Frequently Asked Questions

Your questions, answered.

1. What is my ROI with MPSToolbox and e-commerce?

The main point here is that we, in the office print and IT industry are no different than any other industry. People prefer to buy online. If they can’t, eventually, they will go somewhere else. Don’t lose customers because it’s hard to buy from you!

We also see anywhere from a 17-23% uptick in revenue per account when exposed to an e-commerce environment. Typically, this is because current customers aren’t always aware of other product offerings. They also prefer to buy some things in a transactional manner. We should not stop that. It’s a sale AND a lead!

Through our integrations with PrintFleet and FMAudit, MPSToolbox also allows resellers to leverage the fleet data they already have. Using the Supply Cupboard upgrade, we’ve been able to help many partners drive significant revenue through unmanaged devices. We automate the customer experience via a Supply Cupboard dashboard to let them buy pre-populated SKUs per device based on supply levels in most need of replacement.

Finally, ask yourself this question: “In 2-5 years how many purchasers will actually do business with a technology company that can’t sell their products/services online?"

2. Why should I show my prices online? Wouldn’t my customers be able to price shop me if I do this?

Your customers can price shop anytime. Price will always be a major factor in purchasing decisions. The real reason that other online resellers are taking business is that they have made the acquisition of technology products so much easier. Your customers should not have to wait 2, 3, 4 plus days to action a supply or simple technology hardware purchase!

3. What vendors do you integrate with?

MPSToolbox integrates with many distributors. We also continue to look for vendor opportunities for our reseller partners. Check out our current integrations below:

Ingram Micro
Synnex
Tech Data
Supplies Network
D&H
SP Richards / Essendant
LD Products
Clover Imaging Group
ACM
Genuine Supply Source
Tarsus
Rectron
Arlington
Randmar

4. Does the MPSToolbox software automatically place orders with your vendors?

No! MPSToolbox is an e-commerce software and therefore responsible for obtaining the online order and passing the information along to your company via email and in an order dashboard within the software. We also have integrations into certain accounting packages and ERP’s that will allow for orders to be pushed into those systems.

5. What if my customers don’t buy supplies online?

There are a minority of business purchasers who still prefer to buy via phone or email. In this case, nothing needs to change. This small minority will continue to shrink. Everybody buys everything online. They probably don’t from you now because they do not have the ability to.

6. What’s the difference between a portal and a completely integrated e-commerce website?

We always recommend a fully integrated e-commerce website. This means that the entire website (content and e-commerce functionality) are built on one platform. The platform we use is Shopify. In this workflow, the customer never has to click away from the website to buy.

The portal option is often popular among companies that have recently put an investment into their website, but still need e-commerce. In this case, the e-commerce portal is still built on Shopify but uses a different URL (example: store.company.com). The portal is built to match your current website branding so customers feel like they are in the same spot, which improves the user experience.

7. Can you insert your “cart” into my current website?

No. We would use the portal option as described above. I-Frames look bad and can be difficult to manage within websites. Especially something as integrated as a digital sales process.

8. We're a service company—why would e-commerce matter to us?

Too many dealers think that e-commerce won't be a beneficial communication tool or platform because they are a "service" company. Here's the thing though...selling services (and purchasing services) is not that complicated and it CAN be done online. In fact, every other service company in the world (outside of print), sells their services online.

The world is changing and you need to adapt so that you don't get left behind. We recommend looking at other industries (or contacting us) to draw some inspiration so that you can be better equipped to service your customers in the future.

Don't make the buying part difficult!

9. Sales reps may look at this as competitive?

It's not. In fact, e-commerce has become more of a lead generation tool. A couple of quick tips when having these conversations are:

- How many unmanaged devices show in your remote monitoring software? Now ask the reps when the last time they tried to sell supplies into these accounts/machines was? Customers are buying those supplies somewhere...

- There are hundreds and even thousands of small and micro businesses depending on your region. Many of these businesses have a magnitude of technology requirements, but when it comes to print they probably need an inexpensive A4 or two. Are your reps selling those?

- When a customer comes to your site and buys a "transactional" supply or an A4, what do you get? You get revenue with a bit of profit for sure. More importantly you get a lead. A lead that must give you who they are, where they are, their phone number and email, all to have the products shipped to them. Now you can market and upsell/cross sell to them. A sales qualified lead!