As dealers and developers alike seek out the recipe for business success, many are looking for a partnership that offers lasting commitment and long-term growth. Good relationships are often built on strong foundations, which help to make the ambitions of all parties involved a reality.
But the keys to a great partnership do not have to be a business secret. Let’s take a look at three important principles that allow a partnership to flourish.
Common Problem and Purpose
Whether it’s a shared hobby or interests or a joint concern, having something in common tends to unite people. When businesses encounter the same problem and discover that they have a shared purpose to solve it, partnerships can prosper.
Take the recent case of Repromaq in Brazil, for example. Faced with the task of speeding up digital documentation for Brazil’s largest credit union, Sistema de Cooperativas de Crédito do Brasil, or Sicoob, which provides banking and credit services to more than 3.7 million members nationwide, Repromaq recognized that Samsung multifunction printers were designed with automation in mind.
Repromaq developed ScanDesigner, an app for the Smart UX Center customized for Sicoob’s complex needs, including the strict file format and size limitations of their legacy ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. ScanDesigner facilitates the automatic digitization of documents that are indexed in respective folders and offers the easy optimization and customization of any solution required by Sicoob’s ERP system.
Together, Siccob’s order of 250 Samsung M4080FX MFPs and the ScanDesigner app slashed digitization time. The time taken to process 40 credit documents (each 5 pages long) was reduced from 25 minutes to under 5 minutes, freeing up employees for more productive tasks.
Complementary Skills
Each partner has their own set of unique skills that the other hopes to learn from in order to grow. Many partners have expert, localized knowledge of a region or of a specific solution/platform.
RSUPPORT had just that expert knowledge when they decided to begin their partnership with Samsung Printing in 2015. RSUPPORT drew upon their extensive experience in remote access services for Android-powered devices when developing two applications, RemoteCall and RemoteView, for Samsung MFPs. The applications allowing engineers to access the MFP remotely, simplifying problem-solving and reducing the need to travel.
One aspect that particularly attracted the developers to Samsung was their open-source, customizable Smart UX Center, which allowed them to quickly tailor their solutions for MFP users.
The result of this partnership is a boon for both dealers and customers: the apps save time and money, as well as allowing engineers to work more efficiently to troubleshoot a problem.
Communication
Maintaining strong channels of communication goes a long way toward preventing misunderstandings. Moreover, effective communication between partners allows each to adapt to the other’s particular situation.
The Smart UX Ecosystem’s expandability offers flexibility for dealers and developers, allowing them to create bespoke solutions for their customers.
When Italian partners Massinelli developed the Easy2Share app, they carefully examined the requests of the client, domestic office suppliers, to ensure that their needs were met.
The client wanted to increase the time- and cost-efficiency of printing its marketing materials. Previously these materials were printed at the company headquarters before distribution to retail outlets across Italy–a process that took several weeks and incurred sizable delivery fees. With Easy2Share, the client could centrally distribute marketing materials from its headquarters directly to 83 Samsung MultiXpress printers in the client’s stores, thus slashing delivery time and expense.
What’s more, even though it was created with their client in mind, Massinelli understood that Easy2Share could benefit many other similar retailers. After passing Samsung’s multi-stage app-testing system, Verification and Validation, Easy2Share was offered to further customers as a paid app via the Printing App Center 2.0.
Great partners give each other the opportunity to grow. By mastering these three “Cs” of partnerships, both sides can go from strength to strength.