Bexel looks to ease buyer’s remorse

By Ken Kerschbaumer
Bexel this week rolled out an innovative financing plan with National City Media Finance that will give broadcasters a new array of purchasing options that go beyond traditional leasing and give clients a chance to make a purchase today without fearing a long-term commitment.

“Clients no longer have to be locked in to a lease and, as a result, they can replace equipment more quickly,” says Jerry Gepner, CTO of Bexel parent company Vitec Group. Traditionally, a lease locked the buyer in to a particular technology or product during the life of the deal. It was essentially nothing more than another way to buy equipment .

But the new program changes that, allowing the client to respond to market developments. “In traditional leasing the last thing a leasing company would want is the hardware to come back,” says Gepner. But under this program, Bexel and NC4 have already calculated and guaranteed a residual that actually encourages customers to return the hardware for upgraded or new technology. Of course, there s a buyout option as well, but this product lets a customer stay absolutely current without having to pay for the full value of the technology in each capital cycle.
With technology changing at a faster pace buyers, afraid of making a bad investment, put more downward pressure on pricing. “This becomes real attractive as technology protection, in addition, it doesn t throttle any technology development as the manufacturers can move their development programs ahead and know they have a ready market for their next generation products” says Gepner. In addition, Bexel can provide wrap-around services, including 24/7 support, seasonal repurposing and both regular and emergency maintenance.

“This lowers the customer’s overall net cost of equipment ownership,” says Gepner.

In the end it’s the customer that wins. “A customer may not know what improvements or new technologies are still coming and with this program we can build in technology refresh windows where additional funds are made vailable to cover the cost of upgrading or transitioning. ” says Gepner. “Now the Chief Engineer or VP in charge of making the purchasing decision can look the boss in the eye and guarantee a return on investment.”