September 18, 2024 • 25 mins
In these times of economic turmoil, small businesses need all the help they can get. Star Micronics is on the case to provide efficient, reliable support to help partners streamline their operations.
Shelby Skrhak speaks with Kate Orara, partner development manager at Star Micronics, about:
To join the discussion, follow us on Twitter @IngramMicroUSA #B2BTechTalk
Listen to this episode and more like it by subscribing to B2B Tech Talk on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Spreaker.
Shelby Skrhak speaks with Kate Orara, partner development manager at Star Micronics, about:
- How Star Micronics has evolved over the years
- How resellers can help end users during inflation
- The benefits of partnering with Star Micronics
To join the discussion, follow us on Twitter @IngramMicroUSA #B2BTechTalk
Listen to this episode and more like it by subscribing to B2B Tech Talk on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Spreaker.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
You're listening to B to B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro,
a place to learn about how to grow your business
and stay ahead of technological advances before they've become mainstream.
This episode is sponsored by ingram Micro's Expantage, the next
level way to transform your business's potential and reshape how
customers see you through advanced transactional data.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome to B to B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro.
I'm your host Shelby Skirhawk, and our guest today is
Kate Arora, Partner development manager for Star Micronics.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Kate, welcome back to the show.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Thank you, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be back.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yeah, I'm glad you're here.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
So you know, today we are talking about navigating difficult
times as a small business owner. But first, just tell
us a little bit about your background, Kate, Like, I know,
I know you host a podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Just tell us a little bit about you about yourself.
Speaker 5 (01:00):
Sure, So, I as you said, I'm start with Star Micronics.
I am the partner development manager here, so really business development.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
My role is working with our.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
Current partners to see how we can help support them
and grow their business and search for some new business.
I have been in the channel retail industry, IT industry
for almost nineteen years, so I've been around the block
for a while and I've had experience not only working
(01:33):
with I've always kind of worked through the channel, but
I have worked with end users. I have worked with
other resellers, other manufacturers, worked with distributors, so final kind
of the full gamut of the whole buying process. So
in the podcast itself is great. So that's something that
(01:53):
I get to It's kind of like a little it's
just a fun project that I get to do, and
it's through work.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
I work with the Star.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
Micronics marketing team to put that together. We host all
sorts of different types of guests, those that have a
variety of insight to the industry, those that are innovating
new technologies, those are leading in the industry, and.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
So I like to have them on.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
And then I have a couple of solo episodes that
I'll do here and there where I just talk about
trends that I've been noticing and whether it's related to
anything that Star has a solution for or not.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
Outside of that, sometimes I just you know, I want
to give the idea.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
The goal of that podcast is to educate the channel
and help them see that there are things just outside
of their purview that they wouldn't normally recognize.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yes, exactly, well, and I love that you say that
because it's being able to educate. I mean, I know
on my humble attempt for B to B tech talk
is to kind of break down on some of the
the jargon and just the you know, kind of the
tech or market marketing gobbly goop and like really get
(03:08):
down to it, because I figured, like, there's you may
know everything about your particular part of quarner of the
world and technology, but there's ten other people that don't,
and if you can't grab them by, you know, giving
them an entry point into what is the problem that
you're having, what are the types of problems that you're having,
(03:28):
and just giving people, you know, that that clue into
you know, what education is out there. It's yeah, I'm rambling,
But let's get back to Star Micronics then.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
So Star has been around for a while.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It's I would say it's known for its like receipt printers,
like in hospitality, but there's more than that tell us
about that.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
Sure, So yes, it's historically actually I think it started
as as far as like watch parts.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
That's where the Star Micronics comes in.
Speaker 5 (03:58):
It's just funny because so I've only been with Star
now for a little over two years, but two jobs
ago I was actually with a competitor Citizen system, so
another receipt printers slash watch company, but yees. Star is
known for the receipt printers, but we are so much
more than that in that Star has evolved to being
(04:21):
like a full point of sale peripheral solution provider. So
everything except the touch screen or the tablet that runs
the operation. So you have the point of sale, which
is the touch screen with the app or the tablet
with the application. We have the receipt printer, we have
the label printer, we have the stand, the scale, the scanner,
(04:46):
the cash drawer. We have just about everything that you
need to have a functioning point of sale in one
cohesive solution and it just looks good. And Star was
one of the first manufacturers that really embrace the tablet
point of sale, which is huge for small businesses. Tablets
are just it's easy, it's easy to access those, it's
(05:09):
easy to get them, it's easy to and not only that,
like your employees like everybody. I mean, I don't I
have a smartphone. I don't think anybody doesn't have a
smartphone anymore. And basically tablets are big smartphones, and so
tablet point of sale is the go to resource and
Star is pretty much the leader in that space. So, yeah,
(05:31):
they've really expanded quite a bit to being more than
just just that receipt printer company.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
We're the whole solution, full gambit if you will.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Yeah, well, so then let's understand some of the issues
that resellers are value added resellers and independent software vendors,
that issues that they're facing themselves or issues that they're
hearing from their customers, Like what are some of those
difficulties our challenges that VARs and isbs are facing.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
So the challenges that the bars and ISVs are facing
are obviously the challenges that the end users are facing, right,
Like it's like they're trying to help them solve their
world's problems, because their world is solving the problems of
the end user world.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
And it's interesting because I did a.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
Poll on my LinkedIn and it was just to kind
of ask them and like I saying, I asked my network,
and what area are end users and business owners needing
the most guidance and support, and the four options were
data privacy and cybersecurity, supply chain resilience, inflation and cost management,
(06:42):
and e commerce integration. And actually I just announced them
in order of what they're hearing the most guidance versus less.
So in first place was data privacy and cybersecurity for
thirty six percent. For second place, it was a tie
between supply chain resilience and inflation and cost management they
(07:03):
each had twenty seven percent. What's funny, though, is that
e commerce integration was nine percent, whereas I think if
you looked probably like five, six, seven years ago, that
would have been number one. Things have changed as technology
always is shifting, so that has shifted quite a bit.
And so since those are the issues that they're having,
(07:25):
I'm like, well, okay, well I need to make sure
that I talk about that, because I'd rather talk about
the issues that they're talking about. So for data privacy
and cybersecurity, obviously that's not something that Star necessarily has solutions,
but we do understand that and that we understand that
we can help.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
We understand that.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
Resellers should support their end users on cybersecurity and data
privacy by taking by being the trusted advisor, which is
something that again I try to do as the host
of the podcast, but then also working with my team internally,
we're big on cybersecurity, so this just means staying informed
on the latest threats and best practices in cybersecurity so
(08:06):
you can provide customers with up to date guidance. So
starting some sort of thorough assessment of the current systems
to identify vulnerabilities and then recommending security measures like firewalls, encryption, multifecture,
multi factor authentication MFA for short and regular software updates.
(08:26):
It's also essential to make sure that their partners or
end users are compliant with GDPR and CCPA with whatever
depending on their industry and location. Making sure that they're
educated on cybersecurity is super key, and actually did a
podcast episode just on this too long ago, but you know,
(08:49):
making sure educating teams as far as how they can
recognize phishing attempts, creating strong passwords, safe longline practices, and
then just making sure they resellers offer ongoing support and
monitoring services or IS fees too. I mean they I
fees especially have some of those technical know how that
they can do that. It's not a one time fix,
(09:11):
but it just requires constant vigilance.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Well, so about the data privacy and the cybersecurity, so
me obviously that is top of mind for everybody. And
while you say that that Star my Chronics doesn't necessarily
have a solution for that, I imagine it certainly supports
the solutions that are out there. How does that work
with tablet point of sale and being able to protect
that data from being vulnerable.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
I mean, really making sure that they do have those
appropriate firewalls in place, and making sure that users of
the tablet point of sale they are strictly they're they're
limited to using it only for certain applications, right, they
can't wander around and play angry birds or something like that.
(09:57):
So you know, having some sort of limited is going
to be super key. I mean, and and Stars products
we safely integrate with the tablet point of sale. You
can actually charge and connect all your devices into one hub,
which is like our our new MCP three printer mc
print three c CB I printer that one actually can
(10:20):
not only receive data from the tablet, but then also
can charge it at the same time. So it's a
very safe and effective product that can do that. Is
it going to provide a firewall, No, but it's not
going to allow one in either, So it's you.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Know, it's a safe product in that in that camp
for sure?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Sure got it, got it, So I didn't want to
cut you off, but I imagine you were. You're going
to move to what was kind of tied for second
and third, and that was supply chain and cost management.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Tell us a little bit about those more.
Speaker 5 (10:49):
Yes, So when it comes to inflation and supply chain security,
you know, resellers can actually help end users by navigating
inflation and disruptions and supply chains by joining, for is,
with suppliers to provide solutions that optimize business operations, so
you can test out alternative sources to even see if
the end user can become more efficient and being as
(11:11):
mentioned as mentioned before about being the trusted advisor, So
resellers can also support end users in navigating inflation and
managing costs by first helping them to optimize their existing operations.
This could involve identifying inefficiencies in their current processes and
suggesting solutions that streamline workflows, reduce waste, and maximize resource utilization.
(11:34):
For example, implementing automation tools or upgrading to more energy
efficient efficient equipment can lead to significant cost savings over
time and offset the impact of rising prices. So one
of the things that Star has seen a lot of
is linerless label printing that can actually help with that.
(11:55):
So take label printing for example. It's not just about
printing labels, but it's about speeding up processes, reducing clutter,
and cutting.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Down on paper and waste.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Because these labels come out without a silicone backing, you
actually get forty percent more labels per role, which means
fewer changes and more uptime. So by focusing on something
like something that like this, which helps operations and it's
more eco friendly, you're not only just offering product, you're
(12:27):
offering a.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Solution that makes a real difference.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
So that's something that we had start seeing a massive
shift towards, not only because of the efficiency, but because
it's because it's ability to eliminate waste.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
And also improve order accuracy.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
So that was something that I kind of, you know,
that I found pretty interesting as well whenever I was
doing my little, my little research.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah, how does it how does it improve the accuracy
and kind of the Layman's question is, how do you
create linerless labels that don't stick to themselves?
Speaker 5 (13:01):
Oh yeah, well, well that's the beauty of like our
linerless label printer, the MC label three that one is.
It's a multi actually can do various different types of
linerless labels, different sizes, different media. Connection do receipts as well.
But let's say an online order for food. Let's say
it's like a someone has ordered a to go order
(13:24):
or pick up order. So when the restaurant receives it,
they get they get the order, and then they can
go ahead and actually print out the receipt in a
label format, a linerless label format, and actually you would
put it like can they can stick it onto the printer.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
That's because the top of the printer it's.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
It will because you actually can do there's two types
of linerless labels.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
You can do permanent or sticky.
Speaker 5 (13:47):
Permanent means it's gone stick and ain't coming off, and
then sticky means you can kind of reposition it, you
can kind of move it from place to place to place.
In those situations, I would probably recommend a permanent. What
you can do is once the order is prepared and
you put it in the bag, you fold it down
to seal it shut. You put the receipt on there
(14:08):
as well, so it's not only it only acts as
a receipt, so the consumer who's picking up his or
her to go order can see, yep, this is my order,
this is everything that's in there, but also or it
acts as a seal so.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
They have to rip it open and they know it.
No one's touched it. It's they're the first one to
open it.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
So that is a great Not only do you have
you sealed up someone's order for hygiene reasons and all
of that, you've provided them some sort of security. Everything
that you ordered is in here, and we've sealed it shut,
nobody's touched it.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah. Smart.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
And then the last kind of of the four four
options e commerce integration. So the fact that that's the
last one, does that tell you that most of the
companies that you were surveying they have made that lead,
they have moved to mobile point of sale, or you know,
they've they've hit that hurdle already.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
I think So, I mean, I think that that's that
can it's it's no longer as much of a concern.
I think most people it's been it's kind of the
industry standard now. I think at one point it was
a nice to have and now it's a have to have,
so it doesn't seem like it is the concern anymore.
I just found it interesting, like I think data privacy
(15:30):
and cybersecurity the reason why it's number one. It's number
one on everybody's charts, like, and it's scary because it's not.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Even just like I mean, I actually just recently.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
Failed a little like my IT team sends out these
little emails to test to make sure I failed one.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I think it was like the other day, and I'm like,
oh no, that's what I was like, No, I don't
should have done it.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
And I'm just waiting for them to tell me, Okay,
you now have to do a course, and it's just
like my penance for what I did. But but they
have to do it because the thing is, once I've
done it, it's like I knew I did the wrong thing,
and so you got that. But then also you have
the whole AI thing, the whole AI and chat chept,
and that opens up that's a whole other level of
(16:16):
cybersecurity because that there are now hackers getting into that system.
So it's it's tricky and it's very important, and so
I can't don't deny that that's something that is not
a concern just for an end user, but for all
businesses for sure.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Everybody.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Yeah, well, so we've gone over those those issues and
we've kind of hit on some of the some of
these recurring themes that we're seeing and a little bit
of the advice then that you would give from a
big picture then. So you know, a reseller is listening
to this episode, they maybe haven't been working with our
(16:52):
micronics on their products and they don't really understand the benefit.
What can you tell them about working with Star my
Chronics through Ingram micro that is particularly you know, the why,
you know, what's what's in it for them.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
So I think the thing about Star, one of the
things that I've always really admired with Star, and this
is kind of why I was drawn to that, drawn
to join their team, was their one their desire to
build partnerships and relationships. They're not just customers, their partners
and I am I myself am a relationship girl. Like
(17:30):
I love to get to know people. I want to
know your kids' names, I want to know your favorite
sports team. I want to know your favorite food. Tell
me where the food is because I'm a foodie at
heart and I love to eat, so I love to
get to know my no partners, you know, I'll talk
business for a little bit and then after that I'm like, hey,
we're done talk of business. You know, what do you
think about that football game yesterday?
Speaker 4 (17:51):
You know?
Speaker 5 (17:52):
So those are things like that, And I think that
when you work with Star, you are working with a
company that really is invested in your success.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
We provide probably more tools than most.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
For example, when you work with Star, whether you purchase
one product or one hundred thousand products, you do have
access to our Partner Portal as long as you join
our empowered Partner program. When you enjoy in joining our
partner program, there are no minimum orders, there are no requirements,
(18:25):
just you know, you.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Get it's a discount program.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
But then you also get access to an incredible portal
where you have access to everything, like I mean anything
that you can imagine.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Like you can use our website.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Our website's really robust, but our portal just gives you
so much more tools to use. You can look up
replaced parts, replace printers, replaced items, so that if one's
been discontinued, what should you buy in its place. You
can look up if you have an opportunity that you're
working on. If you want to register an opportunity, you
(18:58):
can do that through the portal. You can see the
status of that opportunity. You can look up history order history,
like oh, that's one customer that I want to go
back and they want to repeat the same order. So
instead of having to go through your email, you go
into the partner portal and you can drill down. From there,
you have access to collateral, you can get the images
that you need. You can look you can download battle
(19:19):
cards like well, what how does the Star printer compared
to the EPSOM printer, So you can actually look and see, Okay,
based on this, this is probably the printer that the
Star printer that I need. So there's just so many
different tools. And then also it's human. It's you're going
to work with human beings. Like I remember visiting a
partner not too long ago and they were saying, you know,
(19:41):
we don't even we don't even know who to call
when we need to talk to this other person.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
But when we call, when we go to Star, we have.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
Multiple people that we can reach out to that will
talk to us, and so I think.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
That's what you get.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
You get, you get human beings like you get yes
we have a portal, and yes we have some cool
technology tools.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
You get people.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
And I will say from the software the ISV perspective,
our integrations team is second to none. I swear they
are the most thorough technical, fun group of guys.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
We don't have any gals yet, but they're all guys, but.
Speaker 5 (20:18):
They're great, and they're so knowledgeable, and they will work
with you on what your needs are and they'll sometimes
even talk you down. So like let's say you're wanting
all the bells and whistles, and you may be going
with like the most expensive Star product based on that.
Once they drill down your actual needs, they may be like,
you know what, you really could get away with doing
(20:39):
this product instead, and here's why. And then we're constantly
in touch with you. It's like, Okay, we have a
new product. You've been using this one, it still works great,
but you may want to integrate with this one too,
because we're it has a lot more features. And so
that is what you get when you work with Star
get you get a team that really cares about you,
that wants to support you, and you get people, you
(21:03):
get human beings, and I think that's important.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
That is that is well, as we start to wrap
up our episode, we always ask our guests the same
final question, and that's weird.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Do you see technology going in the next year? So
you know it's.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Within whatever space that we're talking about, or something that
you've just personally got an eye on. And I've been
saying this practically for every episode. Everybody like groans when
they say, oh, I'm sure everybody says AI, but there
are so many facets of AI that are so fascinating
and you don't think of these abilities when you drill
down into the what's possible within a particular niche That's
(21:41):
the stuff I love to hear about. So don't shy
away from AI. But you know from your Crystal Ball,
where are we going to be this time twenty twenty five?
Speaker 5 (21:51):
Well, you know, yeah, I don't think AI is slowing down.
I think it's through being speed. I've had stars in
a with a ton of ISVs and a lot of
them are adding an element of AI to their platform,
So that is going to continue to grow. Honestly, it'll
(22:12):
be interesting where now it's it's as of now, today's
September fourth. You always usually it's NRF is always that
big tail. So the NRF is the big show that
happens in January every year in New York City. It's
freezing cold, but that always kind of sets the tone
of where things are going to be. I know for us,
(22:34):
for Star, the whole label, that whole market has been
huge for us, and that has been something that we
have seen a lot of growth and a lot of
demand for because of the eco friendly initiatives to sustainability.
Everybody's trying to cut admission emissions and things like that,
(22:55):
like they're trying to be a better, have a better
or a lesser carbon flip.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Print, right right.
Speaker 5 (23:01):
So I will say I think that that initiative as
far as labeling and multipurpose using things like the example
I gave earlier, having a receipt act not only as
a receipt but also an order check and a sealant
for a bag, like having some sort of multi people
are trying to make sure that they eliminate costs wherever
they can. So I think that's something that we will
(23:23):
continue to see growth with and enhancement with. But yeah,
those are that's probably I mean, I kind of did
touch on AI, but then I also do think that
labeling is something that we're going to continue to see
some growth on.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Excellent.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well for listeners who want to find out more about
something that we talked about or have any questions, how
can they reach out, well.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Sure, so first of all, subscribe me.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
If you're subscribed to the B to B Tech Talk,
you should also subscribe to the Rising Stars podcast.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
It's a great platform.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
I've had a lot of fun with it and I'm
always open for new guests and new ideas. So give
your girl a shout so you can find you can
follow Star Micronics on LinkedIn. We have YouTube you can
find me Kate Aurara O r r A. I'm on LinkedIn.
I'm very active on LinkedIn, so definitely connect with me
(24:15):
on LinkedIn.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Our website www.
Speaker 5 (24:18):
Dot Stmicronics dot com is a great place to start,
and of course you can reach out to our team
at ingram micro as well. We've got a great team
there that can help support anybody who might be interested
in registering foreign power or have some questions about some
of the solutions I mentioned earlier, like the MC label
and the MC print three printers.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Love it, Kate, thanks so much for joining me.
Speaker 4 (24:38):
No, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
It's a pleasure, and thank you listeners for tuning in
to B to B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro. If
you liked this episode, be sure subscribe and don't forget
that you can find all of the episodes on the
ingram Micro Expantage platform. Until next time, I'm Shelby Skirhawk.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
You've been listening to B to B Tech Talk by
Ingram Micro. This episode was sponsored by Ingram Micro Exvantage.
B to B Tech Talk is a joint production between
Sweetfish Media and Ingram Micro. To listen to this episode
and many others, visit ingrammicro dot com.
You're listening to B to B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro,
a place to learn about how to grow your business
and stay ahead of technological advances before they've become mainstream.
This episode is sponsored by ingram Micro's Expantage, the next
level way to transform your business's potential and reshape how
customers see you through advanced transactional data.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome to B to B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro.
I'm your host Shelby Skirhawk, and our guest today is
Kate Arora, Partner development manager for Star Micronics.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Kate, welcome back to the show.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Thank you, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be back.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yeah, I'm glad you're here.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
So you know, today we are talking about navigating difficult
times as a small business owner. But first, just tell
us a little bit about your background, Kate, Like, I know,
I know you host a podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Just tell us a little bit about you about yourself.
Speaker 5 (01:00):
Sure, So, I as you said, I'm start with Star Micronics.
I am the partner development manager here, so really business development.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
My role is working with our.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
Current partners to see how we can help support them
and grow their business and search for some new business.
I have been in the channel retail industry, IT industry
for almost nineteen years, so I've been around the block
for a while and I've had experience not only working
(01:33):
with I've always kind of worked through the channel, but
I have worked with end users. I have worked with
other resellers, other manufacturers, worked with distributors, so final kind
of the full gamut of the whole buying process. So
in the podcast itself is great. So that's something that
(01:53):
I get to It's kind of like a little it's
just a fun project that I get to do, and
it's through work.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
I work with the Star.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
Micronics marketing team to put that together. We host all
sorts of different types of guests, those that have a
variety of insight to the industry, those that are innovating
new technologies, those are leading in the industry, and.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
So I like to have them on.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
And then I have a couple of solo episodes that
I'll do here and there where I just talk about
trends that I've been noticing and whether it's related to
anything that Star has a solution for or not.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
Outside of that, sometimes I just you know, I want
to give the idea.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
The goal of that podcast is to educate the channel
and help them see that there are things just outside
of their purview that they wouldn't normally recognize.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yes, exactly, well, and I love that you say that
because it's being able to educate. I mean, I know
on my humble attempt for B to B tech talk
is to kind of break down on some of the
the jargon and just the you know, kind of the
tech or market marketing gobbly goop and like really get
(03:08):
down to it, because I figured, like, there's you may
know everything about your particular part of quarner of the
world and technology, but there's ten other people that don't,
and if you can't grab them by, you know, giving
them an entry point into what is the problem that
you're having, what are the types of problems that you're having,
(03:28):
and just giving people, you know, that that clue into
you know, what education is out there. It's yeah, I'm rambling,
But let's get back to Star Micronics then.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
So Star has been around for a while.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It's I would say it's known for its like receipt printers,
like in hospitality, but there's more than that tell us
about that.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
Sure, So yes, it's historically actually I think it started
as as far as like watch parts.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
That's where the Star Micronics comes in.
Speaker 5 (03:58):
It's just funny because so I've only been with Star
now for a little over two years, but two jobs
ago I was actually with a competitor Citizen system, so
another receipt printers slash watch company, but yees. Star is
known for the receipt printers, but we are so much
more than that in that Star has evolved to being
(04:21):
like a full point of sale peripheral solution provider. So
everything except the touch screen or the tablet that runs
the operation. So you have the point of sale, which
is the touch screen with the app or the tablet
with the application. We have the receipt printer, we have
the label printer, we have the stand, the scale, the scanner,
(04:46):
the cash drawer. We have just about everything that you
need to have a functioning point of sale in one
cohesive solution and it just looks good. And Star was
one of the first manufacturers that really embrace the tablet
point of sale, which is huge for small businesses. Tablets
are just it's easy, it's easy to access those, it's
(05:09):
easy to get them, it's easy to and not only that,
like your employees like everybody. I mean, I don't I
have a smartphone. I don't think anybody doesn't have a
smartphone anymore. And basically tablets are big smartphones, and so
tablet point of sale is the go to resource and
Star is pretty much the leader in that space. So, yeah,
(05:31):
they've really expanded quite a bit to being more than
just just that receipt printer company.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
We're the whole solution, full gambit if you will.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Yeah, well, so then let's understand some of the issues
that resellers are value added resellers and independent software vendors,
that issues that they're facing themselves or issues that they're
hearing from their customers, Like what are some of those
difficulties our challenges that VARs and isbs are facing.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
So the challenges that the bars and ISVs are facing
are obviously the challenges that the end users are facing, right,
Like it's like they're trying to help them solve their
world's problems, because their world is solving the problems of
the end user world.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
And it's interesting because I did a.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
Poll on my LinkedIn and it was just to kind
of ask them and like I saying, I asked my network,
and what area are end users and business owners needing
the most guidance and support, and the four options were
data privacy and cybersecurity, supply chain resilience, inflation and cost management,
(06:42):
and e commerce integration. And actually I just announced them
in order of what they're hearing the most guidance versus less.
So in first place was data privacy and cybersecurity for
thirty six percent. For second place, it was a tie
between supply chain resilience and inflation and cost management they
(07:03):
each had twenty seven percent. What's funny, though, is that
e commerce integration was nine percent, whereas I think if
you looked probably like five, six, seven years ago, that
would have been number one. Things have changed as technology
always is shifting, so that has shifted quite a bit.
And so since those are the issues that they're having,
(07:25):
I'm like, well, okay, well I need to make sure
that I talk about that, because I'd rather talk about
the issues that they're talking about. So for data privacy
and cybersecurity, obviously that's not something that Star necessarily has solutions,
but we do understand that and that we understand that
we can help.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
We understand that.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
Resellers should support their end users on cybersecurity and data
privacy by taking by being the trusted advisor, which is
something that again I try to do as the host
of the podcast, but then also working with my team internally,
we're big on cybersecurity, so this just means staying informed
on the latest threats and best practices in cybersecurity so
(08:06):
you can provide customers with up to date guidance. So
starting some sort of thorough assessment of the current systems
to identify vulnerabilities and then recommending security measures like firewalls, encryption, multifecture,
multi factor authentication MFA for short and regular software updates.
(08:26):
It's also essential to make sure that their partners or
end users are compliant with GDPR and CCPA with whatever
depending on their industry and location. Making sure that they're
educated on cybersecurity is super key, and actually did a
podcast episode just on this too long ago, but you know,
(08:49):
making sure educating teams as far as how they can
recognize phishing attempts, creating strong passwords, safe longline practices, and
then just making sure they resellers offer ongoing support and
monitoring services or IS fees too. I mean they I
fees especially have some of those technical know how that
they can do that. It's not a one time fix,
(09:11):
but it just requires constant vigilance.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Well, so about the data privacy and the cybersecurity, so
me obviously that is top of mind for everybody. And
while you say that that Star my Chronics doesn't necessarily
have a solution for that, I imagine it certainly supports
the solutions that are out there. How does that work
with tablet point of sale and being able to protect
that data from being vulnerable.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
I mean, really making sure that they do have those
appropriate firewalls in place, and making sure that users of
the tablet point of sale they are strictly they're they're
limited to using it only for certain applications, right, they
can't wander around and play angry birds or something like that.
(09:57):
So you know, having some sort of limited is going
to be super key. I mean, and and Stars products
we safely integrate with the tablet point of sale. You
can actually charge and connect all your devices into one hub,
which is like our our new MCP three printer mc
print three c CB I printer that one actually can
(10:20):
not only receive data from the tablet, but then also
can charge it at the same time. So it's a
very safe and effective product that can do that. Is
it going to provide a firewall, No, but it's not
going to allow one in either, So it's you.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Know, it's a safe product in that in that camp
for sure?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Sure got it, got it, So I didn't want to
cut you off, but I imagine you were. You're going
to move to what was kind of tied for second
and third, and that was supply chain and cost management.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Tell us a little bit about those more.
Speaker 5 (10:49):
Yes, So when it comes to inflation and supply chain security,
you know, resellers can actually help end users by navigating
inflation and disruptions and supply chains by joining, for is,
with suppliers to provide solutions that optimize business operations, so
you can test out alternative sources to even see if
the end user can become more efficient and being as
(11:11):
mentioned as mentioned before about being the trusted advisor, So
resellers can also support end users in navigating inflation and
managing costs by first helping them to optimize their existing operations.
This could involve identifying inefficiencies in their current processes and
suggesting solutions that streamline workflows, reduce waste, and maximize resource utilization.
(11:34):
For example, implementing automation tools or upgrading to more energy
efficient efficient equipment can lead to significant cost savings over
time and offset the impact of rising prices. So one
of the things that Star has seen a lot of
is linerless label printing that can actually help with that.
(11:55):
So take label printing for example. It's not just about
printing labels, but it's about speeding up processes, reducing clutter,
and cutting.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Down on paper and waste.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Because these labels come out without a silicone backing, you
actually get forty percent more labels per role, which means
fewer changes and more uptime. So by focusing on something
like something that like this, which helps operations and it's
more eco friendly, you're not only just offering product, you're
(12:27):
offering a.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Solution that makes a real difference.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
So that's something that we had start seeing a massive
shift towards, not only because of the efficiency, but because
it's because it's ability to eliminate waste.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
And also improve order accuracy.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
So that was something that I kind of, you know,
that I found pretty interesting as well whenever I was
doing my little, my little research.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah, how does it how does it improve the accuracy
and kind of the Layman's question is, how do you
create linerless labels that don't stick to themselves?
Speaker 5 (13:01):
Oh yeah, well, well that's the beauty of like our
linerless label printer, the MC label three that one is.
It's a multi actually can do various different types of
linerless labels, different sizes, different media. Connection do receipts as well.
But let's say an online order for food. Let's say
it's like a someone has ordered a to go order
(13:24):
or pick up order. So when the restaurant receives it,
they get they get the order, and then they can
go ahead and actually print out the receipt in a
label format, a linerless label format, and actually you would
put it like can they can stick it onto the printer.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
That's because the top of the printer it's.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
It will because you actually can do there's two types
of linerless labels.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
You can do permanent or sticky.
Speaker 5 (13:47):
Permanent means it's gone stick and ain't coming off, and
then sticky means you can kind of reposition it, you
can kind of move it from place to place to place.
In those situations, I would probably recommend a permanent. What
you can do is once the order is prepared and
you put it in the bag, you fold it down
to seal it shut. You put the receipt on there
(14:08):
as well, so it's not only it only acts as
a receipt, so the consumer who's picking up his or
her to go order can see, yep, this is my order,
this is everything that's in there, but also or it
acts as a seal so.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
They have to rip it open and they know it.
No one's touched it. It's they're the first one to
open it.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
So that is a great Not only do you have
you sealed up someone's order for hygiene reasons and all
of that, you've provided them some sort of security. Everything
that you ordered is in here, and we've sealed it shut,
nobody's touched it.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah. Smart.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
And then the last kind of of the four four
options e commerce integration. So the fact that that's the
last one, does that tell you that most of the
companies that you were surveying they have made that lead,
they have moved to mobile point of sale, or you know,
they've they've hit that hurdle already.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
I think So, I mean, I think that that's that
can it's it's no longer as much of a concern.
I think most people it's been it's kind of the
industry standard now. I think at one point it was
a nice to have and now it's a have to have,
so it doesn't seem like it is the concern anymore.
I just found it interesting, like I think data privacy
(15:30):
and cybersecurity the reason why it's number one. It's number
one on everybody's charts, like, and it's scary because it's not.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Even just like I mean, I actually just recently.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
Failed a little like my IT team sends out these
little emails to test to make sure I failed one.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I think it was like the other day, and I'm like,
oh no, that's what I was like, No, I don't
should have done it.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
And I'm just waiting for them to tell me, Okay,
you now have to do a course, and it's just
like my penance for what I did. But but they
have to do it because the thing is, once I've
done it, it's like I knew I did the wrong thing,
and so you got that. But then also you have
the whole AI thing, the whole AI and chat chept,
and that opens up that's a whole other level of
(16:16):
cybersecurity because that there are now hackers getting into that system.
So it's it's tricky and it's very important, and so
I can't don't deny that that's something that is not
a concern just for an end user, but for all
businesses for sure.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Everybody.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Yeah, well, so we've gone over those those issues and
we've kind of hit on some of the some of
these recurring themes that we're seeing and a little bit
of the advice then that you would give from a
big picture then. So you know, a reseller is listening
to this episode, they maybe haven't been working with our
(16:52):
micronics on their products and they don't really understand the benefit.
What can you tell them about working with Star my
Chronics through Ingram micro that is particularly you know, the why,
you know, what's what's in it for them.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
So I think the thing about Star, one of the
things that I've always really admired with Star, and this
is kind of why I was drawn to that, drawn
to join their team, was their one their desire to
build partnerships and relationships. They're not just customers, their partners
and I am I myself am a relationship girl. Like
(17:30):
I love to get to know people. I want to
know your kids' names, I want to know your favorite
sports team. I want to know your favorite food. Tell
me where the food is because I'm a foodie at
heart and I love to eat, so I love to
get to know my no partners, you know, I'll talk
business for a little bit and then after that I'm like, hey,
we're done talk of business. You know, what do you
think about that football game yesterday?
Speaker 4 (17:51):
You know?
Speaker 5 (17:52):
So those are things like that, And I think that
when you work with Star, you are working with a
company that really is invested in your success.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
We provide probably more tools than most.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
For example, when you work with Star, whether you purchase
one product or one hundred thousand products, you do have
access to our Partner Portal as long as you join
our empowered Partner program. When you enjoy in joining our
partner program, there are no minimum orders, there are no requirements,
(18:25):
just you know, you.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Get it's a discount program.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
But then you also get access to an incredible portal
where you have access to everything, like I mean anything
that you can imagine.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Like you can use our website.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Our website's really robust, but our portal just gives you
so much more tools to use. You can look up
replaced parts, replace printers, replaced items, so that if one's
been discontinued, what should you buy in its place. You
can look up if you have an opportunity that you're
working on. If you want to register an opportunity, you
(18:58):
can do that through the portal. You can see the
status of that opportunity. You can look up history order history,
like oh, that's one customer that I want to go
back and they want to repeat the same order. So
instead of having to go through your email, you go
into the partner portal and you can drill down. From there,
you have access to collateral, you can get the images
that you need. You can look you can download battle
(19:19):
cards like well, what how does the Star printer compared
to the EPSOM printer, So you can actually look and see, Okay,
based on this, this is probably the printer that the
Star printer that I need. So there's just so many
different tools. And then also it's human. It's you're going
to work with human beings. Like I remember visiting a
partner not too long ago and they were saying, you know,
(19:41):
we don't even we don't even know who to call
when we need to talk to this other person.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
But when we call, when we go to Star, we have.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
Multiple people that we can reach out to that will
talk to us, and so I think.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
That's what you get.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
You get, you get human beings like you get yes
we have a portal, and yes we have some cool
technology tools.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
You get people.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
And I will say from the software the ISV perspective,
our integrations team is second to none. I swear they
are the most thorough technical, fun group of guys.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
We don't have any gals yet, but they're all guys, but.
Speaker 5 (20:18):
They're great, and they're so knowledgeable, and they will work
with you on what your needs are and they'll sometimes
even talk you down. So like let's say you're wanting
all the bells and whistles, and you may be going
with like the most expensive Star product based on that.
Once they drill down your actual needs, they may be like,
you know what, you really could get away with doing
(20:39):
this product instead, and here's why. And then we're constantly
in touch with you. It's like, Okay, we have a
new product. You've been using this one, it still works great,
but you may want to integrate with this one too,
because we're it has a lot more features. And so
that is what you get when you work with Star
get you get a team that really cares about you,
that wants to support you, and you get people, you
(21:03):
get human beings, and I think that's important.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
That is that is well, as we start to wrap
up our episode, we always ask our guests the same
final question, and that's weird.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Do you see technology going in the next year? So
you know it's.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Within whatever space that we're talking about, or something that
you've just personally got an eye on. And I've been
saying this practically for every episode. Everybody like groans when
they say, oh, I'm sure everybody says AI, but there
are so many facets of AI that are so fascinating
and you don't think of these abilities when you drill
down into the what's possible within a particular niche That's
(21:41):
the stuff I love to hear about. So don't shy
away from AI. But you know from your Crystal Ball,
where are we going to be this time twenty twenty five?
Speaker 5 (21:51):
Well, you know, yeah, I don't think AI is slowing down.
I think it's through being speed. I've had stars in
a with a ton of ISVs and a lot of
them are adding an element of AI to their platform,
So that is going to continue to grow. Honestly, it'll
(22:12):
be interesting where now it's it's as of now, today's
September fourth. You always usually it's NRF is always that
big tail. So the NRF is the big show that
happens in January every year in New York City. It's
freezing cold, but that always kind of sets the tone
of where things are going to be. I know for us,
(22:34):
for Star, the whole label, that whole market has been
huge for us, and that has been something that we
have seen a lot of growth and a lot of
demand for because of the eco friendly initiatives to sustainability.
Everybody's trying to cut admission emissions and things like that,
(22:55):
like they're trying to be a better, have a better
or a lesser carbon flip.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Print, right right.
Speaker 5 (23:01):
So I will say I think that that initiative as
far as labeling and multipurpose using things like the example
I gave earlier, having a receipt act not only as
a receipt but also an order check and a sealant
for a bag, like having some sort of multi people
are trying to make sure that they eliminate costs wherever
they can. So I think that's something that we will
(23:23):
continue to see growth with and enhancement with. But yeah,
those are that's probably I mean, I kind of did
touch on AI, but then I also do think that
labeling is something that we're going to continue to see
some growth on.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Excellent.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well for listeners who want to find out more about
something that we talked about or have any questions, how
can they reach out, well.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Sure, so first of all, subscribe me.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
If you're subscribed to the B to B Tech Talk,
you should also subscribe to the Rising Stars podcast.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
It's a great platform.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
I've had a lot of fun with it and I'm
always open for new guests and new ideas. So give
your girl a shout so you can find you can
follow Star Micronics on LinkedIn. We have YouTube you can
find me Kate Aurara O r r A. I'm on LinkedIn.
I'm very active on LinkedIn, so definitely connect with me
(24:15):
on LinkedIn.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Our website www.
Speaker 5 (24:18):
Dot Stmicronics dot com is a great place to start,
and of course you can reach out to our team
at ingram micro as well. We've got a great team
there that can help support anybody who might be interested
in registering foreign power or have some questions about some
of the solutions I mentioned earlier, like the MC label
and the MC print three printers.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Love it, Kate, thanks so much for joining me.
Speaker 4 (24:38):
No, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
It's a pleasure, and thank you listeners for tuning in
to B to B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro. If
you liked this episode, be sure subscribe and don't forget
that you can find all of the episodes on the
ingram Micro Expantage platform. Until next time, I'm Shelby Skirhawk.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
You've been listening to B to B Tech Talk by
Ingram Micro. This episode was sponsored by Ingram Micro Exvantage.
B to B Tech Talk is a joint production between
Sweetfish Media and Ingram Micro. To listen to this episode
and many others, visit ingrammicro dot com.
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