Oki, Motion announce massive growth, interest in new MFP range

Six months after the signature of their office automation partnership agreement, Oki Printing Solutions and Motion have announced substantial growth in their market space, increasing interest in Oki`s MFP line of solutions as well as the conclusion of Motion`s first major deal with relation to Oki MFPs.

Says Brett Furlong, managing director of Motion: "We were originally attracted to the Oki band as a result of the quality of product, low cost of ownership and the good supply chain embodied by the local brand representative, Printacom.

"This is in line with our corporate strategy, since Motion`s goal is to always offer the customer a choice of `best-of-breed` options in the SMB and corporate market.

"Oki plays a vital role in our portfolio with regards to this strategy, giving us access to an entry-level MFP in the 5540 and a high-end MFP in the 9800," Furlong continues.

Peter Vieira, business development manager at Oki`s corporate printing solutions, says Oki is delighted to be associated with Motion, since the company has created a niche for itself in the market and since doing so, has come a long way.

"In six short months Motion has proven its worth as a partner and has done exceptionally well, meeting, and in some cases, superseding our expectations as an office automation partner," he says. "It`s a credit to our brand that Motion has chosen to sell Oki as one of its primary solutions," Vieira adds.

"While we have access to other solutions and brands, we`ve chosen Oki as our primary route to market and not as an alternative like so many other office automation companies have done. We believe this alone has given us the upper hand in the market," says Furlong.

One of the primary reasons Motion is attracting so much interest from its customer base is the unheard of 35c `per click` price it offers on the Oki models in its portfolio. "Considering the industry norm ranges from 65c to 80c `per click`, and that a self-maintained solution costs a customer on average 78c `per click`, we are simply the most cost-effective colour solution available today," he enthuses.

Furlong believes the innovative pricing and service models Motion has put in place are a direct contributor to its recent win of a R9.2 million tender to supply Abbot Laboratories with 17 Oki 9800s, as well as a full maintenance contract over the next five years.

"In this instance, we saved the customer roughly R150 000 over the term of the agreement and have supplied them with colour units throughout their organisation, whereas the previous solution was a 90/10 split between monochrome and colour units."

Apart from that, Furlong says Motion`s sales of Oki MFPs have increased by at least 100% since the introduction of the 35c `per click` model. "Frankly, no other solution makes as much sense," he adds.

"The past six months` growth aside, we believe we can significantly grow this part of the business in the coming months and we are confident that we will triple our sales of Oki MFPs in the coming year.

"This has provided the impetus for us to embark on the nationwide expansion of our six Gauteng branches into a countrywide footprint over the next two years.

"Furthermore, we feel that our relationship with Oki will only strengthen in the future, since we believe that the Oki brand and its representation is as dynamic and forward thinking as we are, and our relationship complements both our organisations," Furlong concludes.