Kemtek has been in operation for about 18 years, starting off in the barcode industry and picking up barcode agencies along the way. Over the years we have selected some premier partners to work with as a distribution center for AIDC products. We resell through a reselling channel, which is broken down into sub-distributors, distribution partners, and reseller partners. We have approximately 400 reseller partners in operation around South Africa. These are partners that put together vertical market solutions for Point-of-Sale where they'll be purchasing scanners, label printers, receipt printers, and PDTs for their applications.

Kemtek has become the distributor of choice for many of these partners because they are able to buy a total solution from us. Amongst the reseller channel, we also have a sub-distributor channel. These are partners that are also box movers. They provide solutions to some of our reseller channels. They might be PC manufacturers or other manufacturers, and they will provide a solution with our Argox printers and scanners— a total solution. Their role in our country is to extend our network by carrying stock, and our cost structure is set up so our resellers can purchase from them at the same price that they can purchase from us.

We do not sell to end-users at all and therefore our channel is very true and loyal to our products. In the vertical markets amongst these resellers we have resellers that actually specialize in logistics, courier services, and many of our printers move to these markets as well. And of course we complement this all by having an in-house ribbon slitting factory for production. So we are able to provide ribbons and thermal transfer ribbons for our Argox printers. We are able to strengthen the distribution channel for our reseller products. We have a further vertical of resellers that specialize in manufacturing. We have many, many strong players who have their own label facilities and they in turn then supply our Argox printers, our thermal transfer ribbons, and their own labels to many, many manufacturing industries in our country.

We then supplement this as well by the fact that we are GS-1 approved. GS-1 (Global Standards) is an international standards association who ensure barcode standards. We also educate all our customers on the standards of barcode so that they are able to deliver products into the retail markets correctly spec’ed and can pass all tests. We also have a verification product that we provide so that they are able to sell additional services to their customers as they are able to verify all the barcodes that are produced.

If you have a look at our reseller channel, you'll notice that we are very focused in all the markets. We also have resellers that specialize in the commercial industries. Within our point-of-sales we have many resellers that specialize in pharmacy and healthcare. So we cover from one end of the spectrum to any other end of the spectrum with a solution. For any barcode labeling, or shop printing solution for our resellers we cover all the verticals.

What are the most popular applications for Argox products?

I would say the most popular would be the industrial machines used in manufacturing for FMCG products that are going into retail. We have direct thermals where we have a very good business model for the pharmacy chains that are producing labels for medicines and prescribed drugs. We also have a very broad base of printers going into shops for price marking on the shelf. We also have a good amount of these going into shops producing same day products such as bread, fresh meat, and products where you need a label. We also have very wide range of products for courier services that need labeling for collection and tracking and bar coding. That covers the majority without going into all the other areas. Obviously with the versatility of Argox we are able to take away business from competitors; we find that we are doing a great deal of replacement for many of the other serious brand players.

For the bar code business in your markets, what changes do you expect over the next 5 years?

Contrary to what a lot of people are believing is that we see the bar code role being as strong as ever in the next five years. We see the need for the Argox range of printers to enable us to bring in RFID into the equation. But we see RFID and bar coding coexisting, very much as we've seen with the advent of wireless and cabling. I think people expected cables to go and wireless to come in, but I think we'll see the same coexistence, that bar code will still be very strong. Obviously we see an opportunity with technology and RFID to add to our range.

I think we will see in the South African market—which has been a little bit slow to react—we will see a fairly big change from traditional use of RS-232 and parallel interface to the use of USB and internet.

When did you begin doing business with Argox? How did it start?

We began almost eight and a half years ago, and it has been a very good eight and a half years. We have found Argox to be a very loyal partner. They have great products and always have great service and support from Argox for the past many years, Hence we have been able to grow up with Argox. If we look at the figures from this year to last we've almost managed to double our orders from Argox in the past year.

What has impressed you most about doing business with Argox?

I think it's their honesty, their quality, and they've always been quick with support. I think this is a critical element of many relationships. It doesn't matter what product you buy today, it's what happens when something goes wrong and you need that support. It's their honesty and the quality of their product, and the excellent support of their partner.

Another thing in the South African market, it's their willingness to understand that our market is different, that our price requirements are very sensitive. They've always been able to respond with flexibility, and don't have any policies that are restrictive that would not allow us to grow.

Kemtek in the beginning had 1 or 2 agencies and dabbled in bar coding. We used to send people to an exhibition each year. Though retired now, my technical manager, Martin Axford traveled to CEBIT and that started our relationship with Argox. And it's just been going from strength to strength.

What do you think of Argox's current sales team?

I think the current sales team is great. We have structure now and have assistance from a high level. Chloe is extremely good at communication and we're able to have responses to our problems, no matter if they are technical responses or not, and we have results in a very short space of time. I think it shows a good infrastructure in Argox in that if we have a technical query, a pricing query, a product query, we're able to work to our internal saleslady Chloe. If she's not available then somebody else will pick up and run with it. So we're never left high and dry. And I think that's pretty good.

Do you have any suggestions to help Argox improve?

We always look to Argox to come out with new technology, and keep us ahead of the pack so we can develop new verticals all the time. I think basically that's where we would like to see the help come from. I think the distributor for Argox and being in a difficult country like South Africa, we need support which we get from them. The majority of the marketing, the sales and the PR, we need to do ourselves. We need to understand our markets. I'll say basically there is really only one request we have and that is for Argox to come to South Africa, so we can do a nice road show. I'll end by saying: Argox keep on listening to us, which they do.