Oki Data Carefully Builds Multifunction Printer Channel

Earlier this month, the company said it began shipping its first multifunction devices and brought its product line under the Oki Printing Solutions brand to sharpen the focus on its printers, services and solutions. Now executives of Oki Data's Mount Laurel, N.J.-based U.S. division said they are establishing a high bar for channel partners selling the company's highest-end MFPs.

"We're trying to make sure solution providers [on the high end] can meet the terms we need and support the customers," said Steven Feldstein, senior marketing manager for Oki's multifunction and fax product series. "We don't want to overdistribute the product."

Among the criteria for solution provider partners are MCSE- and EFI-certified staff as well as the ability to respond to customer-service needs in four hours, according to Feldstein.

Oki's higher-end multifunction printers include the ES3640e, which carries a street price of $13,499, and the ES1624, which runs $2,799. For those two products, the company initially will limit its lineup of dealers to about 100, and it's already most of the way to that number, Feldstein said.

"We have about 80 contracts that are ready to go out," he said. Oki is showcasing the multifunction product line at the AIIM/On Demand Conference and Expo this week in Philadelphia.

Oki aims to ship between 3,000 and 5,000 of its new multifunction devices during their first year of availability, Feldstein said. Plans call for the entry-level version of the company's C5510n all-in-one device to ship through general distribution, he added.