By Andy Slawetsky – From the moment I walked into the product fair area for my press walkthrough at Toshiba’s dealer/branch/customer event in Las Vegas, I knew this was going to be a special event. I barely know where to start. #overwhelmed
This was the largest ever Toshiba Lead event – a showcase where they invite not only dealers and branches but customers too. Nearly 1,800 people attended this year’s show, including about 600 customers and prospects. This is up considerably from last year’s Lead conference, which I believe had about 150 customers. Toshiba closes a lot of business as a result of these shows and including customers has been incredibly successful.
Let’s start with the product fair. When that door opened for our walkthrough it was like getting punched in the face. Lights, digital signage, very professional looking booths, I wasn’t expecting this. Let’s be frank. Toshiba’s product fair was never anywhere near the level of their competitors. The floor was always sparse with a big open room containing a few machines, a few solutions and some pretty cool digital signage.
Compare to this picture from Lead 2014
Not this time! You’ll see it in my video walk through. Compare that to the one I took last year (you can find it here). This year’s floor was amazing. They had a great layout, tons of technology and partners everywhere.
One of my first questions was “how much more did they spend on this product fair compared to previous shows?” It was about double and it showed. I don’t know how they got Japan to increase their budget by so much for this event, I can only assume someone has compromising pictures of a senior exec or maybe they just really wanted to show how committed they are to this channel. Maybe they decided that bringing customers and dealers to such a meager expo was something they needed to improve on. Mission accomplished, to say the least.
This event was a major statement from Toshiba. Major. 23 new machines were announced at this week. And when I say new I don’t mean a refresh. These are NEW. And they look badass according to CMO Bill Melo and I agree. The new black look combined with a tablet-like user interface makes these machines look super edgy. The machines will roll out starting this week and continue over the next few months.
But one thing I’ve learned over the years is, looks aren’t everything – it’s what’s on the inside that counts (you can take that to the bank). Toshiba has standardized 23 new copiers on two engines. I repeat; two engines. From a support standpoint, how great is that? Common parts and many common supply items make this new line easier to service and support than any other line I know of.
But wait, there’s more! Last year, a couple of competitors launched vertical MFPs pre loaded with apps that are commonly used by customers in those markets (the Legal copier, the Healthcare copier, etc.). Toshiba has taken this idea to a new level. Instead of just a couple of machines, the entire line has this capability. And, Toshiba will be rolling out seven verticals. They took a great idea and made it better.
The MFPs also have serious horsepower. Enough, in fact, that like a few other brands, the devices are now capable of running as servers for certain applications. Included are features like embedded OCR and secure print release for small workgroups. Going forward, Toshiba will work with other 3rd party providers to leverage the power of the processors inside this machine, eliminating costly servers for many embedded solutions.
The only shortcomings I can find with Toshiba’s line is a lack of standard dual head scanning at the low end, which would be nice and production color. With the success they’ve had in mono production, I would think there’s reason to believe they could do very well in that market. Toshiba agrees and may address that at some point. Nut while they wait, their dealers are going to outside sources to fill their need, leaving their customer accounts vulnerable to the “partner” dealer.
Click here for all my photos
Dealers were thrilled with these new machines. Let’s face it; Toshiba’s MFPs were a generation or so behind most competitors. This has actually always been an issue with them in my opinion. It seems like every time the launch new product and catch up to everyone else, the competition would launch their replacements and Toshiba’s machines would again be old and somewhat lacking. This launch didn’t just catch up, it leapfrogged most competitors. They really knocked it out of the park with these machines.
Solutions and partners were everywhere too. PaperCut and ACDI were well represented, GreatAmerica Financial had a team of executives and ESP power protection was there helping dealers understand how critical it is to protect MFPs and digital signage from power issues. DocuWare’s booth was so packed you could barely get to it. Lexmark had a really nice section and a big team on hand as well. Dealers and customers were very interested in the solutions and flocked to the stations. Seriously, it was 3-deep at just about every booth for a good part of the show.
One thing Toshiba did that I don’t remember seeing before was they had the product fair in the front of a ballroom and the dining area in the back. This meant that every time we ate we were forced to walk through the product show floor. This exposed attendees to the products considerably more than typical shows where they might walk in there once or twice during the event. Great idea.
While my focus is on copiers, printers and workflow solutions, there was plenty of other extremely innovative technology on the floor. Toshiba’s POS solutions, inherited from their IBM acquisition a couple of years ago was featured in a pretty amazing retail area. Toshiba also showed some scanning solutions designed for stores that were really wild.
Picture walking up to an unmanned checkout line, dropping your basket on the counter and having it ring everything up without you doing anything. No scanning, it’s all automated. These scanners will offer facial recognition that tie into the shopping experience.
Toshiba also pushed ahead with their digital signage program ranging from massive scoreboards to interactive products that can be used in virtually any retail operation. A great deal of this signage can provide data to their owners; for example, it can tell what demographic is standing in front of the food kiosk – if it’s children the menu adjusts to pizza and fries, if it’s soccer moms, maybe salads and healthier food. If it’s me, wings and beer. The possibilities are endless.
Toshiba still has a lot of opportunities with digital signage. According to Toshiba executives, only about 10% of dealers are actually engaged with these products at the moment. There is money to be made here. Dealers that sell it have won deals as big as $200,000 and their branches have closed deals that are in the millions.
One thing I saw that I thought was brilliant was a solution already being used at Brookstone stores. Products sit on some type of pad and when a customer picks it up, the digital sign behind it will provide information or specifications on that product. If there are two sitting side by side, it will give the customer a comparison of the two. When they pick them both up.
What I REALLY liked about it was how it will help stop companies like Brookstone from losing sales to Internet retailers. Not completely but I bet it has an impact (it is Vegas afterall). How many times have you been in a store, seen a product and pulled out your smart phone to learn more about it or read reviews? What often happens next is that potential customer then sees the same product for a lower cost and bam…the sale goes to the Internet retailer. This could significantly cut down on losing sales from people that started out just trying to research the product from the store.
I sat in an analyst roundtable with Toshiba’s leaders. President and CEO Scott Maccabe, CMO Bill Melo and VP Joe Contreras fielded questions and chatted with us about everything from revenue (it’s up) to the B52s (that night’s entertainment).
In my opinion, one thing that’s going to be a concern over the next few months is their ability to keep up with the orders. Seriously. A couple of dealers have already sold about 750 of these MFPs between them and the machines are not even out yet! I was assured they’ve planned accordingly and will catch up quickly if this does become an issue. I don’t know though, these dealers are ready to rock with these MFPs. They’re significantly better than the previous generation of products. Think about the difference between an old analog phone and your current smart phone. The old one worked OK for what it was made to do but today’s version is light years ahead. If these guys could hang in there and compete with their old line, they should do very well with these products.
There were tons of breakout sessions such as a BPO session given by Lexmark, another on vertical market opportunities, digital signage and many others. Some of these sessions were pretty packed.
Outside of the product fair, Toshiba has always done a great job at these shows. They’re arguably among the best. I always felt they had a little less to work with when it came to their MFP hardware so they made up for it with effort. Maybe it’s a California thing but they’ve always seemed more appreciative of their dealers than most. There’s a reason their dealers have stuck with them over the years and it wasn’t because their copiers were the best. It was because of their people. I truly believe that.
The two dinners were fantastic. The first was poolside at the hotel, the second was at the new Toshiba arena where we were treated to a concert from the B52s (it’s a band, Google them for any of you darn kids too young to know Rock Lobster, dad-gummit).
I have been covering Toshiba and others for 20 years. This was by far the best show I’ve ever been to from them. Not even close. I’ve never seen a launch of this size. 23 new machines. And not just a refresh, but NEW. The product fair was just awesome. The general sessions were amazing with digital signage all over that would make your head spin. Whoever pulled that product fair together did an amazing job. It helps to have a budget.
I don’t know where they go from here? It will be challenging to top this year’s event during next May’s show (May 2 if I remember correctly – they called it first). How do you best a show like this? What really impressed me throughout the week was the investment and commitment Toshiba made to the channel with this show. They’re developing product, they’re spending considerably more money on their events and elevating them to the level of their competition and in many cases beyond. Toshiba has a very strong branch system and a solid core of dealers – almost half of which are single line dealers.
Dealers were blown away and as excited as I’ve ever seen them. The products look fantastic and are much more competitive than anything they ever had before. Digital signage and retail products offer dealers something that they, for the most part, can’t get anywhere else.
Toshiba is a big company and it looks like they’re finally throwing their weight into this channel. It was a great show. Nice job to everyone that put that together. Ya done good.
