100 Days In: Channel Chief Sammy Kinlaw On Lexmark's Biggest Product Launch In Years, New Channel Investments And Leveraging Xerox Turmoil

Making His Mark

Sammy Kinlaw has hit the ground running in his first 100 days as Lexmark's new vice president of worldwide channel and OEM sales, creating a blueprint for new partner incentives and investments as the company preps its channel partners for a massive product overhaul this summer.

"It's the biggest rollout in five years – 92-plus percent of the product lines are turning over," said Kinlaw Tuesday in an interview with CRN ahead of the June product launch. "Our channel partners will also have an opportunity to take advantage of a tool suite and solutions based on the cloud between device management, print management and cloud connectivity."

Kinlaw, a channel veteran who previously spent nearly a decade at Lenovo, took his talents to the Lexington, Ky.-based printing vendor in February with the goal of doubling down on partner enablement. "It's always been a Lexmark-led solution. Now it can be a channel-led solution. The keys to the kingdom, we're giving a copy of to our [partners]," he said.

Kinlaw spoke with CRN's Jennifer Follett, Mark Haranas and O'Ryan Johnson about the channel strategy he's building, Lexmark's product roadmap and the opportunity to take share from competitors. Edited excerpts of the conversation follow.

Are you growing the channel organization at Lexmark?

I am. It's hard to quantify it, but am I looking to increase my channel coverage? Absolutely. Do I think we have the right attention on the VAR space today? I do not. I have to grow out commercial channel coverage for VARs – that may mean field and inside coverage – but we'll have more people touching our partners. There are too many of these [opportunities] that can pass over their heads if I don’t make sure it happens.

How much is the channel budget going to increase this year compared to last year?

I expect my spend to increase in the low double-digits. I got support [and commitment] right off the bat and it hasn't wavered at all from the CEO [Rich Geruson] to [Chief Revenue Officer] Brock Saladin. I'm the primary strategy for 2018. The growth from the company is expected to come from the channel.

What can you tell us today about the new product lines Lexmark will unveil soon?

Lexmark's biggest product introductions occur between June and September. Within that time frame, 92 percent of the product line is going to turn, along with improved feature functions and specs, with the same quality and reliability. Our channel partners will also have an opportunity to take advantage of a tool suite and solutions based on the cloud between device management, print management and cloud connectivity. That also means I've got to have the right type of incentive package with that. I have to have the right spifs, the right targets and the right amount of product on shelf.

As you open the door for partners to deliver cloud solutions, how are you changing channel incentives?

I'm not fully baked with how I'll do it, but I'll tell you this: partners will be able sell the types of solutions that are on these products and sell up the stack. I'll put more incentives and rebates, promos, spifs around products that have multi-function and that are color. Is mono important to me? Yes, but this is a company that's willing to take a risk and drive and invest in me, but unless I sell those types of solutions, I can't be profitable. We can't keep our doors and lights on by mono print. It's no different than servers, PCs – you got to sell the stack.

What impact will these new products have on partner profitability and revenue?

These products create a renewable revenue stream because the annuities that will follow. There could be warranty opportunity or opportunity for them to service the product because they can be authorized service providers. It will give them opportunity to sell ink for a very long time.

So just how big of a deal are these new cloud opportunities for the channel?

It's always been a Lexmark-led solution. Now it can be a channel-led solution. The keys to the kingdom, we're giving a copy to our VARs, our distributors, our DRCs [Direct Reseller Channels], our BSD [Business Solutions Dealer] partners – solutions-based selling with print. Our goal is to enable our partners to do what we've been doing directly, meaning us talking to the end user – that's a difference-maker. You couple that with the biggest product announcement that we've ever had with more coverage in the channel, with perhaps a refined incentive package that allows them to sell up the stack without having baggage for a lot of problems. The inhibitors, from the feedback I've received from partners, have been more along the lines of process. All those things can be fixed. If it's a process issue, we'll fix it or stop doing it. If it's a coverage model issue, I'm going to change it.

Has the turmoil between Carl Icahn (pictured) and Xeroxprovided you any market opportunity?

Anytime there's turmoil in the marketplace and there's press written that's not favorable, it opens up the door for us. At a very high level, when there's sensitivity and questions about ownership or where a company is growing, and we are a competitor – yes – I believe that can help us.

Who do you think you have the best opportunity to take share from?

It varies by geography, but there's certainly opportunity from smaller to even the largest [competitors]. We compete from mono to complex multi-function color, and the biggest provider to the smallest providers play in that space. I think we'll take share from all.

Why is it important for your partners to move towards these new cloud solutions?

They're a differentiator. So managed print or device-as-a-service has certainly been the evolution of large companies, and now medium-size companies, for a long time in this industry. These cloud-type offerings that were previously unavailable on our products, are now going to be available. So a midsize partner who might have not previously had the expertise or even the opportunity to look at a managed printer and device-as-a-service-type offer will now be able to. Perhaps they had to use a third party before. This new tool suite could enable them to sell it independently. I'm listening very carefully to how we can place this product and position it and the type of training we need. I think we have a good story. I just think people don't know the story.

How will you be training and educating partners to take advantage of cloud opportunities, from both a technical and business process standpoint?

The PartnerNet portal is where we will begin. Training modules are already built so as these products are announced, the training that comes with it happens. During the roadshows that we're in the middle of for the BSD channel, we're talking about these face to face. It's going to be blocking and tackling efforts along with hosting on PartnerNet and the training modules around it. It will be pushed education from our field reps and my inside reps. I have a large channel organization, and I have a lot of people that work for me worldwide. It's going to be a concerted effort through three primary vehicles to train these guys.

What are your channel priorities in 2018?

Do I want to grow? Yes. Do I want to grow double digit? I want to grow double digits if it's repeatable ... Any company that's in a commoditized world – PCs, servers, print, we're are all in the same space – you got to have an opportunity for repeatable revenue streams. So balanced growth sequentially for many quarters – that's No.1. Also focusing on the right partners, the right solutions and making sure I've invested with partners who can give me an ROI on our investments.

The No.2 priority for me is taking [our new products] and either message it through videos, roadshows, online trainings, content marketing, push marketing – there's a whole lot of ways I've got to get the word out. I've inserted myself within the [Lexmark] world to make sure partners are going to understand this. It's the biggest rollout in five years – 92-plus percent of the product lines are turning over.

What’s the overall percentage of Lexmark revenue that comes from channel?

Over 90 percent. There's certainly not a strategy for direct.

Is your distribution strategy changing at all?

The way in which we use distribution is going to change. Distribution is neither a warehouse nor a bank. I know from working with distribution extremely closely that they can help me go wider, help me educate and help me go deeper. They're actually a tenet of having an empowered and enabled channel. There are too many partners to try to reach directly, so I have to have the right investments for the right distributors with measurements against my priorities so they’re crystal clear at what I'm asking them for … I'm a big fan of distribution and what they can do on behalf of the manufacturer. I found that success in my last role [at Lenovo]. It's something I can easily recreate here. Lexmark viewed distribution in a different light and perhaps used them differently in 2017, and that's changing.

Who is Lexmark's biggest distribution partner?

In North America, it's Synnex very closely followed by Tech Data, Supplies Network, Ingram Micro. I'm a huge fan of what D&H can do because they're focused on the SMB market and I know with the right tactics for them, they can help within that SMB printing space. I would expect growth from D&H this year.

What's your message to the channel as Lexmark's new global channel chief?

Partners can expect me to be fair, to incent in a big way, to expect that I'm going to give the right support and coverage, and it's going to allow them to sell to new end-users and compete in spaces they couldn't compete before because of the solutions that are tied to the hardware. Partners that know me know that I'm very serious about representing their interest and also balancing the needs of the company. I've been able to do that successfully in my prior roles. With Lexmark, I'm going to be able to do the same thing. I have the company's support. I have an opportunity for a brand-new product line to launch in a very big way.

My passion and where I've chosen to keep my career is within the channel lines and I think Lexmark has unbridled opportunity to grow multiple quarters. [The new products] allow partners to knock on the door of an end-user that they perhaps couldn't sell to last year. They've got a solution, coupled with hardware, coupled with a competitive price. So printing is not dying. … I'm very confident in the next six months and what could occur because of the products we have to sell.