We believe we are a market leader in tabletop digital color label printing technology in the specialty on-demand printing field, the market leader in flight deck printers, and an innovator in digital color mini-press systems. In the data acquisition area, we are one of the leaders in general-purpose, portable, high-speed data acquisition systems.
Management believes that we have a market leadership position in many of the markets we serve. We retain our leadership position by virtue of our proprietary technology, product reputation, delivery, our channels to market, technical assistance and service to customers. The number of competitors varies by product line. Key competitive factors vary among our product lines but include technology, quality, service and support, distribution network and breadth of product and service offerings.
Our PI products are sold by direct field salespersons as well as independent dealers and representatives, while our T & M products are sold predominantly through direct sales and manufacturers’ representatives. In the United States, we have factory-trained direct-field salespeople located throughout the country specializing in PI products. We also have direct field sales or service centers in Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and the United Kingdom staffed by our own employees and dedicated third-party contractors. Additionally, we utilize over 100 independent dealers and representatives selling and marketing our products in over 60 countries.
No single customer accounted for 10% or more of our net revenue in any of the last three fiscal years.
Order Backlog
Our order backlog is predominantly but not exclusively for products that will be delivered within twelve months, and backlog scheduled for beyond twelve months is predominantly within the T&M segment. However, backlog varies regularly and is not a highly reliable predictive indicator of near-term future sales trends, primarily due to the frequent longer-term original equipment and supplies orders within the T&M segment. In the PI segment, we have multi-period (but typically not multi-year) blanket order arrangements with many customers for labels and other supplies. Printer hardware in the PI segment is typically shipped within a short period of time after orders are booked. Manufacturing production is designed to meet forecasted demands and built-to-order customer requirements. Backlog at January 31, 2023 and 2022 was $35.8 million and $27.8 million, respectively.
Government Regulation
We are subject to a wide variety of laws, rules, mandates, and regulations, some of which apply or may apply to us as a result of our business, particularly with respect to our aircraft cockpit printer business which sells in a highly regulated industry. For example, material modifications to an airborne printer cannot be made without having progressed through an extensive series of product qualification and certification steps that are technically complicated, expensive to execute, typically slow the pace of product development in that industry and can constrain our ability to quickly respond to pricing fluctuations or disruptions to our supply chain for products.
Other applicable and potentially applicable regulations and laws include regulations and laws regarding taxation, accounting and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reporting, privacy, data protection, pricing, content, distribution, energy consumption, environmental regulation, competition, consumer protection, employment, import and export matters, information reporting requirements, access to our services and facilities, the design and operation of websites, health, safety, and sanitation standards, the characteristics and quality of products and services, product labeling and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Our business outside of the U.S. exposes us to foreign and additional U.S. laws and regulations, including but not limited to, laws and regulations relating to taxation, business licensing or certification requirements, consumer protection, intellectual property rights, consumer and data protection, privacy, encryption, restrictions on pricing or discounts, and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other applicable U.S. and foreign laws prohibiting corrupt payments to government officials and other third parties.
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