Printer Pioneer: DLL helps Roland DG lower the financial threshold for European dealers

Not every company can claim the slogan ‘Imagine,’ but then again few companies have built their reputation on creating groundbreaking digital technologies like the Japanese Roland DG Corporation. Today, its German counterpart, Roland DG, is a market leader in digital printing.

In a competitive European market that relies heavily on an engaged dealer network, Roland DG turned to DLL for help. “’Imagine.' means everything is possible,” says Kathrin Buhl, Sales Manager at Roland DG. “We needed a financial solutions partner that lives up to this promise.”

After signing a partnership in 2016, DLL and Roland wasted no time introducing a new commercial financing solution to Roland’s central European network of authorized dealers. The zero-percent financing allowed customers to spread their payments over a period of 36 months, with Roland paying the interest.

“Zero-percent financing is unique to the market,” says Dominik Denter, Account Manager at DLL. “It was a distinctive offer. At the time, no other manufacturer was offering this solution.”

The zero-percent finance campaign was a success, both in terms of dealer participation and sales. The quick success laid the foundation for a flexible and creative relationship.

Demo days
Buhl points out that DLL’s second idea, a 180-day financial solution designed to make demo machines more accessible to dealers, was particularly unexpected and welcome.

“Dealers often hesitate to invest in new machines, especially demo machines, because they are expensive,” says Buhl. “But it’s important to both parties that their customers can grasp and experience our latest technologies.”

Normally, dealers must pay for the machine upfront. The 180-day proposal removed that obstacle. “They didn’t have to pre-invest, there were no additional costs, nothing negative,” Buhl adds. “It was a creative solution that went beyond the thinking of a typical financial partner.”

Dealer direct
Historically a vendor leasing company, DLL has been actively seeking new ways to grow its retail business, mainly via their manufacturing partners. The relationship with Roland provided a unique opportunity to do this.

“Roland invited us to present directly to their dealers,” says Denter. “A few larger dealers knew who we were, but this opportunity allowed us to introduce ourselves and present our solutions to the entire network of dealers. This is a great example of how we collaborate, how we work together to come up with new ideas and bring our solutions to more dealers.”

Denter notes that while the goal is to present creative and effective solutions to retailers, the nature of the business is pragmatic.

“We simply sit down and come up with good solutions for end-customers and retail partners,” he adds. “We try to set that up to be as easy as possible.”

In the meantime, Roland DG sees room to grow in central Europe, a region where dealers require financial support.

“On a company level, I want easy solutions that bring added value that can be scaled across all of Europe, although it is not easy with so many different markets,” Buhl says. “On a personal level, I am happy to have a single partner who is fast at creating new solutions.”