'Vendor Spotlight Of The Month' Interview With Ged Cairns At Brother UK

Welcome to the first of our ‘Vendor Spotlight of the Month’ interviews!

In the past, we have brought you both customer interviews and staff interviews, so we thought it would be interesting to see what our vendors have to say about us!

This month we spoke with Ged Cairns, Head of the Auto ID Business Unit at Brother UK, to find out his thoughts on all things Dakota!

1. How long have you been in your current role at Brother UK?

I am now in my sixth year at Brother having joined from Honeywell and previously, Datamax. I have been in the AUTO ID industry for over 35 years now, so if my maths is correct, it means I was 5 years old when I started…..

2. What does your role within Brother UK involve?

I am Head of the AUTO ID category at Brother UK which is a product category within Brother’s wide printing portfolio. As this is a relatively niche category in the Brother business, internally we call this Speciality Printing Solutions or SPS. My role is to create multiple sales and marketing value propositions to amplify the product range as part of our strategy to recruit and activate partners and to fundamentally grow our market share of the AUTO ID Print business.

3. How long have you known the team at Dakota?

I have known many of the team for 15-20 years. The best part about this is that we have become more than business acquaintances; I’d like to think we are friends with a mutual respect combined with honesty and integrity at our core.

4. What is Dakota like to interact with on a business basis?

We respect the fact that Dakota has previously operated in a vertical that was serviced by another vendor but as businesses evolve and change, we were invited back to present how we can add value and offer an alternative, especially now that Dakota is becoming even more successful in T&L and manufacturing. We find the Dakota team to be honest, warm and eager to make sure their customers receive the best service and the best choice. We are delighted to play a part in this.

5. What attributes do you require in a Brother UK Partner and why did you bring Dakota on board as a Partner?

For fear or repeating myself, it is about a kindred spirit with honesty and integrity at the heart of your company. When we started this onboarding journey, we quickly established a trust at management level where we shared our mutual goals and found out that they were aligned. We then had to share these mutual goals with the sales team. We did this by inviting them all to the Brother Solutions Showroom to give them a feel and understanding that Brother offers credible value and choice to their clients and can be trusted to support Dakota in their bid for new business.

6. How do you think Dakota contributes to the Brother Partner Community?

Brother is on an aggressive growth drive so as a 100% channel business, we look for companies to invest with Brother. From the start, our marketing heads Ellie Jarrett (at Dakota) and Laura Brimelow (at Brother) hit it off and were excited to get stuck into joint marketing and lead generation. It sets the tone for the relationship and lays down a foundation that we can all build on. I invited Dakota to take advantage of our sales and marketing resources and they have. Through this, we can see personal relationships growing. No longer is it a management aspiration but a peer-to-peer interaction to offer the best solutions to their clients and prospects.  

7. What are Dakota’s specific USPs?

Similar to Brother, I see Dakota’s key value is based on customer intimacy, a full turnkey solution approach and professional behaviour at all times. During my conversation with Dakota’s Managing Director, Keith Hardy and Phil Jarrett, Dakota’s Commercial Director, it was clear that they want customers to keep coming back for more solutions and products based on not just a good experience, but a perfect experience. The market is fiercely competitive, so Dakota drives their own very high standards to give them the best chance of winning.

8. And finally, what do you hope the future holds for Brother’s relationship with Dakota?

Brother is investing in its future, and we need to surround ourselves with very capable partners who turn our printers into solutions. We are proud to be the print experts with the best service offering on the market. We have made a great start with Dakota, and we continue to work hard with the whole team with the goal of them having the confidence in our brand and our value proposition. Our goal is to give them the best chance of winning profitable business where our printers offer a safe choice and best value.