Our CEO, Simon Davey and Regional Managing Director, Andy Young spoke with Nell Walker from Dealer Support magazine about the rise of MPS and the importance of a driven, educated team.
Read the full interview (from our DMC Canotec days) below.
With managed print services (MPS) on the rise, there’s never been a better time to specialise in this area. DMC Canotec exists to help businesses improve efficiency and security, cutting down on business costs through MPS and secure print. Based in Croydon, it’s a growing entity – one that Simon Davey, CEO of DMC Canotec and Andy Young, group sales director, are driving forward with an intense focus.
Simon spent 26 years in the banking industry before taking responsibility for DMC Canotec three years ago, while Andy has been with the business for just a few months – though he brings with him a vast background in IT infrastructure and telecoms. Simon describes DMC Canotec as “a value-add reseller of MPS“, though the company’s remit has expanded into IT managed services and telecoms. “But, at our core, we’re an MPS business,“ he says. The major drive towards a need for MPS is, in DMC Canotec’s experience, due to increased digitisation – something that will only become more important over the next few years.
Simon Davey (CEO) and Andy Young (Regional Managing Director) speak to Dealer Support
“Our clients understand that the multi-function device is a key part of the technology in their office environment, so they’re looking at ways to do things more efficiently,“ Simon continues. “That’s where we come in and provide a wraparound service for that hardware with a first-class software solution and some great support staff.“
While cost is one understandable driver pushing customers towards this kind of service, it’s also about transparency. “All organisations look to be efficient, but what we’re seeing is a need for cost control – actual visibility, understanding and management of costs,“ Andy explains. “customers don’t mind spending money, but they want to understand the return on their investment“ says Simon. “They need to know it’s worthwhile.“
Understanding the customer
DMC Canotec is, in Andy’s words, “one cog in a big wheel around changing behaviour“ which adds to the efficiency businesses are looking for. As professional teams become younger, they want to be more agile – something MPS enables – and there are some verticals adopting managed print like it’s going out of fashion. The sectors DMC Canotec specialises in are referred to by Simon as ’LIFE’ – which stands for legal, insurance, finance and education – as security of sensitive data is particularly important to them, especially since the implementation of GDPR in May last year. As all dealers know, it can be challenging both to enter new verticals and manage them, but one way DMC Canotec faces this challenge is with a team from a variety of backgrounds.
“I am keen to bring people into this business who aren’t necessarily from this industry,“ Simon says. “For example, we have a team from legal backgrounds who know legal inside-out. They speak the language, understand the pain points and processes and can understand and empathise with customers from that sector. Technology can make a difference but people make a bigger difference.“
“They have the ability to really understand what’s important to that customer,“ Andy continues. “You link the technology to the understanding – not the other way around.“ It’s this depth of customer service that allows DMC Canotec to thrive despite a very competitive market. It’s very easy to cut prices and offer a stripped-down, low-quality service, but DMC Canotec is determined to dig deep into the customer’s mind set and find out what makes them tick. “We need to understand what’s driving their behaviour and implement a solution for that,“ says Simon. “That solution may not be the cheapest on the market, but it’ll be competitive, and will enable the customer to achieve their goals.“
“Technology can make a difference, but people make a bigger difference”
Simplicity. Innovation. Excellence
Supporting this ethos, DMC Canotec has strong values – simplicity, innovation, excellence; it’s quoted on its website and encompasses all that the company hopes to achieve. Innovation refers to products and systems and reflects the excellent software providers it works with. Simplicity is about transparent contracts that customers can understand quickly – something DMC Canotec asks for customer feedback on regularly. Excellence refers to the service they provide, the quality of which is reflected in its Trustpilot ’Excellent’ score as well as in its long-standing relationships with clients. Additionally, the reputation DMC Canotec has is something that encouraged Andy to join the business.
“A key factor in my decision-making was being sure I came to an organisation where excellence is at the heart,“ he explains. “Being responsible for the sales group, it’s a lot easier to be successful if you’ve got a happy customer base that’s pleased with the service. I probably met 20 customers in the first few weeks and that positive message was reinforced by every one of them.“
It helps that DMC Canotec has the support of its core supplier – Canon – which has full faith that the business is thriving for all the right reasons. “Canon’s core business is to go via indirect channels – value-add resellers, like us,“ Simon explains. “We’re their biggest mono-branded partner in the UK, and the first Canon Business Centre in the UK is being run by DMC Canotec.“
As a result, DMC Canotec is Canon in the south-west, representing the brand with its own sales team and engineers. “For us to represent Canon in such an important geography must mean we’re outstanding in what we do.“
Another factor in DMC Canotec’s success as a service provider is its dedication to ensuring every member of the team feels valued and equally involved. When Simon launched the company’s new business plan a year ago, the senior management team approached all members of DMC Canotec staff in groups to present the plan and give them the opportunity to discuss and ask questions. “It’s really important that, when we set out a vision, everyone buys into it,“ he says. “We communicated it to them in such a way that they felt part of it, and could engage.“
“It’s really important that, when we set out a vision, everyone buys into it”
The future
In the years ahead, DMC Canotec is looking forward to further organic growth. “Our philosophy, in terms of sales growth, is ’retain and grow’,“ Andy says. “My role is made a lot easier, when it comes to retention, due to our service excellence. We have a customer base that’s been with us for 15-20 years, so our principal objective is to keep those customers and help them on their journeys.“ Andy’s job will also, of course, see him guide his team to find new customers in verticals the team already has expertise in, and it’s currently on the lookout for new talent.
From Simon’s perspective, national expansion is the focus. “What’s exciting for me is that we have a sales head with a technology background, in Andy, who can approach our growing MPS customer base with a really credible proposition,“ says Simon. “In the months and years ahead, I’ll be telling you that we’re a significantly bigger, national VAR, with a much stronger presence across the country and with a broader service offering.“
* Article originally sourced from Dealer Support.
