As retail and hospitality businesses increasingly look for ways to become more efficient and boost their profitability, they are looking to solutions such as managed print services to help achieve this.
Times are tough for businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors in the UK. Recently high-profile names such as Claire’s Accessories have disappeared from the high street, with others, such as TG Jones – better known as WH Smith – closing more than 100 stories.
But underneath the headline closures, many smaller retail businesses are also closing their shutters for good. It is a similar story in the hospitality sector, with more than five venues shutting per day around the country this year.
This means for those businesses remaining, whether large or small, the focus is on the bottom line and ensuring operations are as efficient as possible. With print still a core part of many operations in the retail and hospitality sectors, businesses are looking to see how it could be run better – and managed print services (MPS) is increasingly seen as a route to this.
Lynne Brown, VP channel sales at Xerox UK & Ireland, says demand for MPS solutions from retail and hospitality businesses remains strong. “This is because retail and hospitality organisations continue to look for ways to reduce operational costs, improve efficiency and simplify the management of increasingly distributed technology environments,” she says.
“While print remains business-critical for many retail and hospitality operations, customers are increasingly viewing managed print services as part of a wider operational technology and digital transformation strategy. They’re looking for solutions that not only improve device management, but also help streamline workflows, reduce pressure on IT teams and support broader business objectives.
“As organisations continue to balance cost pressures with investment in technology, we’re seeing growing demand for services that combine automation, analytics, security and cloud-based management to help businesses operate more effectively.”
Gary Organ, head of device technology sales (office) UK at Fujifilm Business Innovation, agrees that demand in retail and hospitality for MPS is high. “These markets continue to focus on print as a key part of their business processes,” he says.
Trends
But while demand for MPS is high, what customers want out of it are changing, and expectations on providers are increasing. Lynne notes that customer expectations have evolved significantly over the last few years. “Organisations are no longer looking for a supplier that simply manages printers; they’re looking for a partner that can help deliver measurable business outcomes,” she says.
“Cost control, security and reliability remain key priorities, but customers are also looking for ways to connect physical and digital processes, make better use of operational data and simplify increasingly complex technology environments.
“Many retailers and hospitality businesses know where they want to get to in terms of digital transformation, but they’re often dealing with legacy systems, competing priorities and limited resources. As a result, they’re looking for practical solutions that deliver value quickly, provide greater operational visibility and support more informed decision-making.”
Gary adds that customers in hospitality want digital and printed copies of documents. “In addition, personalised and professional communication documents to sell services are becoming more important,” says Gary.
This is important as good communication – often still from printed media – can make a difference in encouraging patrons into a hospitality venue.
AI impact
One of the most impactful trends now among retail and hospitality businesses, as with many other business sectors, is AI and how it can be harnessed to provide benefits.
Lynne says AI is helping organisations move from reactive to more proactive ways of working. “Within managed print services, AI and advanced analytics can help predict issues before they occur, automate routine support activities and optimise device performance,” she explains.
“More broadly, AI is helping businesses make better use of operational and customer data. Whether it’s identifying inefficiencies, supporting faster decision-making or uncovering trends that may otherwise be missed.
“The greatest value often comes from many small improvements that collectively save time, improve productivity and help organisations make better-informed decisions. The focus should be on applying AI to solve real business challenges and deliver tangible outcomes.”
Gary agrees that data analysis is proving valuable to these businesses. “These markets are using AI to analyse consumer trends, with companies keen to understand how they improve the services they offer to their end consumers,” he says.
Reseller conversations
With what customers wanting from the MPS solution changing, especially with the rise of AI, resellers need to tailor their conversations with customers carefully to ensure they get the right solutions for them.
“Resellers should firstly understand the nuances of the retail and the hospitality sectors, as they are often much more complex than a standard office/SMB environment,” notes Gary.
Indeed, retail and hospitality businesses have specific problems, as mentioned above, and resellers that can appreciate those – and provide potential solutions – will be best placed to capitalise.
Lynne advises partners to focus on business outcomes rather than technology specifications. “Cost control remains a key priority across retail and hospitality, creating opportunities to demonstrate how managed print services can reduce waste, optimise device fleets and provide greater visibility into print-related costs,” she says.
“Security should also be a central part of the conversation. Printers and multifunction devices are connected endpoints and need to be managed and secured as part of the wider IT estate.
“Partners should also highlight the operational benefits of modern MPS solutions, including proactive monitoring, predictive support, cloud-based management and automation. These capabilities help minimise disruption, improve device availability and reduce the burden on internal IT teams.
“Increasingly, customers are also looking for support with wider digital transformation initiatives. Partners that position MPS as part of a broader conversation around workflow automation, analytics, data-driven decision-making and operational efficiency will be best placed to differentiate themselves and add long-term value.”
Future
Demand is expected to remain strong for MPS solutions in the retail and hospitality sectors for the foreseeable future. “We expect demand to remain strong because the challenges customers are trying to solve are not going away,” says Lynne. “Retail and hospitality organisations continue to face pressure to reduce costs, improve efficiency, strengthen security and do more with limited resources.
“While print volumes may continue to evolve, the demand for managed services, automation, analytics and secure document workflows is expected to grow. This creates opportunities for partners to have broader conversations around operational performance rather than simply device management.
“The future of managed print services will be increasingly connected to cloud services, AI, data analytics and workflow automation. Partners that can help customers bring these elements together to improve efficiency, simplify operations and deliver measurable business outcomes will be best positioned for long-term success.”
Gary adds that demand will remain strong with growing calls to offer print as a service in hospitality and customers requiring multimedia for things such as invoices. “Tangibility is a key trend that is driving users to want physical paper with inboxes swelling with emails and data,” he says.
