Dealer Survey & The Cannata Dinner

One of the highlights of our November issue is the second part of our 37th Annual Dealer Survey. In this issue, we examine dealers’ biggest concerns and reveal the ratings of their A3 and A4 OEMs…

This is the second year we have been gauging the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the independent dealer channel. Last year’s Survey, particularly in the revenue portion, was pretty much what we expected based on our conversations throughout the year with dealers and OEMs. Annual revenue experienced the biggest year-over-year decline in the history of the Survey.

Executive Summary (Part II of II) The three most pressing concerns within the entire dealer universe comprising our Survey are declining clicks (54%), maintaining profitability (40%), and hiring and retention (35%).

Exhibits 2.1-2.11 Dealers have many concerns, and our Survey historically illuminates those concerns. After expanding the number of concerns to 13 last…

Exhibits 2.12-2.19 Each year, we ask dealers to rate their primary A3 MFP suppliers as “Excellent,” “Very Good,” “Good,” “Fair,” or “Poor.”…

Exhibits 2.20-2.25 This has not been a good Survey year based on dealer ratings of their A4 providers. Except for Lexmark whose…

Exhibit 2.26 In Part 1 of our Survey in the October issue, production print was identified by 46% of dealers as a…

Exhibits 2.27-2.34 If there is one thing you can consistently count on in our Annual Dealer Survey for the past five years,…

Exhibits 2.35-2.36 For the past nine years, we have asked dealers to identify the companies that provide them with the software and…

When Frank G. Cannata launched that first Survey 37 years ago, his objective was to provide independent dealers with a venue to share views about their suppliers and competitors, and acknowledge the manufacturers that excel in supporting their channel partners. True to The Cannata Report’s original intent, these objectives are just as important today.

This year’s Survey had the second greatest number of responses in the history of the Survey—380, with 366 of those representing the Big Six manufacturers—Canon, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Ricoh, Sharp, and Toshiba. The largest number of dealers were aligned with Sharp (91), Ricoh (80), and Toshiba (70). The Big Six OEM with the fewest dealers participating was Canon with 32.

Exhibits 1.1-1.4 In this year’s Survey, 697 A3 MFP lines were reported across 379 respondents (one respondent did not identify an A3…

Exhibits 1.5-1.8 Declining A3 clicks and wider acceptance of a hybrid workforce prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic have made A4 more viable…

Exhibits 1.9-1.10 To identify the manufacturers with the strongest distribution, we tracked how they ranked as a dealer’s primary and secondary equipment…

Exhibits 1.11-1.13 The percentage of dedicated dealers is on the rise (Exhibit 1.12). Two years ago, 37% of dealers participating in our…

Exhibits 1.14-1.20 Despite the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, backorders, chip shortages, and hiring and retention challenges, the dealer channel seems…

Exhibits 1.21-1.22 Since 2019 we’ve been tracking dealers with revenues of $10 million or greater, calling it the “$10 Million-Plus Club.” Prior…

Exhibits 1.23-1.25 Despite the emergence of A4 in the MPS world, standalone printers are still as relevant as ever for MPS and…

Exhibit 1.26 The pandemic and the hybrid workforce have accelerated the decline of office print. No matter who you speak with, no…

Exhibits 1.27-1.30 Throughout the pandemic, including the current post-pandemic period, which in some ways is a misnomer, we heard from various dealers…

Exhibits 1.31-1.35 Since 2019, the percentage of dealers offering managed IT services has been fluctuating between 44% and 46%, not bad considering…

Exhibits 1.36-1.38 Exhibit 1.37 shows the average number of sales reps per dealer across all manufacturers. We began presenting this data in…

Exhibits 1.39-1.40 After seeing the number of acquisitions dip considerably in 2020 compared to the previous year, acquisitions picked up again in…

Exhibits 1.41-1.45 For many dealers, diversifying their product offerings is critical to remain relevant with customers. Since 2015, we have asked dealers to identify their…

It’s been a tough couple of years for the independent dealer channel, starting with the pandemic, followed by supply chain disruptions…