Oki programme wins approval
UK resellers give thumbs up to printer vendor's channel initiative
Over 250 resellers in the UK have signed up to printer vendor Oki's channel programme since it was launched in October.
Chris Gill, UK managing director of Oki, said the Oki Partnership Programme was formed after the vendor conducted research with its channel partners.
"We found our channel has four main concerns, and this is what we based our channel programme on," he said.
The first concern was margin depletion, so Oki restructured its rebate scheme to include its consumables. The second change to the scheme was to help resellers to acquire and retain customers.
"We created an offering for VARs to help them find customers in different verticals, and marketing activities to help target various markets," Gill said.
Third, Oki has attempted to "enhance the proposition of resellers into the marketplace", Gill added.
David Wilson, business development manager UK at Oki, said the firm has created a services and solutions offering for end-users which will go through the VARs.
"We wanted to be very thorough and not just reactive. It's a way for resellers to move forward with their business," he said.
The initiative involves Oki providing consultancy and design work for end-users, and encouraging them to bring printing back in-house, Wilson said.
Ben Anderton, product manager at Oki distributor Midwich, said the services and solutions element also included 'smart marketing' for VARs.
"Resellers can go online and download ready-made marketing tools with their logos. They get control of their own marketing," he said.
"Oki is doing a lot of the legwork for them. To have it all on a plate is a good step forward, as most VARs don't have the resources to conduct their own marketing campaigns."
The final part of the programme aims to help resellers target specific vertical markets.
Gill said the programme will not be tiered in the traditional way, but will "create relationships according to the size, needs and capabilities of each reseller".