Sharp Pulse 2017 American Dealer Conference

A post by Digital Document Solutions General Manager, Bob Cotter.

Chris and I attended the Sharp America Dealer Conference in Phoenix, Arizona at the end of November. We travelled with 6 other members of the Sharp Australia dealer council and senior management from Sharp Corporation of Australia (Greg Wallis, Head of Business Systems Group) & (Daniel Gard, Head of Marketing).

I can honestly say that this trip was without question a highlight of my career in the copier business. Everyone who attended came away inspired and humbled by the people we met and the new business initiatives we gained from the trip. The successes which we have had at DDS are outstanding and a credit to every one our staff, the trip made me realise that there is so much more we can achieve as a company and in our individual careers with DDS.

Prior to the Dealer conference we were lucky enough to spend a day with the largest Sharp dealer in America, The Les Olson Company. Their story is inspirational, the founder (Les Olson) began the business when he quit his job and asked his 12 kids to contribute the contents of their piggy bank to his new company. They mustered the grand sum of $63, from there the business has grown to where it is today, just being awarded Sharp America’s largest dealer for the 14th consecutive year. You can read their full story here: Les Olson Story.

Following the Les Olson visit we attended the Sharp America National Dealer Conference. WOW what an organisation, over 1,000 people attended the conference and it was the most exciting and professional conference I have had the privilege to attend. To say it was like an Apple event would be an understatement. Stay tuned for some exciting news and products which we have been able to secure for the Australian market as a direct result of our visit. We were fortunate enough to spend time with Doug Albregts (President & CEO of Sharp US) and Mike Marusic (Chief Operating Officer of Sharp US). These are the number 1 & 2 people at Sharp America and were very welcoming of the Aussie crew. Among new printers and copiers, some of the products to look out for are MICAS & SKYWELL.

We were also fortunate enough to spend time with Andy Slawetsky who you may know from his industry publication (Industry Analist). Andy is the preeminent journalist in the copier industry and his only job is to report on copier events and news. He was kind enough to mention us in his article on the conference. Below is a snippet of his article, you can find the full article at: Pulse 17

If you haven’t already subscribed to his newsletter, I would encourage you to do so, it is very informative. I have attached some photo’s which will give you a little insight into what we go up to on the trip.

Be Original, Be inspired……………….Be Proud………………….

Regards,

Bob Cotter