Network Color Printers: Xerox's Colorful Win
Vendors evaluated in the new network color printer category also include the new Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark and Minolta. Once the evaluating and scoring processes were completed, partnership received the highest derived importance, followed closely by product innovation. Support and loyalty share the same level of derived importance (see "Determining Factors," right).
Clearly, however, quality/reliability is a key to printer sales: VARs surveyed rated it the most important criteria in the entire category.
Xerox swept every one of the criteria that make up the four subcategories: partner innovation, support, partnership and loyalty, although it did tie for first with HP for loyalty. Each received a score of 78. But with loyalty having a derived importance rating of 21 percent, it wasn't enough for HP to bump Xerox out of first-place status. The vendor remained a distant second, with an overall score of 68, based on its subcategory rankings of second place in product innovation and support and fourth place in partnership
"This ARC win is great supporting testimony that Xerox is working hard and well with our channel partners. We work closely with them to provide substantial, profitable growth opportunities," says Chris Iburg, Xerox's director of channel marketing. "In January, 2000, Xerox acquired the Tektronix color printer business and we have been working very hard to integrate the two organizations and programs into one successful business and channel program."
Tied in the third-place slot, Lexmark and Minolta each received an overall score of 63. Lexmark came in third and Minolta fourth in the product innovation and support subcategories. Lexmark's strong scores and
second-place status in the partnership subcategory helped raise its overall score to tie with Minolta for third place overall.
Second-place overall winner HP scored nicely in the product innovation and support subcategories,above the category averages for several criteria, including product quality/reliability, richness of features, compatibility/ease of integration and quality of technical support. HP did not fare as well, however, within the partnership subcategory, ranking fourth behind second-place Lexmark and third-place Minolta. Meanwhile, Lexmark scored better than average in the following partnership criteria: solution-provider program, e-business portal and ease of doing business, finishing second behind Xerox in all of those.
When Xerox's solution providers were asked specifically where the vendor improved the most in its partner program, 25 percent reported improvements in two areas: product quality and partnering. Another 17 percent of Xerox's partners said channel relations improved the most, followed by 16 percent reporting communication improvements. The one area where only a small percentage of Xerox solution providers surveyed (9 percent) felt there were program improvements was responsiveness. Xerox should hear the message that it could use some work in that particular area, according to its solution providers.
Overall, solution partners expect an increase in their business of selling network color printers. More than 60 percent say they will see an increase in business tied to this particular product segment in the coming months. One-third of solution providers say their color printer business will remain unchanged, while only 7 percent foresee
a decrease in their network color printer business.
When asked what percent of their network color printer products are sourced from various channels, solution providers say that 80 percent,or four out of five,of their printers are purchased via distributors, while only 13 percent are purchased directly from the vendor.