Friday is FunDay: Optimus Prime, this had to be done.

What you are about to see is Top Secret...Do not tell my mother...

OfficeMax: ***CORRECTION*** I DO Remember Seeing Someone From OfficeMax at the Managed Print Services Conference

****** CORRECTION ********

David Peterson, Director of Sales, OfficeMax was in attendance at the MPS Conference, and I did speak with them - my apologies!

So, what can be determined by this?

OfficeMax gets it.

They get the whole MPS approach and are leveraging their customer relationships. And not only with MPS but also as a MSP.

Lawton Smith and Darrell Amy's discussion resonates once more - the advance MPS providers are ready to hop-scotch over to the MSP role.

And now, I need to wipe the egg off my face.

During the OfficeMax earnings call today, Sam Martin – Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer regarding Managed Print Services said, "...The idea is to collaborate with customers and maximize their office supply savings with OfficeMax through analytics.

This value proposition then opens the door to approach the customer with related spend categories as well as non-traditional areas in which we have expertise such as managed print and data center services..."

Furthermore, Martin adds, "...We believe that a deeper business relationship results in better retention...Our relationship with Young has evolved from basic office supplies procurement into a broader solution which includes managed print services.

Print is not a core activity for Young and they viewed OfficeMax as having a best-in-class solution that met their needs.

Other categories where OfficeMax has expanded its relationship with Young include certain data center services and other supply categories not originally priced with OfficeMax. Currently less than half of our business with the Young brand is traditional office supply procurement..."
------

On the OfficeMax Managed Print Services website, they use phrases like "scalable end to end solutions" and "...across all manufacturers...". On the site, they even say, "...We'll help manage all your print and multi-function machine supplies and coordinate the installation, servicing and redeployment of your hardware..."

In one session at the MPS Conference, Lawton Smith explained how Managed Print Services will one day soon be enveloped into the Managed Services Provider's portfolio of services.

And suddenly, out of nowhere, OfficeMax is pitching just that.

***** CORRECTION ********

OfficeMax was in attendance at the MPS Conference - my apologies!

The complete transcript here.

The British Are Coming, The British Are Coming!

Press Release

NewField IT Opens US Office


31st March, 2009, NewField IT, a leading UK based provider of software and independent assessments for the Managed Print Services market, today announced the opening of the company’s first office in the United States. NewField IT’s software, Asset DB, is widely used to accelerate and enhance the delivery of Managed Print Services (MPS).

The market for MPS is set to grow by a CAGR of 24% in the next three years according to InfoTrends; a growth which has led to a jump in demand for NewField IT’s highly regarded MPS toolset, Asset DB. Use of Asset DB in the US has been growing since the product was launched in 2004 and this new office will enable NewField IT to provide greater support and information to its North and South American based customers.

“Despite the economic climate, this is an exciting time for our industry because of the rapid growth of MPS. By opening an office in the US we can support our growing customer base with more direct and value-added services” commented Robert Newry, Co-Founder of NewField IT.

Leading the US office will be Ed Mosteller – Vice President, Americas. Ed has an extensive background in information technology and output management with ten years’ experience managing Professional Services at Lexmark International and a 15 year career with IBM.


Contact information:
Tollfree: (888) 870-0156
General office: (727) 538 4162

13575 58th Street North, Suite 136
Clearwater, FL 33760-3746

NewField IT is an independent software and services provider focused on reducing print and document management costs. Established in 2003, NewField IT has completed assessments on over 70,000 devices in 30 different countries. NewField IT’s innovative software suite, Asset DB, is the only toolset driven by a graphical interface and underpinned by an integrated and powerful database. Many of the leading vendors including Canon, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Océ, Ricoh, Toshiba, and Xerox use Asset DB to enhance their MPS assessments and implementation.

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