earmarked for sale through the Panasonic channel.
"PBS will take on complementary products that enhance its range," Rom clarifies. "Initially, the entire OKI colour laser range is open to PBS and as additional avenues open up, PBS and Printacom will respond to market demands," he says.
Neal Sillitoe, Panasonic divisional director: office automation, IT and CCVE systems, says the relationship opens new doors for his company into the printing space, bringing immediate benefit to its innovative bundling offers.
"We can now add OKI colour laser printers to our portfolio and create a truly compelling value proposition for our customers. We're extremely bullish about the new potential for sales that this will bring into the mix," he says.
As an example, Sillitoe points to PBS' bundle deal around an OKI C3300N and Panasonic DP-180, giving customers the flexibility they require in their environments.
"To date, this bundle deal has doubled OKI's and PBS' sales per month. The same bundle has now been rolled out across all 27 of PBS' franchises," Rom says.
Both Printacom and PBS are looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship developing over the coming years. As and when OKI updates its printer range, PBS believes additional avenues will open up.
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