By Jessica Schiffenhaus, Associate Editor
A few years ago, inviting several hundred copier dealers to a meeting in Las Vegas that focused little on the bread and butter of their businesses—copiers—might have seemed, well, pointless. Now, manufacturers are making it a point to do just that: shift the focus of the dealer community. Although still a significant part of the business, hardware is no longer in the spotlight. Instead, it runs quietly in the background while dozens of solutions work to leverage, limit, monitor or enhance its functionality. This was evident at KYOCERA Document Solutions America’s (KDA) fiscal year 15 Pan-American dealer meeting, which focused heavily on Kyocera business applications and encouraging dealers to become Total Document Solutions Providers. With the exception of a few new A4 devices, the technology fair was filled to the brim with business applications and third-party solutions, all of which, of course, embedded on Kyocera copiers.
Held at the Venetian Las Vegas from April 15 to 17, the KDA dealer meeting drew a crowd of more than 1,200 attendees, including Kyocera and Copystar dealers, from the United States, Canada, Latin America and Mexico, as well from Europe and Japan. According to Norihiko Ina, president and CEO of KDA, the U.S., Canada and Latin American markets experienced 5% year-over-year growth, while Mexico grew 6%.