Oki Data Plans New Channel Operation, Rolls Out New MFP

Oki Data CEO Stewart Krentzman said the Mount Laurel, N.J.-based company is nearing a launch of a new channel operation that is being built as if it were brand-new, rather than just initiating incremental changes. He also said the document hardware and services company will finally move into all corners of the market with its product lineup this year and will provide a channel operation to take advantage of a changing market.

Details of the new channel organization will be released within a few weeks, Krentzman said.

"There are markets where, in the U.S., we need to get wider," hesaid. "We want to get deeper with solution providers where, together, we believe we can provide a win-win proposition and add value to their selling proposition."

Even though he stopped short of providing details on the new channel structure -- saying the company is going back for a third round of consultations with its reseller advisory council on the new program -- Krentzman said it will be more than just a tweak.

"We're coming at this as if we were just entering the business for the first time," he said.

In the process, Oki Data has shifted some staff to allow it to provide dedicated sales support to resellers, and the company plans to add more employees later this year for its channel efforts.

"So when they need to make a phone call, they won't just call an 800 number. They'll have a dedicated sales person here for them," Krentzman said.

In addition to broadening its effort with the channel, Oki Data is set to broaden its product line. Oki Data rolled out a new MFP, the C3530n, which prints at 16 pages per minute in color and 20 ppm in black-and-white. Carrying a list price of $799, it also has scan-to-USB capabilities and banner printing functionality. The product will be sold only through the channel in North America.

Pat Mareno, president of PNG Computers, a Staten Island, N.Y.-based solution provider and Oki Data partner, said he was encouraged by the news of the vendor's plan to hike its commitment to the channel.

"When I see a company like Oki Data turn and say, 'Now I'm going to turn to the value-added reseller,' to me that's a very positive sign," Mareno said. "I stand behind companies like that 100 percent."

Mareno said his business with Oki Data has been good, and he has been "very happy on the services side with Oki," adding that his company is also authorized as a service provider for the vendor and has found the company to provide solid support.

Still, Oki Data is working in a tough market, and Krentzman acknowledged that it has been made tougher by pricing pressures on the hardware side. He said Oki Data aims to build off its managed services strategy, in which its offering is co-branded with solution providers and has grown by orders of magnitude over the past two years.