The pandemic catalyzed issues that were already becoming apparent in the office equipment industry. E-commerce and desktop printing had already been working to reduce the need for the local copy guy and his A3 fleet. What’s more, the need for print and copy had been declining due to the rise of digital documentation already.

When the lockdown began in early 2020, these challenges were only exacerbated by declining clicks due to the decentralization of the workforce and subsequent supply chain issues, including paper and the microchip shortage. Dealers that were focused solely on copy and print services, or CPC service pricing, were strained and in some cases, struggled to survive.

The question isn’t if or when, but how.

We want to emphasize that this issue is not all doom and gloom – it is simply an evolution of the industry. No doubt this can be frightening, change is always scary, but our greatest moments of growth come from our most challenging times.

Although these challenges were beyond the business’ control, they represent a powerful change force. Very little in the industry is the same as pre-pandemic. The most forward-thinking industry leaders consider this an exciting time of creative change. What will the industry look like going forward?

The first thing to consider is any company’s most important asset – its employees. People come first, so protecting office workers means that manufacturing slowed down because of Covid protocols as well as supply chain issues. The pandemic forced businesses to become “leaner”, but they proved they could be productive and profitable if the Covid retrofit was handled well. Thinking outside the traditional box even has the potential to expand profitability into new directions.

The current workforce is comprised of those referred to as digital immigrants versus digital natives. Baby boomer office workers are used to and more likely to rely on printers while millennials are more comfortable with remote work and a digital document workflow that doesn’t use prints or copies as much.

According to Jay McBain (reference #4), 75% of the workforce will be millennials by 2024, and Gen-Xers and baby boomers will be the minority in the workforce. Businesses will need to continue to assess the role of office space in their organization. “By the end of 2021, around 25% of small and medium organizations will change their real estate footprint by downsizing or dispensing with office space in line with hybrid workplace strategies.”  (Reference #6)

Many dealerships are making a natural progression into the managed print services (MPS) space. This allows an easy transitional business that can help make up for lost click volume revenue in the interim, and if done well, can help generate capital for more dramatic business moves.

Another natural progression that we have seen many of SalesChain’s most successful dealer-customers employ is the opening of document management and scanning services businesses. The major advantage of this move is that it allows dealers to capture the customer’s trust in the customer’s digital transition move. If a dealer can become an integral part of a customer’s digital transformation, they can capture their forward-moving business

Worldwide IT spending is growing, suggesting an area of growth for traditional print companies to expand into. Once a dealer becomes part of their customer’s digital experience, they can begin to move IT products and services to their base. Now their customer base knows the dealer as the office technology partner for not only print and scanning devices and service but also for IT Products and services. This is the natural evolution for dealers looking to continue being valuable technology partners to their customer base.

There are other avenues for growth that live outside of the obvious path of office technology expansion.  Modular office furniture, water, gym equipment, vinyl flooring, and cleaning products are all commodities that may be sought by clients retrofitting offices in the face of hybrid working conditions. Customer loyalty means they are more likely to buy these related products from a company they already do business with.

Keying into a millennial clientele that prefers internet marketplace buying is also essential.  It is not just the workforce that is changing, it is also the consumers who buy machines and print services. Cloud-based tools and services will become more and more in demand as employers offer full or part-time work-from-home options.

Companies poised to expand into these product lines will be at the forefront of future opportunities, as the office equipment channel continues to evolve. In the future, industry best practices will be defined by the ability to provide technical services to an increasing internet-based commercial sphere.