LEXMARK

Making a Mark

SINAN EMON, GENERAL MANAGER, EASTERN EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA (EEMEA), FOR LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL, SHARES INSIGHTS INTO HOW THE FIRM HAS GROWN FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH AND OUTLINES THE ROLE ITS DEDICATED REGIONAL DISTRIBUTOR ASBIS ME PLAYS IN ITS OVERALL CHANNEL STRATEGY.

How has Lexmark developed its business in the Middle East and which geographies are your prime focus? The Middle East region has always been important for Lexmark. We achieved significant results with Ink Jet printers during the 2000-2010 period and then directed our focus to our laser portfolio. Until 2017, Lexmark prioritised the growth in corporate and managed printing services and after the introduction of Lexmark’s new printer portfolio consisting of Bolt, GO Line, 2 Families, the company decided to re-establish its mark in the channel.

Lexmark reaches its customers with both indirect and direct presence. In the Middle-East, Russia, Romania, Hungary and Turkey, we have on-shore presence. While in Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Greece, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, Lexmark utilises indirect methodology.

Can you elaborate on Lexmark’s channel strategy for the region? We believe in working with select partners across the region to grow our capabilities and customer base. Partner profitability is critical for us and Lexmark’s strategy remains partner-oriented. In line with this, we are working with our regional distributor ASBIS Middle East to analyse our go-to-market strategy and identify some long term partners in the region. We are actively looking to grow our channel reach in the region through ASBIS ME. Our aim is to deliver managed services to end-users in cooperation with select partners. If a reseller believes that they have the right stamina and infrastructure to be a part of this exciting venture, they can reach out to either ASBIS ME or Lexmark Middle East and have our mutual capabilities analysed by Lexmark engineers.

What key areas is Lexmark focusing on with ASBIS Middle East to develop and strengthen its market presence in MEA? We do harbour plans in future but right now our focus is on growing the market share in the MEA region. We are guided by our philosophy of ensuring that our partners benefit in terms of earning decent margins. If the business is profitable for our channel ecosystem then our market share grows as well. We, together with ASBIS, are not in a hurry, but rather we would like to do things in a systematic manner. We want to limit the number of partners, listen to end-users and provide solutions to their problems. Further, we make sure that our resellers have our support, and continue to strengthen our infrastructure through partner training and investments.

What channel initiatives is Lexmark implementing for all its distribution partners and resellers? We do not see these as initiatives but rather investments that we make with our resellers. Lexmark is working with ASBIS Middle East on a new attractive channel scheme for our partners. The key to this scheme is ‘simplicity’. Through our extended sub-distributors, we would like to implement a channel scheme for resellers. This will help the resellers to understand which activities Lexmark will support and fund, and what extra support they can expect from us. In turn, we can increase visibility in the market and deliver our message enabling a mutually profitable relationship. In addition to this, training, product support and bringing unique solutions to the region are an integral part of our strategy for this region.

What trends are driving channel partners to get involved in the managed print services market? Today, one of the major issues in any market is the lack of a long-term investment and return on investments for an IT reseller or system integrator. On the other hand, end-users are negatively impacted by the cut throat competition in their markets, hence requiring year on year savings to frugally focus upon their own expertise rather than being stretched thin over processes that can be handled outside their organisation. Managed print services provide an economical and technological solution to the needs of providers and beneficiaries of MPS.

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