Check
out the list of Exhibitors at this year’s “The
Vision Show”.
All the big names are there, except one.
Know
which one I’m talking about? Yes that’s right, yet again old “Big
Yella” has decided to stay away.
I’m
not sure this is a wise move. I get that trade shows are expensive
and that the ROI is hard to pin down, but out of sight is most
definitely out of mind.
Keyence
will be there, and I expect they’ll have a big stand full of sales
people eager to explain how their vision systems will solve all your
problems. And with no Cognex on hand, who’s going to present a
counter argument?
This
attitude of “staying out of it” seems to extend to the factory
floor too. The Engineers I talk to are being blitzed by Keyence sales
people who won’t take “No” for an answer. Eventually they let
the guy through the front door and next thing there’s Keyence
vision system out in the plant.
If
you’re selling machine vision the best sales tool you can have is a
working system on a plant floor. Keyence are getting those installed,
and I don’t see Cognex offering any resistance.
Maybe
the problem is that they’re selling through distributors.
Distributors have other things to sell, so why invest time and effort
in complicated vision systems when you can make a faster buck from
something else, like a code reader?
Staying
away from trade shows is one thing, but staying out of the fight for
customers is something else. I fear Cognex are losing sales and
handing the industrial market to Keyence.
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2 comments:
That is very surprising, especially as their head office is just down the road in Natick!
Yeah, I've noticed the same thing. But not just Cognex, a lot of the formerly "big names" are missing at vision shows. The foolish companies cut marketing first when times get tough since it often cannot show a solid ROI. On the other hand, I've also cut back my attendance. There is nothing to learn at conferences that I cannot pick up online. The only real value for me is seeing new products in action, and there just isn't enough of that right now to justify the expense unless it's a day trip within driving distance.
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