Konica Minolta Business Solutions UK Ltd (“Konica Minolta”) has launched its new online store, which is an e‑commerce platform designed to give micro and small businesses fast, self‑service access to their print solutions. Find it here.
At the heart of the new online store is Konica Minolta’s OneRate offering, a simple monthly subscription model that delivers essential printing and scanning for a fixed fee, excluding paper supplies. Everything is included in one predictable monthly payment – delivery, installation, servicing, toner, spare parts and ongoing support. Customers simply choose their preferred device and contract length (36 or 60 months). OneRate is the same service levels that an MSP (managed service provider) would offer.
The company have stated that the launch of the new store marks the “first step” in Konica Minolta’s enhanced digital sales approach.The online store also includes refurbished print devices through its bizhub Refreshed programme. The bizhub Refreshed scheme takes pre‑owned Konica Minolta devices and restores them to a fully certified standard.
As the press release puts it:
The new online store is designed specifically for UK SMEs, start‑ups and entrepreneurs who need dependable print performance without the complexity or financial burden of traditional hardware purchasing. By offering a fully digital, self‑service route to print-as-a-service, Konica Minolta is opening up a new, more accessible way for smaller businesses to adopt high‑quality print solutions.
Michelle Brown, Category Manager Office at Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd, has commented:
“SMEs and microbusinesses need technology that is simple and predictable – without the overheads or complexity that often come with traditional print procurement. Our new online store delivers the OneRate subscription model and gives customers exactly that: a modern, self‑service way to access quality print capabilities with one fixed monthly fee. This launch is an important step in reaching new customer groups and delivering print services in a way that matches how today’s small businesses want to buy.”
OneRate
With Konica Minolta OneRate, end users can lease a business printer and enjoy a fully managed service for one predictable monthly rate. The end user’s lease includes delivery and installation, automatic toner supply, free scanning, maintenance and parts for repairs, plus easy quarterly invoicing.
Bypassing the Channel
Konica Minolta’s online store has implications for distributors, dealers and resellers, although perhaps not as dramatic as it first appears.
The biggest impact will be on MSPs and resellers who also sell directly to end users who are microbusinesses, start-ups and SMEs, and by implication, their distributors whom they source from.
Konica Minolta’s position would be that this cohort of end users prefer to buy online rather than engage with a salesperson or dealer, but in essence Konica Minolta is effectively introducing a direct-to-customer model for an entry-level managed print service.
Konica Minolta may say that the company is responding to changing buying habits, as small businesses increasingly expect an Amazon-like purchasing experience. A subscription model does create recurring revenue while reducing the cost of acquiring and servicing smaller customers, and smaller resellers and MSPs. It is also a way of reaching customers that many MSPs and resellers might not actively pursue because the deals are relatively small.
Implications for distributors, MSPs and resellers
All channel players might feel a reduced opportunity at the smaller end of the market. Transactions that may previously have flowed through distributors to dealers could now be captured directly by Konica Minolta. Distributors could see lower volumes of entry-level hardware and consumables if more customers subscribe directly.
In the longer term, distributors may increasingly focus on supporting larger partners, enterprise deployments and value-added services rather than transactional print sales, thus resellers may be more impacted that MSPs. Since the offer is aimed at microbusinesses, distributors are unlikely to lose significant enterprise business, unless the new online store starts to list models aimed at this market segment.
However, MSPs and resellers are effectively competing with Konica Minolta for smaller customers. Customers can now purchase directly from the manufacturer with transparent pricing and fixed monthly subscriptions.
Some other implications could be:
- Pressure on margins, as standard print devices become easier to compare online, making it harder for resellers to differentiate on price alone.
- Pressure on credibility if Konica Minolta sets its pricing lower than that offered by MSPs and resellers.
- Pressure on MDF funding, especially if the same end user is targeted.
- Reduced lead generation, with the channel being cut out of the loop, so SMEs that would previously have contacted a local Konica Minolta supplier may instead complete their purchase online without any reseller involvement.
- More lines aimed at larger business is introduced.
- 60 months, or 36 months, is a long time to take business out of the channel.
Channel Future
Konica Minolta is following a broader industry trend. Vendors such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Logitech, Microsoft and Adobe already sell directly online while continuing to support channel partners. The challenge is balancing customer convenience with partner profitability.
Resellers will need to focus on services that cannot easily be sold online, such as managed IT services, workflow automation, document management, security, consultancy in areas such as print fleet optimisation and lifecycle management, and perhaps taking a multi-vendor approach.
The key question for the channel will be whether this remains a microbusiness-only digital storefront or evolves into a broader direct sales strategy. If it expands upmarket, distributors and resellers are likely to view it as a much greater competitive threat.
