Hybrid work and digitisation have changed how offices function, making it harder to serve the document technology market through a single, centralised sales model.
Customers still need reliable technology, but they increasingly want systems that help information move cleanly through the business.
That has put pressure on the old sales model. Large original equipment manufacturers have scale and technical expertise, but they also need people closer to the customer. This is where channel partnerships are becoming more important.
Research points in the same direction. An 2025 study says the print industry is being reshaped by changing customer demand, digital transformation and evolving business models. In a related analysis 55% of respondents believe the future for OEMs lies in extending and consolidating alliances with other companies.
Mark Tyldesley, Sales Director at Ricoh South Africa, says this is already happening in the local market. “Partner-led models give business partners the backing to grow, without putting the OEM in competition with its own channel,” he says. “It’s relationship driven. You have to forge a very strong and trusting relationship, and the business partners need to be aligned with your strategic direction to ensure that they are successful.”
In a direct model, the OEM carries the customer sale. In a partner-led model, the OEM provides the systems and support that help partners sell successfully into their own markets.
Tyldesley says the model also removes conflict between the OEM and its own partners, a long-standing source of tension in channel-led industries. When an OEM sells directly against a distributor or business partner, the relationship can become strained. A partner-led structure gives each party a clearer role.
“It eliminated a lot of conflict,” he says. “It just ethically didn’t make sense that we were trying to fight against our business partner. Focusing on the indirect channel made the best sense in the market.”
That clarity matters in a tough trading environment. South African customers are under pressure and business needs can change quickly. Large organisations can take time to adapt their internal structures, while commercially driven partners can often move faster.
Tyldesley sees this agility as one of the strongest advantages of the partner model. Business partners are close to their customers, understand local conditions and can often make decisions faster than a large OEM.
“The big difference with a business partner is that it’s their money,” he says. “They are looking after it. They get all the benefits and all the costs should it not work out. They are more dynamic, able to make a decision quickly and able to get a machine quickly to a customer whose device has broken down.”
The same logic is visible across the wider B2B technology market. B2B leaders need to prioritise partner ecosystem strategy to meet buyer needs and support growth. The channel is becoming a way to deliver value closer to the customer, especially where buyers need more than a standard product sale.
In South Africa, channel momentum is also visible in software and services markets. A 2025 study found that 40% of South African partners were targeting growth of more than 20% in the current financial year. South African partners also reported an average gross profit margin of 50%, compared with 42% globally. Although the study focused on software resellers, it points to a wider commercial reality: strong partners can create meaningful value when they have the right capability and customer focus.
For document technology providers, that matters because the customer problem has changed. Managed print research says managed print services are expanding from device management into broader workplace transformation as digitisation gains momentum. Customers still deal with paper inside multi-stage workflows, while also looking for ways to improve and accelerate those processes.
This is where the partner model becomes a way to respond to different customer realities. In larger metropolitan markets, digitisation and hybrid work are reducing some print volumes. In regional markets, demand remains stronger, particularly where schools, municipalities and local industries still depend on printed material.
“Growth is also moving beyond traditional page volumes,” says Tyldesley. “Ricoh’s acquisition of DocuWare supports a wider business process play, helping customers store information securely, retrieve it more easily and improve the way decisions are made. AI will only make this more important, because AI tools depend on the quality and structure of the information available to them.”
This changes how print technology needs to be sold. The device still matters, but customers are looking harder at the value around it. They want technology that supports the way work moves through the business and takes pressure off manual processes.
“That makes the partner model a practical fit for the market, “says Tyldesley. “When partners are closer to customers, they can see where needs are changing and respond faster. In a tougher print market, that kind of proximity may become one of the clearest advantages.”