Managing MPS strategy for Oki

Sales director outlines strategy for boosting MPS sales

New Oki sales director Nick Munton has asserted that the vendor's managed print services will have a greater focus on management part than many offerings currently in the market.

Munton told CRN that what would differentiate Oki's managed print services (MPS) strategy and offering - which some have criticised as being a late entrant - is its emphasis on the managed part of the solution.

"Does MPS stand for managed print sales, services, solutions or systems? I think everyone has a different definition of that. Ironically, the M bit, the bit we all agree on, is where we ourselves differentiate," he said.

Munton said Oki's offering aimed to take as much end user input out of the equation as possible - making for a truly managed service. Many MPS offerings, he claimed, still require significant help from the customer to reach fulfilment, for example when ordering fresh consumables.

He added that Oki has in fact offered things that could be described as managed print for a long time before the official MPS launch.

"It is all in how you define it," he said. "And the degree of management is often what differs."

Munton said his aim is to grow MPS revenue from its current five per cent to at least 40 per cent of Oki's UK business through its financial years 2011 to 2012.

"Yes, we are going to be very busy," Munton agreed. "We are proactively marketing the proposition at the moment. I think the buying public are now aware of it as well."

Bespoke offerings will still be available through partners. Two of Oki's MPS VARs, despite being similar in other ways, have opted for different forms of MPS engagement, he noted.

Munton, previously commercial sales head at Konica Minolta and before than regional director at Toshiba, took the sales director reins over from Bill Allan [pictured] in early January. He was given a mandate to grow the vendor's MPS business in particular alongside developing executive series dealerships.

Oki's Print Optimizer MPS programme was launched in August. The vendor claims it will offer print savings of up to 20 per cent while enhancing productivity and reducing costs to the environment.

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