Nashua ProAct enables WASP to
successfully enter Ghana market
Provides detailed, actionable data
on printers and consumables
To enable it to start selling in Ghana,
WASP used Nashua ProAct software
to gather valuable data on the
country’s consumables market, and
to find out which printer models
were most popular.
The challenges
The solution
Before WASP started trading as the authorised Nashua
dealer for Ghana, its biggest challenge was working out
exactly which products and solutions would be most
successful.
To gather the required information, WASP decided to
use Nashua ProAct software. Having identified financial
services as the best target market sector, WASP then
approached companies where it could secure a personal
introduction to the CEO via a local partner.
Frontier African economies such as Ghana are
dramatically different from Nashua’s home market in
South Africa. This meant that WASP had to find out
which products would sell best – in an environment
where obtaining accurate data has often been
near impossible.
WASP used a framework based on a nine-year research
project by Collins and Hansen (published as ‘Great by
Choice’, 2011), which looks at what companies should
do to thrive in uncertainty.
In WASP’s case, this meant finding out how to enter a
new market, with no existing data to guide decisionmaking. The Collins and Hansen research suggests not
following conventional wisdom – such as looking at
which Nashua products have been successful in South
Africa. Instead, it recommends getting real evidence on
the ground – which meant that WASP had to find a way
of undertaking research in Ghana.
Following these introductions, WASP installed
Nashua ProAct at 26 banks and insurance companies.
This sample of 26 institutions was enough to be
representative of the overall Ghana market. Nashua
ProAct captures data on these companies’ print fleets,
including information on which devices are used and
the print volumes generated.
HP dominance
The reports generated by Nashua ProAct showed big
differences in OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)
market share in Ghana, compared to the situation in
South Africa. In particular, they revealed the extent of
HP’s dominance, across every type of print device.
Based on the data from Nashua ProAct, WASP decided
that basing its product range around HP printers would
give it the best chance of succeeding.
The next step for WASP was to decide which printer
devices to sell. Again, Nashua ProAct was the answer.
It provided reports on print volume, which highlighted
ten HP models that generated most of the pages in the
financial services sector – thus giving WASP its list of
devices to work from.
Accurate consumables forecasting
WASP’s next challenge was to understand the toner
cartridge market. Its research showed that Ghana has
a serious problem with counterfeit HP toners, and that
refilling of used cartridges is of such a low standard that
damage to printers is common. Finally, WASP found that
HP original toner prices are artificially high.
To compete, WASP decided to import Royce Imaging
Industries remanufactured toner cartridges, produced
under the Nashua brand. These offered the first real
alternative to the problems in the Ghana toner market.
Again, Nashua ProAct provided the data that WASP
needed. With Nashua ProAct’s reports on print volumes
for each of the HP devices, WASP decided upon a core
range of ten Nashua remanufactured toner cartridges to
import into Ghana.
Being able to accurately predict toner demand for this
core range was important for several reasons. Firstly,
transport costs and import duties make up 45% of the
landed cost, so there’s no room for costly mistakes in
stocking the wrong cartridges. Then, transport from
South Africa to Ghana imposes a four to five week
lead time on sourcing the toner – meaning that any
inaccurate forecasts would quickly lead to
stock outages.
Finally, WASP decided to use a price leadership strategy,
pricing its toner at 25% lower than competing products.
This means that margins are low, and any inefficiencies
in handling the supply chain would quickly erode
profitability. With the accurate usage data provided
by Nashua ProAct, WASP has been able to manage its
consumable inventory effectively.
Strategic decision-making
As well as providing solid market intelligence, Nashua
ProAct has been a door opener for WASP. The software
has enabled WASP to introduce clients to Nashua
Managed Document Services (MDS) and Managed
Print Services (MPS) solutions. It has also given WASP
opportunities to trial PaperCut and Laserfiche software
with clients.
Nashua ProAct has highlighted competitor activity, for
example an increase in market share by Xerox. When it
looked into the reasons for this growth, WASP found out
that Xerox was able to price its devices competitively
due to its local assembly facility, and the generous tax
incentives that the Ghana government provides for
domestic manufacture.
Challenges
33
Develop product and solutions strategy to enter
Ghana market
Solution
33
Nashua ProAct software provides detailed data on
printer and consumables usage
Customer Summary
Customer name: WASP
Customer URL: www.waspghana.com
Industry: IT
Following the initial 12-month research phase,
WASP rolled out Nashua ProAct at more customers in
Ghana. Overall, the analysis from Nashua ProAct gives
WASP real-time information that it simply could not
obtain anywhere else, and enables WASP to be more
competitive, to manage toner supplies, and to make
good decisions based on real data.
Benefits
33
Identify which printer brands and models are most
popular in Ghana, enabling WASP to set its market
entry strategy
33
Track competitor presence in the market, enabling
appropriate responses
33
Provide information required for effective
decision-making
33
Create opportunities to sell MDS and MPS solutions
33
Manage consumables effectively, avoiding stock
outages and protecting margins
For further information on any aspect of becoming a customer
reference for Nashua, please contact Nashua’s Communications
Manager, Jessica Midlane – [email protected]
For more information please visit www.nashua.co.za