01732 759725 PARTNERSHIPS 34 continued... It’s during difficult times when you can best measure the value in a relationship, and this has definitely been one of those times!” he added. “What we tried to be at Canon was open and honest at all times. For all of our sakes, we didn’t want to over promise and under deliver,” Wrighton said. “And that’s the deal with our partnership. So long as we’re honest and open with the dialogue then Chris can manage his business and his customers’ expectations effectively.” Business value-add SOS Systems operates globally and over the years through its partnership with Canon, it has built a network of contacts outside of the UK. In a somewhat unusual move for a dealership, the company has extensive experience in project management and has partnered with other Canon resellers across the globe to offer clients what is essentially 24/7 service coverage – what Sills calls ‘follow the sun’ support. “CBC is like a community and that’s one of the big attractions to our business,” he said, adding: “We do have a lot of global clients and we do a lot of business across Europe. We see the CBC as a really valuable tool in growing that area of our business. We have been very successful outside of the UK and we want to continue that, so having relationships with other like-minded Canon mono brand businesses, will be very beneficial to our organisation. “Another value-add that CBC brings to our business is the ability to attract talent. We have in fact recruited Elliott Shepherd, a well-known and respected figure in our industry as a Director. He will head up CBC SOS and I firmly believe that the Canon Business Centre status was a relevant element of him joining us.” Solutions SOS Systems has enjoyed significant growth within the solutions side of its business and this is very important to its overall growth plans. Sills told PrintIT Reseller that the business plans around the growth of its solutions function during the pandemic exceeded expectations, particularly within cloud printing and applications. The business strategy is focused on expanding both its print hardware and solutions business, but also on growing its digital services portfolio where it partners with brands including DocuSign and MFiles – this does raise the question whether becoming a CBC will impact how the company interacts with other partners outside of the Canon family? “We have been very transparent with Canon that there are other software solutions that our business sells, which actually aren’t print related and therefore don’t conflict with any of Canon’s software, so they will remain on our portfolio,” Sills explained, adding: “We won’t be pushing them via CBC SOS, obviously.” “The solutions side of our business has continued to grow. It’s been a big focus area since we last spoke and we have moved over to a cloud-based SaaS sales model, centred on recurring revenue streams. We are on plan with that element of our growth strategy and we’d like to do more,” he explained. In conclusion Sills said: “As a Canon Business Centre, our clients benefit from the agility, responsiveness and expertise of a local and trusted partner combined with the strength of Canon’s portfolio of products and solutions. What we’re offering is the best of the best if you like.” Wrighton added: “We share the same company values, and that’s why we partnered not only with SOS Systems but equally with the Cantec Group. We’ve got long, long, loyal relationships with both parties and with IT@Spectrum as well, which is really important to us as a business. The CBC strategy works not only for the customers, but equally for our partners and their teams and for Canon. Internally we refer to it as customers getting the best of both worlds – from the local expertise that our partner delivers, to the best of Canon as a leading brand.” www.canon.co.uk www.sossystems.co.uk and CBC SOS – the first centre in the South of England – is a key part of the plan. There is a huge synergy between both of our businesses and we both want the same thing – to grow. CBC SOS is a valuable route for SOS to achieve its goals, along with other aspects of what we’re looking at as a team, such as acquisition.” He continued: “We are very proud that in 2022 we moved sales forward by £1m. Our business performance is slightly ahead of plan despite what have been difficult trading times – amidst COVID, the war in Ukraine, stock issues etc. “One thing to mention is that as a vendor Canon was amazing when it came down to stock issues, and that’s just one example of why we chose to open a CBC, because it is a true partnership. It wasn’t easy, but they were fantastic about communicating where we were and we knew that by managing the situation together, we would ride out the storm. We do have a lot of global clients and we do a lot of business across Europe. We see the CBC as a really valuable tool in growing that area of our business Chris Sills
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