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How the Copier has Transitioned from a Commodity to a Vital Information Management Tool

October 27th, 2020 by Glyn Morgan

When I started in this industry, most copiers were still using liquid toner and premix. You could always tell who had utilized these devices by the stains on the carpet in front of them. Once copiers transitioned over to dry ink, people were delighted. At least until the secretary had to dump the waste toner from the collection box, it never failed that she was wearing a white blouse and got the toner all over herself when this happened.

The next evolution came, automatic 2-sided copying.

No longer did we need to use the bypass tray. Color copying completely changed the industry from dull black & white. During this time and era, anybody could sell a copier.

Now comes the digital age when copiers can be networked. Once copiers were networked, we had networked printing. A little later, scan to your desktop via an application and soon scanning to email, folder, and of course, the capability to fax. Now copiers started to be referred to as MFP's or multi-functional products. Currently, the copier has entered the realm of the complete digitalization of your office.

So, I ask you again, Copiers? Is it a commodity or an integral part of your business?

In today's age, most customers do not fully utilize what a copier can do. Today, copiers are much more than just an MFP. Now is where a trustworthy advisor is needed. I pride myself on the ability to help the customer fully understand how to utilize their copier fully. You first need to understand what the customers' needs are.

In a lot of cases, needs are super simple - copy, print, and scan. In discussions with clients, this is where we can discover issues or pain points. What kinds of problems can be solved?

  • Having to scan documents into a folder, renaming them, and moving them to the correct folder or needing to scan documents into a database or an ERP.
  • Some clients need the ability for mobile printing, cloud printing, and scanning or even print tracking.
  • Currently, security is at the forefront of the client's mind.

What I value is the ability to help customers solve these pain points. These challenges may be anything from advanced scanning, workflow management, copy tracking, security, mobile printing, cloud printing, and more. With security, compliance and company accounts being vulnerable, we can track printing, scanning, or faxing and what type of documents are being scanned or printed.

A dedicated advisor is there before the sale, during the sale, and after the sale. I am always available to help train new employees and assist customers with billing, service, or even supply issues that might arise. As much as we strive to be perfect, we are not. It is how we approach and solve these issues that bring value to the customer. I have been in this industry for nearly 30 years and have had numerous customers during this entire time. Many of my relationships have changed from vendor-customer relations to a friendship. There was a quote that always resonated with me, "WHERE CUSTOMERS BECOME FRIENDS."

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Posted in: Business Technology

Function4 serves Houston, Beaumont, Paris, and the surrounding areas.