Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd is celebrating a successful first year of its newly enhanced Partner Programme and Partner Portal, which has for example seen unit sales (of A3 and A4 multifunctional devices) increase by 128% compared to pre-pandemic figures. The company now also has 28 solo-branded ‘Exclusive Partners’ throughout the UK, all benefitting from being an extension of the Konica Minolta brand.
Encompassing office, professional and industrial print, along with IT solutions, Konica Minolta’s highly successful channel development programme has seen 32 new resellers added through a careful process that avoids potential sales or geographical conflicts with existing partners (protecting the business interests of all parties). The Konica Minolta Partner Programme offers ongoing personal one-to-one support across the whole of the Partner Support team complimented with Marketing and PR support to ensure partners get all the visibility and support they need to compete in the market.
“Over the last year we have continued to further develop our offering in line with our commitment to our partners. This includes building and developing a framework for Professional Print Accreditation, along with new partner onboarding. With the business IT and print market continuing to evolve rapidly, our Partner Programme is geared towards supporting our partners as they evolve with it. This includes selling our integrated Digital Transformation software solutions, which are fully backed by a dedicated specialist sales team and the technical expertise of Konica Minolta’s ProcessFlows team.”
Cameron Mitchell
Business Leader for Indirect Channel at Konica Minolta Business Solutions
The Konica Minolta Partner Programme is also geared towards enabling Professional Print providers to move into the lucrative realm of Industrial Print and labelling, as Cameron added, “With many print businesses looking to diversify and deliver a broader range of services, there are huge opportunities for our partners to deliver Konica Minolta’s powerful but flexible and cost-effective AccurioLabel range of digital presses. These presses offer greater flexibility of set-up and use, with a cost-effective pay-per-click approach which enables Professional Print houses to offer more to their customers. With Konica Minolta’s broad expertise in print, our Partner Programme is designed to actively support and reward partners looking to diversify and embrace these opportunities.”
Konica Minolta’s enhanced Partner Programme includes the ‘Exclusive Partner’ scheme, which recognises and rewards those that solely sell its hardware products and services, as well as recognition of those that specialise in specific/specialist areas (such as ITS or Professional Print) with specific and unique incentives and rewards. Cameron stated, “We decided to take a different approach to our competitors by shining a light on these partners that stand out in a sometimes crowded ‘Me Too’ market. Undoubtedly providers need to differentiate themselves more, and by delivering Professional Print, Industrial Print, or solutions they can deliver the vital systems that customers need today.”
Being a Konica Minolta partner adds further value, as Cameron explained, “Undoubtedly our partners appreciate added-value support with sales, marketing, and PR, along with special pricing and attractive margins. We also focus on partner events that deliver tangible benefits, networking with other partners and building a community of support that is exclusive to Konica Minolta partners. Our Accreditation really does demonstrate expertise and investment in training and support, and along with the other well-deserved benefits it shows the commitment to delivering the best for customers – which is essential in standing out from the crowd.”
With further Partner Programme enhancements planned for the year ahead and beyond, including the use of a new customer engagement facility from Spring 2024, now is the perfect time for channel businesses to engage with Konica Minolta. “We are on a journey with our channel partners, one that will continue to evolve and change to meet the needs of end users and the broader market,” concludes Cameron. “We have always been certain that our technology is best-of-breed, and we firmly believe this is also reflected in the comprehensive support we offer our essential partners.”
CONTACT
Graham Thatcher
Chief PR Ltd
graham.thatcher@prbychief.com
SOURCE Konica Minolta
