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Supply chain daze

Supply Chain Day Thirteen........Not Really

Let me count the ways.....how many clients are opting out re-leasing their copiers, others that want to buy their existing copier from the leasing company and a few additional accounts sprinkled in that they are opting to stay status quo.

Yup the last few weeks many of my clients that were playing hide and seek finally got me the goods on where their heads were at.

One of the talk tracks today was about a Fair Market Value (FMV) lease and what is the option for the client to buy that device.  Years ago FMV was worthless to me, the model number, the price, nor the meter read always meant the copier was being returned. No ifs and or buts.

Times have changed since there is demand to keep those copiers that under performed during COVID. The owner knows the copiers were hardly used and there was little to no service issues.

Supply and Demand

Prior and even during COVID none of my clients wanted to keep the existing copier. Every single one of those copiers were returned to that great copier hall waiting for another forever home.

Fair Market Value is the price an asset would sell for on the open market depending on age, and meter read.  I can tell you I've made that statement to clients thousands of times and probably even dreamed about FMV a few times as well.

The preowned copier market is hot and that's because most of us can't get new A3 devices for months and most new A4 devices are a pipe dream.  Thus the demand is there for used, preowned and off lease copiers.  Thus my talk track and I'm sure many others have changed their position when a client asks how much is that 5 year old copier?

My talk track in recent weeks finds me quoting 50% or more of the what the lease price was.

Interesting

I do find it interesting that I've never seen our industry like this in my 42 years.  Yes, there was the Great Recession in 08 or 09, but you could always get a copier whenever you wanted one.  When clients asked "when can I get my copier" the answer was always, "when do you want it by".

-=Good Selling=-

Supply Chain Day Two........Not Really

If you didn't catch them, below are the replies from yesterdays Supply Chain Day One blog.

SSG gave us two great contributions below.....

Yesterday's replies

Toshiba Tec's recently revised consolidated financial report says it well, I think for all OEMs.

"... and on the profit front, operating profit and ordinary profit declined in contrast with the previously announced forecast owing to factors such as semiconductor shortages, soaring prices of components, tightness in international shipping transportation, increased shipping costs and delays in product supply due to COVID lockdowns in some areas of China."

If you really want to know what is going on with the Supply Chain, this is the best source from a University professor who reports on it three times a week.

...  https://www.youtube.com/channe...yBgKSiwb3WP4ACPnF5nA

... long story short, the COVID lockdowns in China has made shipping containers a mess that will not resolve before many months.

There are 100s of ships off China's coast that cannot load or off load containers.  When that does eventually resolve, the USA West Coast is going to be bombed once again with incoming container ships all arriving at the same time.

Most copiers entering North America do so via containers.  Air freight is too expensive and too overbooked for most copiers.  Diesel price has soared to record highs for trucks delivering copiers locally.

OEMs are allocating their precious chip supplies to higher value A3 product over A4.

Long Beach and LA Ports

As of this week there are forty ships waiting to be unloaded in Long Beach and LA ports, back in January it was more than 100.  SSG states that the lock downs in China because of COVID will get us to another situation where we could be back to those January numbers of more than 100 ships on the coast.

Chips

Since we're down to forty of so ships at the Cali ports and our industry in most cases is telling us it's a 3-5 month wait for those A3 MFPs. When it comes to A4 MFPs it seems most manufacturers are not providing A4 dates, and why is that?

I'm thinking it's not the ships tying up our copiers anymore but the shortage of chips. Keep in mind that's why Sharp and the relationship with Foxconn is helping their inventory. In addition Sharp made changes that they will not sell fax boards because the chips used in those boards can help the A3 production.

Tomorrow I'll be giving additional thoughts on A3 & A4 along with some sales issues I've heard about.

-=Good Selling=-





Supply Chain Day One........Not Really

COVID is still so fresh in everyone's mind. For those of us in the copier industry we jumped from one frying pan to another frying pan at the end of COVID.  That second frying pan is the supply chain issues that we've been dealing with for some time now.

I believe it's been 8-10 months since the problems really hit home with many of the dealers and sales people.  For most of us the back orders are insane! Never in my 42 years of selling copiers did I every quote delivery might be expected in 3-5 months. In most cases in the past when asked, "When can we get the copier" it was not a question of telling the client 5-10 days the answer was always,  "When do you want it?".

I know of one manufacturer (Sharp) that is fairing better than others with delivery time to dealers and from what I've heard it's more about the relationship with Foxconn and chips. Seems once you break away from Sharp, then most manufacturers and dealers are having a really tough go of it.

My goal for this new series is not too post something every day but more maybe one or twice a week. In addition I would love to turn over some of the blogging reins to other members so they can blog on this issue as well.

I'd love top do done every day, however my goal for this year is to sell 3/4 of a million in back orders with down the street sales

PM me or hit up the response/reply to this blog and let me know if you want blogging rights.

-=Good Selling=-

 
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