2008-11-24 13:20:02 -
www.ami-partners.com - Small and medium businesses (SMBs or companies with up to 999 employees) in Singapore are set to spend US$157 million on printers and printing supplies, in all of 2008, up 5% over 2007. Printing supplies will account for the bulk of the spending at 79% of the total, according to the latest study by Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.
"About 83% of the spending on printers and print suppliers will come from SBs (small businesses, or companies with up to 99 employees) in Singapore," says Cindy Tan, Singapore based Senior Research Analyst at AMI-Partners. "There will be a higher penetration for monochrome printers among SBs, most adopting laser single function and inkjet single
function printers."
Similarly, monochrome laser single function systems will be the most commonly used printers by MBs (medium businesses, or companies with 100-999 employees) as their basic workhorse machines. MBs will see a higher pickup for both color and monochrome document management systems with multiple functions that provide networking, collating, stapling and security features. Currently, more than 60% of MBs use at least one such document management system.
"More than 90% of SMBs in Singapore deploy manufacturers" original printing supplies," Ms Tan says. "That"s because of good marketing campaigns on using original cartridges or toners and the effectiveness of the printing supplies" loyalty programs."
The recent economic turmoil may impact the printing consumables market to some extent. SMBs will potentially be looking at cost cutting measures to tide them though these difficult times. This in turn may create opportunities for non-original or third party printing suppliers to gain market share in the printing supplies space.
Less than 50% of Singapore SBs currently do not have any arrangement with a channel partner or supplier for printing supplies replenishment as they tend to purchase lower cost printers such as monochrome inkjet and laser printers. In contrast, more than 50% of MBs have an existing arrangement for supplies replenishment with their print vendor.
"Many SMBs are also exploring the feasibility of leasing options to manage capital costs," Ms Tan says. "Apart from printing consumables, rising paper consumption in the office is also an increasing concern for environmentally friendly and cost conscious management. It is necessary to streamline processes or utilize innovative printing solutions to enable SMBs to reduce costs and increase productivity."
Given the current economic situation, printing vendors have to look at various means to translate cost savings, including introducing lower cost per page printing to entice SMBs to continue to use original supplies. Vendors can also partner with software companies to provide printing solutions to manage printing costs for their customers. With retail and resellers being the more popular channels for printer purchases among SMBs, gaining their commitment to drive sales and mindshare will be vital for vendors to increase their market share.
About the Study
AMI"s
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Similar studies are also available for all the Asia Pacific countries. For more information about this study, AMI-Partners, or our global SMB research, call 212 944 5100, email mailto:ask_ami@ami-partners.com or visit us at
cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT"id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww ...
About Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.
AMI-Partners specializes in IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services strategy, venture capital, and actionable market intelligence " with a strong focus on global small and medium businesses (SMBs), and extending into large enterprises and home-based businesses. The AMI-Partners mission is to empower clients for success with the highest quality data, business strategy perspectives and "go-to-market? solutions. Led by Andy Bose, the firm has built a world-class management team with deep experience cutting across IT, telecommunications and business services sectors in established and emerging markets.
AMI-Partners has helped shape the go-to-market SMB strategies of more than 150 leading IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services companies. The firm is well known for its IT and Internet adoption-based segmentation of the SMB markets; its annual retainership services based on global SMB tracking surveys in more than 25 countries; and its proprietary database of SMBs and SMB channel partners in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The firm invests significantly in collecting survey-based information from several thousand SMBs annually, and is considered the premier source for global SMB trends and analysis.
AMI-Partners
Quoted Analyst
Cindy Tan, (65) 6220 5535 ext 108
mailto:ctan@ami-partners.com
or
Media Relations
In Asia Pacific (Singapore):
Matthew Foo, (65) 6220 5535 ext 101
mailto:mfoo@ami-partners.com
or
In US (New York):
Nancy Carty, 212-944-5100 ext 581
mailto:ncarty@ami-partners.com.
or
In EU (London):
Claudia Jachtmann, (44) 208 987 2756
mailto:cjachtmann@ami-partners.com.
or
In India (Kolkata):
Dipendra Mitra, (91) 33 4003 3093 ext 205
mailto:dmitra@ami-partners.com
or
In India (Bangalore):
Rati Ghose, (91) 80 4148 2661 ext 36
mailto:rghose@ami-partners.com
or
In China (Shanghai):
Clara Chua, (86) 21 6390 6298
mailto:cchua@ami-partners.com
