COMMENT
New year, new opportunities
With 2023 nearly a month old already, businesses in the print channel are finding causes to be optimistic about the remaining 11 months of the year, despite the economic challenges many are facing.
New year is traditionally a time of optimism and looking to the future, and businesses in the print channel are doing just that, although probably with some trepidation, given what has happened in the past three years. While everyone will be hoping that there isn’t another major global event that disrupts supply chains, prices and buying decisions this year – and the law of averages surely means that we can’t have more than one every year? – there will be hopes for opportunities to grow the bottom line. While the problems from 2022 – supply chain issues, rising prices, looming economic recession etc – are still with us and are likely to be so for some time yet, there is plenty for businesses to deal with, especially as customers may be looking to tighten their belts in terms of spending. But this can create opportunities too: if businesses aren’t investing in people, they may be looking at ways to increase efficiency in how they work. For instance, they may be looking to digitalise the business, and scanners can be an important gateway to this. With many businesses looking to use less paper, as well as increase efficiency in the business and ensure that all employees can access documents wherever they are working, the digitising of documents is becoming more important and, as a result, there are opportunities to sell dedicated scanners for this – as well as open up conversations about further digitalisation in a business. We explore in more detail on p46.
There are other reasons for optimism in the print channel too. For instance, hybrid working continues to bring opportunities, not just with home office setups, which are increasingly being upgraded, but with things like the secure networks that are needed for it. Then there is managed print services, which will continue to grow, especially as many businesses are looking to simplify their technology processes. Sustainability will also be an increasingly important factor in buying decisions. With many businesses looking to reduce their carbon footprint and become more sustainable not only for the CSR side but also to save money, every aspect of operations are being looked at and printers and scanners can play their part. These hopes and more for the print channel are outlined by a range of experts and thought leaders in the sector, as well as what they predict the main trends and opportunities will be over this year. Read their thoughts beginning on p15. But whatever happens this year, the print sector has proved its resilience over the years – especially the past three – and will those within it, manufacturers or resellers, will find ways to evolve, serve the needs of their customers and make money. I hope you enjoy the issue. As always, if there are any topics you would like to see covered in the coming issues, or you wanted to get involved in
Dan Parton
Every quarter we make an award for the best campaign run in the magazine. This quarter Kyocera has been chosen as the winner. They have produced some informative content for our readers, presented in a clear and concise way. Thanks for the support.
winner Q4 · 2022
best campaign
editorial, please contact me at dan@printinthechannel.com .
printinthechannel.co.uk
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