Managed Print Services: Lock in Recurring Revenue without a Lot of Effort

Solution providers seeking to lock in recurring revenue—without a lot of extra effort—are embracing managed print services (MPS) as an avenue to success. In this Q&A, Michael Erwin, Ingram Micro’s vice president, vendor management and Business and Consumer Solutions, explains how our new offering simplifies the process of getting into MPS, while delivering a host of benefits that both solution providers and their customers can get excited about.

What is Ingram Micro’s new MPS offering?
The offer is a bundled solution—including at least one printer, installation, supplies and services for a full three years. It also includes the data collection agent (DCA) that enables Ingram Micro to monitor toner usage and replenish supplies as needed and the manufacturer’s next-day, on-site warranty. The entire bundle is sold as a single solution and managed by Ingram Micro on behalf of resellers. Check out this video to learn more.

What’s so unique about Ingram Micro’s offering?
A couple of things. First, we’ve made this solution very easy to sell. We created an online portal that enables solution providers to create quotes in a snap. They simply answer a few questions and it’s done. After they win the deal, we do everything—all the data collection, the administration and the billing, and we cut a check to the reseller for their margin.

Our MPS offering works for small opportunities, too—down to just one printer. That makes it ideal for small and midsize businesses. Nobody else is doing this. While most MPS providers are focused on enterprise, we’re the only ones that are also focused on SMBs.

How popular is this offering already?
We’re getting a great reception from partners who consider this a great way to address a market that simply hasn’t been served in the past. Ours is a small-volume solution that produces a predictable income for partners while also increasing their margins. We’re also shortening the sales cycle. The typical MPS sales cycle is anywhere from three to 12 months, while ours can be sold the same day.

Why would solution providers want to offer MPS?
If they’re selling printers but not the supplies, this is the perfect opportunity. They can lock in the supplies business at the same time as the printer purchase—and the long-term revenue of MPS is typically at least five times larger than selling printers alone.

In addition, solution providers don’t need to build a managed print practice or build infrastructure to manage a whole fleet of printers. There’s zero investment required. Ingram Micro has already done the heavy lifting to build this offering, and solution providers can simply leverage it. There’s no need for front-end or back-end administration—it’s all being powered by Ingram Micro. Perhaps the biggest value, however, is having the ability to offer MPS to SMB customers.

How is this offering geared toward the SMB market?
Our MPS offering goes down to a minimum of one printer—that’s unheard of in the MPS market. With traditional MPS offerings, a minimum of 50 printers is typically required.

What’s in it for end-user customers?
The MPS bundled offering delivers tremendous convenience and savings to customers—often as much as 30% in cost savings, which makes it an attractive, easy-to-sell option.

Furthermore, MPS creates a predictable expense for end-user customers. They don’t have to worry about tying up their capital by purchasing depreciating assets. Ingram Micro offers attractive financing terms, which means customers can hold on to their cash and use it to grow their businesses instead.

To learn more about Ingram Micro’s new MPS offering, email [email protected] or call (844) 360-3899.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.