The overall "image impact" of top quality colour printing, combined with the importance business attaches to the correct matching of company printing to corporate colour swatches, remain critical factors to differentiate distributors and resellers in the highly competitive SME market.
"Today it is not just the corporate heavyweights that want colour printing of exceptional quality, the small and medium businesses demand it too," says Philippa Dal Medico, channel manager at Square One Solutions Group, a JSE-listed company focusing on IT-based business solutions and a boutique distributor of specialised Xerox colour printers to SMEs.
Market research has put printer overall growth this year at about 8%. "Square One has been capitalising on this growth by adding value to end-users through the expertise and the national footprint we have built up over the past 15 years," says Dal Medico.
She adds that as a boutique distributor for Bytes Document Solutions, sole distributor in sub-Saharan Africa for Xerox, Square One`s policy of forming strategic alliances with its reseller partners ensures that its expertise is transferred to the reseller and to customers, who directly reap the benefit.
"Customers want colour printing of the highest possible standard and to achieve that the installation, calibration and set up of each printer for the customer has to be spot on. We have the experience and the technical know-how to calibrate and adjust or modify software and drivers to ensure the best result is achieved. This is what sets Square One apart as a boutique distributor -- we`re not box-droppers."
Dal Medico says Square One has benefited from the combined efforts of Xerox and Bytes Document Solutions to boost the overall channel through mutual assistance and marketing support, strengthened partner relationships, raised service delivery and the focus of energy and resources on collaboration and true partnership.
"Our distribution and reseller partnerships focus is on ensuring that we deliver high quality printing solutions with reliability, speed, expertise, flexibility and low-cost per page. Then we also add further value by offering competitive finance and rental deals through our specialist group subsidiary, Square One Capital (Pty) Ltd."
In its partnerships with resellers, Square One assists with on-site demonstrations and training for customers because users are becoming wiser and smarter. "They research products so there`s no such thing as a sale off the shelf," says Dal Medico. "High-end colour printers must be properly installed, serviced and maintained because people know exactly what they want to achieve with colour printing, not the least of which is deriving value from the investment."
Square One offers a two-year service contract with the Xerox printer ranges it handles and Dal Medico says these contracts can be extended. "It makes total sense for servicing to take place on site as these machines are large and heavy and difficult to move. Doing the service on site also means the printer is offline for the minimal period."
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Square One Solutions Group is listed on the software and computer services sector of the JSE Securities Exchange. It focuses on providing IT-based business enabling solutions, has a national footprint and more than 20 years of experience in the South African market. Square One Solutions offers value-based solutions centred around IP infrastructure solutions, policy solutions, power solutions and product coding and marking solutions, to its key target market of enterprise, SME, corporate and government clients. The company also distributes document solutions, colour input and output devices and provides 24x7 national support and service. For more information, visit www.sq1.co.za.
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