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‘Is there still profit to be made from selling supplies?’

It’s a question I’m frequently asked. And it’s no wonder. Over the past 15 years there have been countless predictions about the demise of the office supplies market.

However, here we are in 2016 and I’m delighted to say that my answer to the question is a resounding:

‘YES! There is plenty of profit to be made from supplies.’

I don’t want to come across as a blind optimist – after all, the well-documented reality is that the global market is in very slow decline – but that still leaves a massive multi-billion dollar market for everyone to enjoy! I know, however, that by adding value to all of your customer relationships, you can grow your supplies business and increase your margins.

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5 reasons why there’s profit in selling supplies

1 – What paperless office?

Despite waiting nearly 40 years for the nirvana of the paperless office, paper and print remain mission critical to most business operations. In late 2014, AIIM (Association for Information and Image Management) surveyed its 366 global members to find out about their progress towards being paperless. The results showed that despite the ubiquity of tablets, office workers still preferred paper copies to password protected digital documents.

2 – Supplies generate long-term, high profit revenues.

Whether you decide upon a discreet product revenue model (i.e. standalone sales) or an annuity-based model means you can achieve predictable, on-going streams of revenue and profit. Value-added services (such asXerox Supplies Service) are a great competitive, lock-out differentiator. And of course, don’t forget that annuity revenues have a lower cost of sale and higher margin.

3 – High margins (of up to 24%) are achievable

There’s never been a better time to uncover new customer opportunities and grow your business by taking full advantage of rebate schemes, incentives and other benefits the Global Partner Program brings.

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4 – Investing in your success

We commit to help you deliver value-added services to your customers, creating true differentiation. Rewards programs like Genuine Xerox Rewards can help you build a loyal customer base. And the repeat revenues the programme generates means a lower cost of sale for a consistently profitable business.

5 – Supplies are strategically important

Whilst there may be many vying for your attention backing a market leader is crucial to your success (I would say that!); so it’s certainly worth knowing that in 2015 Xerox Europe not only held onto its market share in office supplies, it also grew it, with the help of you – our partners.

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It’s clear there’s still very healthy demand in the supplies market and it is possible to grow a very profitable business if you adopt value-added selling strategies and make the most of your vendor programs.

On a personal note, I’d like to say a big thank you for sharing in our continued business growth in 2015. I look forward to another great year working with you all.