Internet of Printing BV (IOP) has been appointed as a wholesale distributor for the IBM brand of replacement toner cartridges for the EMEA markets.
IOP was founded to help the reseller community identify new revenue streams and optimise gross margins and recently announced its range of 3D printers, supplies, accessories and training to help resellers with diversification and product line extension.
This is now complemented with the IBM branded toner cartridge range to help resellers optimise their margins. These products are designed for use in HP printers and are certified by IBM.
Mark Dawson, co-founder of IOP, spoke about the opportunity. “Resellers face many challenges with their printer supplies businesses. On the one hand, OEMS are pulling back on their channel support programmes meaning that real margins are reduced. On the other hand, the cut-throat competition and price compression associated with compatible or remanufactured alternatives means that cash margins are now even thinner on these offerings compared with the OEM products. It really isn’t a pretty picture out there.
The IBM brand provides an escape from this. Despite decent remanufactured alternatives being available with a price advantage, for more than 20 years, and despite new build compatibles being available at a fraction of the reman cost, the OEM still has a circa 75 percent share. In a climate where every enterprise user needs to reduce office printing costs, this is irrefutable evidence that price is not the only driver. Brand recognition is clearly a much bigger influence on procurement decision making.
Interbrand lists IBM as the 10th most valuable brand on the planet (Apple being #1). HP comes in at #52. There is now an opportunity for resellers to take advantage of this brand strength and to multiply their cash margins”.
