Delusion Based In Desperation Sees An Oasis - Reality Held Accountable Avoids Mirages.

by ray stasieczko January 12, 2025

It's incredible how much "Pandering over Performance" is accepted over and over within the print industry.

Unfortunately, yesterday's delusional pursuits always result in unpreparedness when today's painful reality shows up.

The repeated insanity coming from the desert in Arizona regarding the industry's New Wannabe ERPs and other fantasy unsubstantiated ideas - defines the dangers in unaccountability!

Why is there no outcry? Why is the industry's media ignoring this insanity? Oh, that's right, if they questioned it, they wouldn't be invited to the party in The Land of Cactus and Rattlesnakes.

More importantly - why would any new attempts to introduce the new ERP for the imaging channel emulate anything of the past failed attempts?

It makes one question the leaders' due diligence abilities at Acumatica the new ERP wannabe for the channel or any software platforms who bet on the fantasy of the desert oasis.

After all, the entire industry is aware of the absolute financial disaster regarding FORZA. The last ERP born in the desert and promoted as the new ERP for the Imaging Channel! Which in reality became one of the imaging channel's biggest disaster.

Remember the many scripted panel discussions starring Konica Minolta, once-employed CEO and the once-employed MWAi's CEO, from the desert stage at the Hotel Valley Ho?

Moving the ECS meeting to a new hotel in the desert won't distract from the failures discussed in the past at the Hotel Valley Ho! Especially when the discussions involve the same people.

It also seems interesting that the ex-Konica Minolta CEO of America never discusses his thoughts on why Konica Minolta maintains its position as the worst financially performing OEM in the industry. I would ask that question to the many Konica Minolta current and past leaders who grace the stages at any of the industry’s venues attempting to distract the audience from Konica Minolta's many mismanaged disasters and obviously FORZA being one.

These annual desert oasis meetings should start with a recap outlining the realities in the outcomes from the previous year's discussions. Of course these outcomes would have to be accountable to truthfulness.

Here's a suggestion for all my friends contemplating heading to the desert to visit your friends. If there is a sales pitch for a new ERP for the Imaging Channel or other unsubstantiated nonsense. Skip those sessions and play golf instead!

Now, for those who believe I am out of line calling out this insanity. Please have a drink with the dealers who wasted millions during the FORZA fiasco, talk with any dealers who had to waste time in courts seeking compensation for their losses, speak with the dealers who left eAuto and went to FORZA - only to move back to eAutomate or, call Greyrock Capital and the other investors upset from losses regarding any, MWAi investments.

I am thinking that sitting on a cactus would be more productive and less painful than heading to the Desert's New Oasis, as We should all assume it's only a mirage. Those in the industry needed to quench their thirst on the journey towards continuous relevance must understand the dangers in heading towards a mirage.

Does Acumatica believe, as others failing at success in the Imaging Channel, that phony relationships are more important than business business plans based on reality?

How much unaccountability is the industry willing to ignore? Shouldn't the industry's actors finally admit that (Pandering over Performance) has run its course?

Why would Acumatica believe they and their bolt-on DXone can succeed in our industry where FORZA and SAP Hana failed terribly?

What's concerning is hearing the new ERP attempts parroting the pitches of the failed FORZA!

Their pitches make the same elementary argument: "We are just better." Of course, their platforms are untested and unproven to be scalable in the imaging channel. It seems some go by the motto.

"Fake It Till You Make It"

Many have told me that the CEO of MWAi, the company responsible for the disastrous FORZA, often recited that motto - Fake It Till You Make It!

Based on his current Modus Operandi, I am thinking nothing has changed.

I would estimate that between MWAi and Konica, The Failed FORZA fantasy affected a couple hundred hard-working people's lives. Not to mention the dealers who uprooted their businesses all in an effort to follow someone who I and many others believe had a fake it till you make it mindset.

Beware, my industry friends, as you listen to the wannabe newcomers discuss how much better their ERP is. Ask yourself, are they reminding you of the past? Do they have a platform that is a hobbling together of underfunded software companies hoping to succeed through an on-the-job training program? Ask yourself - if they have a proof of concept. A concept based on our industry's realities!

Here are some other fair question to Acumatica and DXone, the bolt-on software hoping to be a better FORZA. Where is the money coming from? What is the investment cap with the stakeholders in Acumatica and DXone? Why do both these organizations believe they can succeed by following the lead of the industry's greatest ERP failure, FORZA?

Another example, could anyone imagine an OEM leadership team following directions from the Konica Minolta leadership team regarding financial stewardship? Or directions from the leaders of the financially non performing mega dealer Visual Edge IT on the art of rolling up copier dealers and becoming an IT Services company?

Dealers must do due diligence. Our industry's media will not ask the necessary questions, and our industry's analysts have become award platforms and blogs for copied and pasted press releases.

My dealer friends think about all the press releases that have come from the desert and ask yourself if the goal of the last press release was to distract you from the non-release of the many prior press releases.

All those who operate through a fake-it-till-you-make-it mindset are also habitual at initiating meaningless press releases.

I urge all to remember the nonsense of the past when the present feels so familiar. Deja Vu is your mind warning you not to repeat what you already witnessed.

In closing

During all industry disruptions, remember what history has taught you about the medicine man also referred to as the (charlatan) the one who showed up with a wagon full of cures for the pains of a changing world. However, the medicine man always left town before their cure was proven useless to avoid seeing the poor suckers who died.

"Reality Is Where One Will Seek Delusion Or Comprehension"

Ray Stasieczko/ Host of The End Of The Day With Ray!

I welcome all to subscribe to my YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/@RayStasieczko

---

---

---

Also in Ray's Current Articles