The PrimeLink Series allows dealers to move upstream.
It’s pretty much a given that Xerox understands production print, particularly the upper end of that segment. But what not enough dealers may realize is that Xerox also has a strong light production print offering.
That’s the message that Mark Pollack, channel marketing for Xerox, is on a mission to relay to the independent dealer channel. Pollack is an office technology industry veteran with career stops at some of the more prominent players in the production and light production print segments.
A Broad Light Production Offering
The PrimeLink series is Xerox’s light production line. There are four monochrome models: the 9100, 9110, 9125, and 9136, with speeds from 81 to 136 ppm and monthly volumes of up to 8,000,000 pages. The color models include the C9065 and C9070 with speeds of 65 and 70 pages per minute (ppm), respectively, and monthly volumes of up to 50,000 pages. The devices also support 13” x 26” banner printing.
The technology is the same in the mono and color models, which should be attractive to dealers, according to Pollack. “They don’t have to carry a whole lot of separate parts for either series,” he said.
The light production models are gaining traction in the channel. “They’ve been stellar products for us,” said Pollack. “Because of their design, it’s a bridge product that can be scaled up or down. You can even place it in an office environment because the interface is the same across the product line. It doesn’t matter if it’s our light production machines or our lower-end A3s, they all work the same way.”
A variety of peripherals are also available for both the monochrome and color models, such as booklet makers and finishers. The color PrimeLink models have the added benefit of vivid and fluorescent inks. They can also print on media that other light production models can’t. For example, the PrimeLink series can print on waterproof, tear-proof, and fade-proof materials, which is beneficial for output placed in windows or used as wraps.
“We test all the different substrates and recommend which ones will work for each application,” said Pollack. “We can control the fusing and the speed, so it won’t jam, melt, or wrap around things. That allows customers to move applications in-house that they may have previously been outsourcing.”
What Pollack likes most about the PrimeLink series is its scalability. “We’ve had a lot of placements in the office where they need a rugged machine with great quality and those capabilities,” noted Pollack.
Added Pollack, “You can put it in an office and let everyone beat the hell out of it, and it’ll take it. At the same time, that same model can be put in a production environment running special media with fluorescent or vivid color inks that are perfect for short runs and custom jobs. For example, if you have a restaurant that needs leak-proof and tear-proof menus that they need to change every month and place in a window and not fade in the sun, this is the perfect product.”
Other applications can be found in higher education, where universities use the PrimeLink series to create parking stickers to place on student and faculty car windows. “We have a template that allows them to produce student ID cards, mail cards, and car-parking permits on one document,” noted Pollack. “And it’s all perforated.”\
Gaining Light Production Mindshare
The PrimeLink series has helped Xerox gain mindshare with dual-line dealers. “That’s the name of the game, and frankly speaking, we’re relatively new to the dealer business compared to everyone else,” said Pollack. “Dealers have an entrenched mindset, familiarity, and comfort level with the brand they grew up with. To get a dealership’s sales force to switch gears and look at something else, you need a hook, something worthwhile.”
To encourage more dealers to sell the PrimeLink series, Xerox has created a competitive trade-out program and offers sales reps a healthy spiff. “If dealers hit their target, they can earn double the spiff for replacing a competitor,” said Pollack. “Salespeople, we’re all coin-operated to some extent, so that gets their attention. Dealers have called it a game changer because it enables them to replace some competitive units maybe a year early.”
Another hook is Xerox’s app gallery, which is a revenue-generating opportunity for dealers. The apps allow sales reps to shift the conversation from price to the client’s challenges and how Xerox can help solve them. “We’re always looking for revenue beyond the box,” said Pollack.
The app gallery is a set of applications written by Xerox, third parties, and dealers that can be loaded onto the devices. One of the most popular is Easy Translate, which translates a scanned document into one of 40 languages. Another is DocuSign for documents requiring digital signatures.
Other apps are designed for vertical markets such as education, healthcare, and legal. Others enable cloud storage, mobile printing, and productivity. More than 60 apps are currently available. “It’s mind-boggling how many apps there are,” said Pollack.
Xerox recently held a series of roadshows to educate dealers about its entire product line, including the PrimeLink series and the app gallery. “They had no idea the app gallery was as strong as it was,” said Pollack. “They might have their favorite one or two apps, but once they dug into it, they realized, there’s a whole lot more.”
Dealers most likely to sell the PrimeLink series are those with $4 million or more in yearly revenues and who have an established and savvy service team. “You must be very conscientious on the service, especially if you’re going into light production environments where the expectations are more demanding,” said Pollack. “Unless a dealer is willing to meet that SLA [service-level agreement], they shouldn’t bother.
“That’s the nature of the beast. If you’re going to enter the game, you must be prepared to play the game. You can’t just do this on a whim. We would discourage a dealer that wants to jump in the pool but isn’t ready to devote the resources necessary to be successful. It’s a mistake for us, and a mistake for them.”
Beyond the Xerox PrimeLink Series
The PrimeLink light production machines also serve as a gateway to Xerox’s entire product line. “We have a lot of dealers interested in carrying Xerox for the production line,” said Pollack. “Of course, we welcome that, but we want them to sell the whole line. It’s a land and expand strategy. Once they get a taste of our production line, they realize that our A3 line has the same UI interface, so then that interest starts to trickle down.”
Pollack believes there is plenty of runway for Xerox as far as encouraging more dealers with the proper resources and interest to take on the PrimeLink series. “Since we are relatively new to the channel, we have a smaller group of dealers, fewer than our competitors, so we’re always looking to expand,” he said. “However, we are mindful and want to add dealers where it makes sense. This isn’t the dealer-on-every-corner strategy. We prefer to have a strong dealer in a market and not oversaturate. One of the beauties of selling Xerox is you won’t find 20 people in the same market selling the same brand. That’s attractive to dealers because they don’t suffer the margin pressure when that happens.”
