The nominations are in, the judges have made their selections, and we’re proud to announce our 2013 Elite Dealers. This is an award that honors the best and the brightest in the imaging technology dealer community. The dealers we are honoring each week throughout the month of October aren’t only the biggest dealers in the business or the ones with the highest revenues although some are and many are doing extremely well from a financial perspective. These dealers have impressed us with their innovative marketing and sales programs, community leadership, leadership within the industry, work culture, and in many instances, their growth.
Now, let’s begin the celebration starting with our first group of 2013 Elite Dealers.
PERRY PROTECH
Lima, OH
CEO: Barry Clark
Year founded: 1965
Number of employees: 208
Primary hardware vendors: Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Muratec, Riso, Sharp, Intec, HP
Primary solutions and services offerings: CompuThink: ViewWise, OpenText, Alchemy, NSI: AutoStore, Mi-Co: Mi-Forms, Artsyl: Simple Capture, DocAlpha Virtual Works: ViaWorks
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $50-$60 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: Although not the biggest deal ever, it’s one Perry proTECH is proud of—a local non-profit agency signed an advanced multi-year managed IT agreement with the dealership and this came through combined efforts of their Imaging, managed print and managed IT teams—a huge accomplishment for Perry’s team process.
The Perry PROTech management team: 1st row l-r: Steve Suffety, Becky Taylor, Dave Zimerle, Mick Martz, Tony Ruth; 2nd row l-r:
Jeff Boate, Gale Kindle, Matt Kennedy, Ryan Bloom, Mark Gardner, Don Pierce, John Rees:
3rd row l-r: Mike Sams, Barry Clark, John Swalwell, Jon Dankworth, Don Katalenas, Ryan Eberhard
How about these numbers, solution sales up 25 percent, managed print and managed IT up 30 percent, production print up 25 percent, and security solutions up 10 percent. We find those numbers impressive, especially since they underscore Perry proTECH’s commitment to solutions and services, a strategy that is representative of the future of the office technology dealer channel.
The focus at Perry is on offering business technology solutions that start with traditional office needs such as print, MFP, MPS and document solutions, but additionally offer IT/Networking solutions, managed IT, and physical security. “Our goal is that our customers look to us first for everything that happens in their business,” states Kathy Vogler, marketing director. “We are 100 percent employee owned and our employees are empowered to think and act as owners on behalf of our clients.”
We’re also impressed by a team strategy implemented this year at Perry that focused on Innovate, Integrate and Educate to help customers and employees grasp the breadth of its offerings and the dealership’s overall potential. Managers across all levels of the company were involved with these six teams (each directive had an “external” and “internal” team) and worked closely with executive management, HR, IT, and marketing to develop go-to-market strategies. External or client facing projects included a new demonstration experience at each of Perry’s locations; Did You Know video series on the dealership’s YouTube channel; organized company wide social media efforts, including its own blog channel (www.techblogring.com); and monthly seminars and showcases that highlight all five fsolution offerings: documents, networks, systems, services, and security.
Internally, Perry reviewed client focus group data, created a PERRY proTECH University for internal training and developed a volunteer time off policy that allows employees to donate up to 8 hours a year towards a 501c3 charitable organization.
“Our challenge has been the integration of two separate types of companies (imaging and IT), a complete rebrand and name change,” acknowledges Vogler. “Our efforts this year to become one company with one plan, have brought us into a deeper understanding of our leadership role in the industry. Everyone at our company can verbalize what we offer, not just what they specifically do; and they understand the right resources to go to for assistance.”
She adds that having an imaging tech in the field mention to a client “did you know we offer access control and video surveillance, do you want to talk to someone in that team?” brings Perry’s client-centric model front and center.
“We’ve gone through a tremendous amount of change in the past couple of years and our employees have embraced and welcomed the new company image, compensation structures, people, processes, and in some cases, new facilities,” notes Vogler.
Perry proTECH’s strategy of being an industry leader by staying ahead of everyone else in business technology is the basis of its future. Expect to see the dealership continue to integrate more lines of its business offerings into each client sale. “The planned move towards managed services and contractual solutions bring exponential value to our clients,” reports Vogel. “In addition, we will look for additional acquisitions to expand our market share inside and outside of our existing geography and solutions.”
One shouldn’t expect anything less from an Elite Dealer such as Perry proTECH.
RJ YOUNG COMPANY
Nashville, TN
President/Owner: Chip Crunk
Year founded: 1955
Number of employees: 465
Primary hardware vendors: Canon, Ricoh, Lexmark, Samsung, HP, Océ/Canon
Primary solutions and services offerings: MPS and more.
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $100 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: Belmont University in Nashville, TN
Why aren’t we surprised that RJ Young is once again one of our Elite Dealers? On a pace to become a $100-million dealership in 2013, RJ Young has enjoyed a three-year average of yearly revenues of $88,332,200. That’s impressive and a number that some dealerships would love to see one tenth in a given year.
Business is booming for RJ Young with MPS growing at 110 percent, production print at 62 percent, and color at 22 percent. Here in Nashville and the other markets RJ Young serves, bigger is indeed better.
Over the years customers have selected RJ Young Company because of its ability to be product independent and provide a complete solution to the customer. The dealership takes pride in the ownership of the customer and values the fact that all aspects of involvement with the customer are backed by the exclusive “We Make It Right” guarantee. It’s a guarantee that quickly solves issues and ensures customer satisfaction and leads to high retention rates.
We love the dealership’s lunch and learns, especially “Tech & Taste.” That’s an opportunity for customers to enjoy free tastings from a variety of food trucks then take a tour of RJ Young’s new technology portal where they can learn about mobile printing, document management, and cloud services.
Marketing is a key element to the success of any dealership and RJ Young’s marketing efforts are on display every day on the vehicles in its service fleets, all of which are wrapped in branded graphics. It’s little wonder why the RJ Young name is so recognizable in the markets they serve.
They’re also adept at leveraging key customer testimonials in written case studies, print advertising, and broadcast advertising. There’s nothing like a good reference or two to keep the momentum rolling and new customers coming through the door.
We also appreciate the way RJ Young Company embraced challenges such as recruiting and retaining quality people to fill openings, and still growing through the economic downturn. “We had to increase our recruiting and training efforts as we see a need for more personnel through our growth and expansion,” explains COO Hunter McCarty. “Many of the people in the job market would not be good candidates for our company so we had to double our efforts in all departments.”
One of the company’s biggest accomplishments of the past year was the successful integration of the Ricoh MIF, which was acquired in 2012 in four markets as well as the service of the Ricoh Global accounts located in the same territories.
Also admirable is the way RJ Young Company nurtures their employees. All employees are eligible for and encouraged to participate in development skill training and advanced education. Along with the education part of the program, they offer have a tuition reimbursement program for those employees who wish to either go back to school or finish a degree.
Employees are also encouraged to enroll in the Management Development Program which is designed for aspiring management employees. This is a year-long curriculum which prepares employees for a future management position. The company also conducts monthly, semi-annual, and annual meetings to reinforce its values and growth principles.
“We openly share budget and financial information with our employees to help them understand revenue growth as well as profitability,” adds McCarty.
There’s also a select group of managers that meet monthly as a part of the dealership’s Young Leadership Team. “This group represents our future for leadership positions as we grow,” says McCarty. “Throughout the year they tackle numerous projects that are of a special nature and encourage developmental skills among future leaders.”
Far from complacent, this is a dealership with an eye on the future. “We continue to remain in growth mode and reinforce this with our employees at every opportunity,” says McCarty about the company’s plans for future growth. “We are actively looking for acquisitions both within our current markets and also outside of our core markets.”
If recent history is any indication, RJ Young will be exceeding $100 million in no time and maintaining its distinction as one of the industry’s most Elite Dealers.
LOFFLER COMPANIES
Bloomington, MN
President/Owner: Jim Loffler
Year founded: 1986
Number of employees: 330
Primary hardware vendors: Canon, Konica Minolta, Toshiba, Océ, HP, Lexmark, NEC, ShoreTel
Primary solutions and services offerings: Managed Print Services, VoIP Phone Systems, Document Workflow & Consulting, IT Managed Services, On-Site People-Based Facilities Management
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $60 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: The implementation of MPS, multifunctional office technology, Uniflow (Secure Follow-Me-Printing), and people-based services at a large insurance organization.
Jim Loffler
It’s been a good year at Loffler Companies, but that has historically been the rule rather than the exception with this Elite Dealer over the years. Consider what’s going on with managed services such as IT, MPS, and onsite managed services. All three service segments are growing at a 15-20 percent rate.
Loffler is doing something right and customers appreciate the one-stop shopping experience for integrated solutions the company provides. From printers and copiers, to MPS, to IT, to onsite managed services, to telephones and document consulting and workflow, all their technology and service needs are met by one company, on one invoice. The latter may not be unique, but the comprehensiveness of the offerings certainly is.
One strategy that’s worked well for Loffler over the years is hiring only the best and brightest in the industry who are committed to the Loffler philosophy of exceeding expectations with clients, partners, and the community. “The customer is always first at Loffler, and that is one of our core values,” explains Jim Loffler, president. “Our pledged response times keep our clients up and running and always productive; our world-class service and support is unparalleled in the industry. And perhaps most importantly, when a client calls Loffler, they are always able to talk one-on-one with a person – no automated responses here!” The most innovative and unique quality of Loffler Companies is that it offers a diverse set of solutions from the spoken word to printed page, all on one network, with excellent service and support. “Our integrated solutions to meet the needs of any business or organization are what our clients appreciate most,” adds Jim. Branding has also been instrumental in building the Loffler brand. The branding and visibility of the Loffler name is always at the forefront of everything the company does, from their Website, to collaterals, to radio ads, to signage on their building and fleet of service vehicles, to the strong recognition they receive for their contribution to the community. Attend a sporting event with the Twin Cities and it’s a good bet the Loffler brand will be prominently displayed on scoreboards at Timberwolves, Vikings, and Lynx games.
“One of the challenges we are always rising to meet is finding ways to continue to improve, support, manage and implement strategies to do what we do best – provide a diverse set of office products and services and support them,” explains Jim. “As technology, processes and ways of doing business evolve, we strive to stay on the cutting edge with our service and product solutions and adapt, grow and improve to exceed expectations.” That’s why Loffler’s senior staff stay informed and ahead of the curve by monitoring and implementing strategies using the Traction philosophy of business, a holistic system that helps leaders run better businesses by having better control and a better life balance. Gaining traction as a business, and with the entire organization, allows Loffler to advance as a healthy, functional and cohesive team.
“The implementation company-wide of the Traction philosophy was an important, successful undertaking,” notes Jim. “Our regular senior management L10 meetings are a place for leaders to look at and address what is most important, and solve any issues as they arise. As we worked through and implemented the Traction model, we established a set of core values and an updated purpose statement. Everything we do with and for our clients and partners is held up to those values, including hiring, reviewing, promoting and, if necessary, firing employees. All of these strategies make our response to challenges strong, efficient and successful.” An updated and rebuilt the Website has also impressed us with Loffler’s online storefront promoting who they are, what they do, and why clients should choose Loffler as their partner. “We continue to keep it as current, interactive, and in sync with evolving technology as possible,” states Jim. “Improving the search engine optimization of our Website was a significant part of this rebuild that continues to improve leads and relationships with potential clients.
Despite being one of the upper tier dealerships in the country, Loffler Companies is still able to maintain a small business, family feel. The company does a fantastic job supporting clients and winning business so employees can be proud to say they work for Loffler. “At our office headquarters, just about anywhere at any time, one can feel the energy of busy, dedicated workers, the drive for success, and the opportunity for growth,” notes Jim. “Loffler Companies firmly believes in the Good to Great philosophy of having the ‘right people on the bus’ and potential employees are sought with our core values and the best fit in mind.” The Week in Imaging isn’t the only one that’s noticed Loffler. For the sixth consecutive year, Loffler Companies has been named to the Inc 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America list. As well as the recent recognition of the Jefferson Award for Public Service, Loffler has been named a StarTribune Top workplace for three years-in-a-row, and one of the “100 Best Places to Work in Minnesota” by Minnesota Business magazine for two consecutive years.
One can’t underestimate Loffler’s core values of positive attitude, professionalism, drive for results, customer first focus, integrity, trustworthiness, and innovation. Cumulatively, those values continue to drive and measure Loffler Companies as a business, and on an individual employee basis, so that the dealership exceed expectations in the many different ways they touch clients and the community. It’s also why Loffler Companies stands tall among our 2013 Elite Dealers.
TGI OFFICE AUTOMATION
Brooklyn, NY
President/Owner: Frank Grasso
Year founded: 1964
Number of employees: 350
Primary hardware vendors: Toshiba, Lanier/Ricoh, Lexmark, KIP, Kyocera, Riso, HP, Franco Postalia
Primary solutions and services offerings: Document Management, Managed Print Services, Security and Compliance, Scanning and Mobile Print Solutions.
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $70 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: One of TGI’s most significant accomplishments has been securing a contract for a large healthcare provider in the New York metropolitan area. TGI worked closely with Toshiba to provide flexible solutions to meet the needs of each location and department, implementing 700 multifunction devices at four hospitals and 20 satellite offices.
Frank Grasso
It’s no surprise that TGI is once again one of our 2013 Elite Dealers. This is a dealership with a knack for doing things right. Some of those are big things like opening a new distribution facility in West Caldwell, New Jersey to better serve its customers nationwide. “Enlarging our firm’s footprint to seven offices will provide quicker product delivery to our customers,” reports President Frank Grasso.
The 20,000 square foot facility serves as a warehouse and sales center with a state-of-the art technology showroom showcasing TGI’s latest business solutions. “The new facility is an investment that will improve the customer experience,” adds Grasso. “This additional distribution center enhances TGI’s customer-centric focus of providing rapid response and quality service to keep our customers operating efficiently.”
It’s an impressive facility and TGI has deployed a state-of-the-art racking and picking system to streamline line order fulfillment, improve part distribution to its field service organization, and enable TGI to fully leverage distribution capacity.
TGI is enjoying exponential growth with its Managed Print Services program, called GPS. “In the last year we’ve doubled the number of TGI clients using GPS and we’ve also expanded our footprint within the clients already utilizing the service,” beams Grasso. “We feel the sharp increase in clients signing up for our GPS program has to do with a more prepared and better educated sales force with a much more impactful story to tell about how MPS can positively affect a business’s bottom line.”
He adds that the growth within TGI’s clients already using the service has to do with the optimization stage of TGI’s GPS program which centers on changing antiquated, inefficient paper process into streamlined electronic processes, resulting in lower total print output, greener practices, and more efficient business processes.
We like the way TGI strives to make the lives of its client’s easier and more efficient. Yes virtually all dealers do that, but as Grasso says, “When they partner with us they get to focus on their business, not their office technology.”
TGI does this via proactive monitoring and management of client’s devices. Whether it’s one device or one hundred, the TGI Tool Kit proactively monitors and tracks information the MFPs shares with TGI. “In some cases we will be able to dispatch technicians to fix issues that the client didn’t even know they had or to deliver toner to their door before they knew they needed it,” reports Grasso.
In the event TGI clients need additional support, there’s around-the-clock live remote support and technical hotline. The support provided by TGI’s Free Help Desk extends well beyond device-related issues into application level support. “Unlike our competitors, we will stay on the line and continue to troubleshoot until you can print regardless of what the reason is,” notes Grasso.
They even allow clients to place service calls and order supplies without having to call either on the Web, or if they have a mobile device handy and are near the MFP, they can scan the QR code and enter the service call or supply order remotely. Now, that’s a sign of a progressive dealership.
TGI’s new Website is also an asset and further illustrates why we consider them a progressive dealer. Interactive tools help the customer engage with TGI’s solutions and products. For example, the new Business Application Center helps visitors understand the latest features of a multifunction device.
“Countless individuals and an increasing number of businesses have embraced the latest smartphone and tablet technology because the platform enables you to download thousands of apps to make your life easier and more fun,” states Grasso. “We urge the visitor to imagine that they could do the same thing with their multifunctional copier. At TGI, our family of MFPs serves and the platform for business apps that can improve workflow, enhance security, lower environmental impact and make interacting with your MFP easier and maybe even fun.”
Some of the apps available on its MFPs include mobile printing; the ability for customers to use their MPF to streamline the process of gathering and identifying documents through scanning; the ability to use their MFP to organize, scan, upload, store, print and access information securely from anywhere in the world; security solutions; PIN codes for printing sensitive docs confidentially; and applications that enable users to positively impact business processes by making them more efficient.
As family owned and operated company, TGI employees are part of a team, which is something else we like about TGI’s work culture. The dealership continually promotes from within and recognizes employees for tenure and their hard work at awards dinners throughout the year. “Our most recent event was held at the Barclays Center which gave us a chance to say thank you to the people who have been such loyal employees and have done so much to grow TGI into the business that it is today,” says Grasso. “At the event 136 people who reached employment tenure ranging from five to 40 years were honored. TGI also recognized employee performance in sales, service and administration, as well as accomplishments of the warehouse staff. The career opportunities are endless at TGI. Many of the employees started out working in our warehouse or as a service technician and have worked their way to upper level management positions!”
It’s not easy being a successful dealer and it requires an ongoing effort to provide excellent customer service—something that TGI has been doing for over 50 years. “It is tempting to get complacent and become obsolete,” acknowledges Grasso. “In order to stay relevant you need to evolve. TGI has done just that. Our brand evolution is much more than just a logo makeover. It is about recommitting and refocusing on the tenets that have been the pillars of our success for decades. Smart organizations constantly think about how they reach and connect with their clients, staff, or partners. Our aggressive re-evaluation led us to rebrand in order to reflect our growth, change in focus, and to properly align perceptions.”
TGI’s goal is to differentiate itself in the market. They’ve done just that by aligning their successful sales process with their brand and message. “We realized that in difficult economic times it was essential to adapt and change our sales process as well,” notes Grasso. “Investing in technology, such as CRM tools have resulted in better account management, improved retention and penetration rates, and more organized prospecting.”
Yes indeed, another example why TGI Office Automation is a 2013 Elite Dealer.
QUALITY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Towson, MD
President/Owner: Jerry DiMartino
Year founded: 2001
No. of employees: 35
Primary vendors represented or product lines carried (hardware): Kyocera, CopyStar, FP Postage Machines, DocSTAR, MBM
Primary solutions offerings: Network Copiers, printers, Document Management, IT Services and Postage machines
Approximate/Average Yearly Revenues: $5-$10 million
Biggest sale/win in the past year: Leasing 75 machines to a new prospect and providing them with nationwide support.
Janey and Jerry DiMartino of Quality Business Solutions.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years of presenting our Elite Dealer awards it’s that small and midsize office technology dealerships remain an important part of the independent dealer community and in the markets they service. One of those dealerships is Quality Business Solutions (QBS), a dealership that’s been serving its community for more than a decade and has watched its hardware sales grow at a 10-15 percent clip per year.
Recognizing that dealerships can no longer depend on traditional hardware sales Quality Business Solutions has evolved into IT services and seen that segment of their business grow by 20 percent over the past few years. Document management is also an area that’s growing by 25 percent year over year. MPS is also critical to the future well being of the dealership. “Taking over customer’s current printer fleet has been a large need recently,” says Owner Jerry DiMartino.
Customers and new prospects choose QBS because it’s family owned and locally operated. “We take care of our customers and treat them as our number one priority,” states DiMartino. “Our service response time is within two business hours of their call and repeat calls are extremely low compared to our competitors. We do whatever it takes to keep our customers 110 percent satisfied.”
That commitment to ensuring that customers are completely satisfied is illustrated by how QBS handles service calls. “If any customer has two service calls in any given month, we send out our specialist along with the territory tech to resolve the issue,” repots DiMartino. “We also follow up on all of our service calls with a survey confirming complete satisfaction with the result of their issue.”
Small dealerships have their share of challenges and DiMartino’s cites one that any size dealership can relate to—hiring qualified sales representatives to represent their products. What they’ve done to ensure that they are hiring the right people is establish a three-interview process. One of the interviews is a ride along with one of QBS’s sales representatives. “This will demonstrate what their day will be like and show them what we expect from our sales force,” says DiMartino.
Asked about the dealership’s most significant accomplishment during the past year, DiMartino identifies setting up QBS’s service department to ensure that no customer falls through the cracks. Among the initiatives to ensure that doesn’t happen is providing loaners as needed, providing adequate parts for the techs in their vehicles, and service surveys, all of this leading to a 99.5 percent customer retention ratio.
QBS is also a great place to work. Owners and management treat employees with respect and provide an atmosphere where employees are challenged to be creative and to take charge of their departments as well as their job duties.
“People are not afraid of making a mistake,” notes DiMartino. “They take ownership and pride of their work. We compliment everyone for doing a great job of taking care of our customers.”
QBS also has a reputation as a solid citizen in the community. They offer sizable donations to local non-profit customers, recycle toners and cardboard boxes, provide baked goods to local churches and participate in the local food bank that serves the homeless.
All that is well and good for an Elite Dealer, however, planning for the future is especially critical in this day and age. The owners of QBS visit other dealerships that are double and triple QBS’s size to see how they positioned their foundation for sales growth of their organization. They participate in the local BTA organization and communicate with other owners and strategize with them about the daily challenges of growing their companies.
“We also have weekly management meeting with of our departments to assist with communication and discuss the growth of our company,” says DiMartino. “We have a suggestion box for our employees as well as an open door policy to discuss any issues any employee may have and to ensure employee satisfaction.
All of those measures continue to contribute to the success of QBS and help position them as a 2013 Elite Dealer.
FRASER AIS
West Reading, PA
President/Owner: Bill Fraser
Year founded: 1971
Primary hardware vendors: Sharp, Canon, Canon Océ, HP
Primary solutions and services offerings: Microsoft, VMware, Intel, N-able, ConnectWise, and the Intact Document Management Software, Axcient, SharePoint Workflows, Prisma Software, N-able, Connectwise, VMware, MaaS 360, Equitrac Follow-Me-Printing, Papercut, Kodak Capture Pro, ScanShare, Planet Press, Print Fleet, PDF Pro, Sharpdesk Mobile, SharePlus, Fingerprint, Sharp AIP (Authorized Integrator Program) Suite, Intact Document Management Suite, Axcient, Cyber and Liability Insurance
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $27-$31 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: The largest health care network in the Lehigh Valley, totaling over $1 million in hardware and MPS. Fraser provided the network with 450 MFPs with “follow-me print”, regulatory “patient protected health information” compliance, accountability and control, reduce costs and waste. Fraser also set up a managed print program for the 3,500 printers across the network, and over 6 million prints.
Let’s just look at a couple of numbers that underscore why Fraser AIS continues to make all the right moves. How about 1 billion copies and prints under contract and moving towards 2 billion? Care to discuss growth, well why not look at Fraser AIS and what’s happening with its MPS programs, disaster recovery solution, and follow-me-printing solutions from Equitrac and PaperCut. These areas represent the fastest growth segments in the company and illustrate why customers choose Fraser.
Indeed, this is a dealership on the leading edge of technology and who isn’t afraid to go to school to sell it. Their secure mobility print solutions reduce waste and increase savings within tight-budgeted environments such as educational institutions. Plus Fraser has installed “follow-me printing” solutions in educational institutions for secure printing, accountability, and control, as well as to reduce costs and waste.
“For many organizations, waste from documents left uncollected at the printer can equate to 30 percent of all printing causing concern for revenue margins,” says President Bill Fraser. “By controlling waste and facilitating business process improvement, this solution helps organizations reduce costs by up to 60 percent and minimizes the time required to manage printing environments.”
He adds that finance and IT managers also benefit with the reporting tools “follow-me-printing” provides to identify savings or recover costs from departments or customers.
We salute the structure of the company and its culture too. First, there’s Fraser’s large bid team, which handles all RFP’s and is responsible for the entire process, making sure all details are covered and accounted for. They work directly with the sales reps to create the response, pricing, leasing, value added options, and any in-person presentations. This team has been very successful in finding new opportunities and renewing current accounts.
Then there’s the way they show their appreciation for their customers. Throughout the year Fraser holds many customer appreciation nights or networking events focused solely on our customers. These events are co-sponsored with Fraser’s vendors and provide a great way to get vendors face to face time with the people that use their products every day.
Not to be ignored are Fraser’s employees, and with a high retention rate, customers can expect consistency when dealing with the company. We particularly like the various programs and committees designed to promote change and new ideas, which are then brought to the leadership team.
“One of our biggest successes in 2012 was the creation of the FAST Team, Formative Action for Successful Teamwork,” explains Bill. “This team is made up of employees from accounting, billing, customer support, and the leadership team who meet quarterly to discuss problems as well as ideas to help streamline all aspects of the workflow that they handle every day. Through these meetings and interactions with the Leadership Team, a new process was created for the sales order process, using SharePoint as its tool.”
The SharePoint workflow process provides live order tracking results available to all employees all the time, it keeps all order documents in one central location, pushes automated e-mail notifications so an employ only needs to touch the order when they or their department needs to. That’s led to easy-to-use reporting capabilities for sales, and date and time stamped progress of order to eliminate errors.
This is a dealership that prides itself on the internal growth of its employees. “We are dedicated to making every employee reach their full potential and continue to grow,” says Bill. “As a company, we feel that your first 90 days is essential to building your career at Fraser. No matter what department or level you work in, during the first 90 days every one follows the same process. Our onboarding process has become very successful over the years, starting with key person interviews.”
Every new hire must sit and interview all key managers at Fraser. Bill notes that this is hugely beneficial in building a strong foundation for communication with everyone, including himself.
“This step in the new hire process gives every new hire an understanding of what everyone’s role is,” adds Bill. “During these first 90 days, all new hires fill out weekly feedback sheets so we can track where their progress including where they need help, a 90 day goal sheet and a mutual commitment between their manager and the employee. The process is the same for our sales training with the addition of our Head Start Sales Training program, which includes product knowledge, sales skills and selling techniques.”
Going back to technology, another shining example of why they are a leader and not a follower is the Global Support Center and Virtual Intelligence Software (VIS) which continue to evolve. To keep its service one step ahead of the competition, Fraser has created an internal position for a VIS Specialist. This person is responsible for setting up new customers, creating and reporting on service and supply alerts. She also works closely with the Global Support Center team to provide great support for our customers.
One of the dealership’s biggest accomplishments during the past year was their sales force transition.
In the last 18 months Fraser invested in its transition from a standalone copier dealer to a full IT strategy provider; integrating the sales and IT forces together into one unified team providing document management, manage print services, software solutions, and IT and network support to develop the paths of the company and the careers of the employees. Fraser’s plan includes the addition of Tom Davis, previously with Sharp, as chief information officer. Tom offers an extensive background and innovative ideas to Fraser and is leading the technology side of the business to bigger and greater things.
Finally, we celebrate Fraser for everything it does for the community. Each year Fraser budgets dollars towards the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program. By making these significant donations, Fraser handpicks educational establishments to support in the community. And this year Fraser employees have taken giving back to the community into their own hands. One of the committees that Fraser has is the FUN Committee. The FUN Committee is responsible for the creation and implementation of ideas and events to make Fraser an even better team-oriented place to work. In 2012 they planned and organized a food drive and coat drive over Thanksgiving and Christmas. The committee members set up areas in all offices of the company, arranged the internal promotion, logistics, and drop offs for all of the events.
The revenue numbers and copies and prints under contract are impressive, but Fraser possesses that little, or in their case, big something extra that position them year in and year out as an Elite Dealer. ‘Experience the Fraser Difference’ is something that it suggests to current and potential customers alike.
“The reason is simple – we are unlike any other office technology dealer,” says Bill. “Fraser is elite. We have built a company to meet all information management needs. We combine outstanding customer service with state-of-the-art technology to deliver efficient, affordable and reliable workflow solutions. We remain committed to providing our customers with ‘More Choices and Better Solutions’ for business technology.”
He adds, “At Fraser, our employees and promoted work environment make us an Elite Dealer. We take great pride in our retention rate; we have service techs with 750 combined years of experience. We have sales reps that have been with the company for over 30 years, as well as executives and admins that have been here for 20+ years. All of our employees are encouraged to join committees to have an active part in the changing business we work in as well as build a stronger Fraser family. Every employee here has access to leadership at Fraser. We find this to be very important in keeping a positive team environment.”
And when Bill says, “Fraser is elite,” we couldn’t agree more.
VISION OFFICE SYSTEMS
Charlotte, NC
President/Owner: Fred Habbal
Year founded: 1997
Number of employees: 30
Primary hardware vendors: Canon, Savin, Kyocera, Samsung, HP
Primary solutions and services offerings: Commercial Printing Division (Vision Forms and Supplies), EBeam Edge Digital WhiteBoard Products, Square9 Software, ViaWorks, NSI, EFI Fiery, Drivve, MPS, MNS, Ricoh Champs, Backfile Scanning, Disaster Recovery
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $5 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: This year’s significant accomplishment was the continued business of two major accounts, including a medical group that has around 80-100 machines and several hundred printers. Vision was able to secure the MPS contract once again that is worth about $10,000 a month in revenues while also upgrading many of their MFP’s. The second account was a customer in the retail market that has about 30-40 machines in three states. Vision was been able to secure that business once again and upgrade all their systems as well as start to work on a software implementation for managing their documents.
It’s been a good year for Vision Office Systems with hardware sales up 30 percent and sales of production systems up 100 percent year over year. Much of that is because customers appreciate doing business with a true local company that supports the Charlotte area.
“Customers realize that supporting their local businesses is the only way to recover from where we were 3-4 years ago,” states Jason Habbal, vice president/sales manager. “They’re starting to take notice that just because a company has an office in our area does not mean they are part of our local economy.”
An innovative and successful marketing strategy recently employed by Vision was an iPad giveaway for qualifying equipment. This was especially timely as more people are moving towards BYOD to work nowadays. Vision allows customers to select from several color models of equipment and for every system sold the customer can redeem a coupon for one iPad per machine.
Acknowledging that not everyone in the office realizes that the MFP being worked on is fixed or not, Vision’s techs leave a pre-printed sticky note that has a checklist of what needs to be done or if the machine was fully fixed at that time so end users will know exactly what the status is. The tech also leaves a bag of mints at each account with Vision’s logo and contact info. Sweet!
Another thing we admire about Vision is their never-ending quest to find new products and services to offer customers. That’s impressive for a smaller dealership. Plus they value their employees. As clichéd as that sounds, Habbal emphasizes, “Our employees truly are our most valuable asset and each one is treated like family. Without them we could not succeed.”
Now in its sweet sixteenth year, the management of Vision Office Systems maintains a strong vision for the future,” reports Habbal. “We want to make sure that no matter what issue or question comes up in a customer meeting they have an answer or solution that we can implement. We continually have our manufacturer reps in our office to keep them ahead of the curve.”
And being ahead of the curve is what has helped placed Vision Office Systems on the road to being an Elite Dealer in 2013.
PROCOPY OFFICE SOLUTIONS
Tempe, AZ
President/Owner: Mike McGuirk, President/Tim Stevenson, Managing Partner
Year founded: 2000
Number of employees: 20
Primary hardware vendors: Canon, Ricoh
Primary solutions and services offerings: MPS, MNS, Facilities Management
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $12 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: Winning the single source worldwide headquarters for Taser, a national company based in Arizona. ProCopy faced stiff competition from several Canon dealers, Xerox, and the direct operations from Sharp and Konica, but in the end ProCopy provided the best value to the client.
ProCopy’s headquarters.
Meet a dealer that’s been growing like crazy in just five short years. Between 2008 and 2012, ProCopy’s overall revenue grew from $3.2 million to $9 million. And this year that number will rise to $12 million. What’s going on? Well, for one, new copier placements are up 600 percent since 2008 while printers under service contract are up 450 percent.
Customers have found ProCopy the go-to source for their office technology and services needs for a number of reasons, including being an Arizona-based company that puts their profits back into the community. A perfect example is the ProCopy Foundation started in 2010, which raised more than $60,000 for youth-based charities. ProCopy also sponsors Arizona State University’s athletics and the Waste Management Phoenix Open PGA event.
Beyond the local angle, ProCopy offers a better customer experience. “We are simply the most accessible company in Arizona,” states Mike McGuirk, president. “You always talk to a live person, never a recording. In fact we do not even have voice mail at our office which forces our people to handle problems swiftly and boldly.”
Customers also appreciate ProCopy’s 12-point Platinum Guarantee which comes with every agreement and includes several unique items such as guaranteed service response (2.5-hour guaranteed service response time and free after hour support.
As part of its 12-point Platinum guarantee program ProCopy offers two items that no one in their market provides: 1. 2.5-hour guaranteed service response time ( tech on site) or they pay the customer. For every 10 minutes they’re late (past 2.5 Hours) they’ll discount the next service bill 1 percent. 2. ProCopy provides after hour phone support 24/7, including weekends. Every evening, calls are forwarded to someone on ProCopy’s technical support team. All clients under service agreement can call and receive phone support to fix a problem for no charge. If the client’s issue cannot be fixed and requires a live visit, ProCopy will provide this service for a charge We love ProCopy’s annual sweepstakes for the “Worst Copier in Arizona.” Here companies have to describe in 75 words or less why they have the worst copier. The winning company receives a new copier from ProCopy, a trip for two to the Bahamas, and they drop their old machine live from a 75-foot crane. “We have received unbelievable news coverage and it has become a event our employees and look forward to,” says McGuirk.
What’s been particularly impressive about this Elite Dealer is that for its first six years ProCopy was a service-only organization. In 2006, they became a C-Line Canon dealer with virtually no sales force. When Global sold to Xerox, another C-Line dealer was given full authorization. Finally in 2008 after IKON sold to Ricoh, ProCopy was finally allowed to sell the full Canon line. And what a difference that’s made! Since then ProCopy has built a world-class sales force that literally doubles the Johnson model for productivity per rep.
Speaking of productivity, last year the entire sales force performed over plan, making all of them eligible for a trip to Hawaii.
Meanwhile, ProCopy continues to evolve with new services offerings and last year opened their first FM site at a large Phoenix law firm.
Plenty of dealers make the claim that they offer a great work environment, but ProCopy goes above and beyond what most dealerships do. Take their holiday party, please. All employees and their guests stay at a local Casino resort. They enjoy an open bar, dinner, and everyone including guests win prizes valued at $150-$500 such as iPads, TV’s, and gift cards. “Last year we spent $750 per employee,” reports McGuirk.
That’s in addition to quarterly company events such as a spring training baseball game in March, a tailgate party in October, a summer picnic, and a golf outing.
Service techs with ProCopy appreciate the company’s generous auto reimbursement policy, which McGuirk says is always at the highest rate allowed by the government and usually 20 percent higher than competitors.
Based on recent history, ProCopy has nowhere to go but up, up, up. As that happens, everyone in the company benefits. This year they doubled the company match in employee’s 401K plans. As the company has grown, the owners have even provided ownership opportunities to several employees.
Looking towards the future ProCopy has partnered with a company to provide Managed Network Services under the ProCopy name. A second branch in Tucson was opened in 2011 and this July a third branch was added in Prescott, AZ.
All of these qualities underscore why ProCopy is a 2013 Elite Dealer.
BUSINESS COPY ASSOCIATES, INC. (BCA)
Saugus, MA
President/Owner: Bill Horrigan
Year founded: 1962
Number of employees: 27
Primary hardware vendors: Konica Minolta, Muratec, Copystar
Primary solutions and services offerings: Wide Format Printers, Document Management, MPS
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $5-$10 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: Business Copy Associates is fortunate to have the largest Massachusetts-based bank as a longtime client, a client consistently near or at the top of their sales list.
Let’s look at a dealership that has consistently been able to meet the needs of customers who are looking for great value.
“Part of providing a ‘great value’ is price, but there’s so much more,” emphasizes Bill Horrigan, owner. “For instance, many small businesses today are frustrated that their copier devices don’t work well on their networks. Often these companies have a tangled mess of technology. In many cases, there are multiple workstations using various operating systems. Large copier providers often won’t spend the time necessary to rectify the inherent problems of networking a device in these situations or will charge exorbitant hourly fees to rectify the issues. We at BCA have become experts in addressing this common scenario in a cost-effective way. Invariably, our technology specialists can get a customer’s entire network to work better than it ever had before. As a result, we end up with loyal customers and acceptable profit margins.”
We admire a dealership that’s been able to sustain itself for 50+ years. Of late document management technology has been the fastest growing segment of BCA with revenue increases of 15 to 20 percent for each of the last three years.
An Elite Dealer is never complacent and over the past 18 months BCA has redoubled its sales efforts on printer supplies and anticipates significant growth in that area this year. “Our longer range plans include smart-growth in the IT Services area,” reports Horrigan. “We believe this has the greatest revenue potential over the next decade.
Community involvement is always a plus and BCA strongly believes in the value of “Cause Marketing.” That ties perfectly into its commitment of being responsible business members of the community. Every year BCA assists dozens of non-profit organizations with their fundraising events. “We don’t just passively contribute, we actually put up the raffle prize package and provide all the collateral marketing materials,” states Horrigan.
Typical raffle prizes might be great seats to a Red Sox game, a limo ride, a luxury dinner at Fenway Park and an on-field experience before the game. A few times a year that includes throwing out the first pitch at a game.
“In this baseball-crazy town these tickets sell like hotcakes,” notes Horrigan. “We’re able to do this because of our position as the “official copier provider to the Red Sox” and the fantastic relationship we’ve developed with them over the years. These raffles constantly raise anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000. For a lot of these struggling non-profits, that’s a lot of dough!” BCA’s Cause Marketing consistently delivers results and that’s something that makes this dealership stand out for us. “As far as we know, we’re the only copier dealer that will not only give a non-profit organization great pricing and service on their copier, but will also help them pay for it,” states Horrigan. “Cause Marketing has worked for us because, all things being equal, people would rather do business with a company that gives generously back to the community.”
One of the year’s most significant accomplishments has been contracting with a national account that has 200 locations and growing. “What is most significant about this was the great support we received from Konica Minolta to deal with the logistics involved with the coordination of delivery, set-up, networking, training, removal of old equipment, etc.,” says Horrigan. “There were a couple of bumps along the way which were to be expected, but overall it’s been incredibly smooth.”
Happy employees make for happy customers and happy customers make for successful businesses, and that goes a long way towards explaining the success and culture of BCA. “We make a conscious effort to manage through positive reinforcement rather than punitive,” reveals Horrigan. “Because attitudes are contagious, we go to great lengths to hire positive people. We also encourage open communications with employees.”
If the present is bright for BCA, the future is brighter as they prepare to expand into IT services. “There’s no doubt in our mind that this is essential if we are to grow and increase profitability over the next five to ten years,” concludes Horrigan.
ZOOM IMAGING SOLUTIONS, INC.
Roseville, CA
President/Owner: Gary Johnson
Year founded: 1987
Number of employees: 130
Primary hardware vendors: Toshiba, Xerox, KIP, Fujitsu
Primary solutions and services offerings: Drivve, PaperCut, docSTAR, eCopy, Re-Rite, INTACT, Adobe LeanPrint, LMI
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $26+ million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: Selling close to $2-million in equipment sales in June 2013 (Zooom’s best month ever), with $500,000 of that in new business.
A few members of ZOOM’s service team.
For ZOOM Imaging Solutions, 2012 was a very good year with an increase of more than 60 percent of all unit sales being net new meters. Meanwhile, MPS clicks increased a sizable 40.1 percent from 2011 to 2012.
Customers continue to choose ZOOM because they’re a responsive organization that takes the time to get to them as well as they know the machines, solutions, and services they’re selling. It may sound clichéd, but Zoom always goes that extra mile to make sure their customers are completely satisfied. Their reputation depends on it.
As ZOOM has grown, they’ve continued to provide the personal service of a small mom and pop operation with all the same resources available as a large national corporation. That mom and pop feel is one of the reasons that when customers call ZOOM, they never go into an automated phone system or voicemail.
“We strive to Think Globally, Act Locally,” says ZOOM President Gary Johnson. “We are the largest Toshiba dealer in the Western United States, but we are never too busy to greet our customers personally. Once you’ve selected Zoom as your vendor of choice, our goal is to help each of our customers truly make the most of the many useful capabilities that are available on their new system.”
All of that remains significant and still holds true even after ZOOM was acquired by Global Imaging in December of 2012. Since then they’ve increased revenue by 7 percent to exceed $26 million while continuing to hold an average overall Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 87 compared to the average U.S. company NPS score of 10. Indeed, ZOOM’s customers are more likely to recommend them to their peers than are the customers of Apple, Costco, or Trader Joe’s, all respected companies, but companies with much lower NPS scores than Zoom.
We also admire ZOOM360, an assessment methodology built on a multi-source approach. The ZOOM360 assessment measures the core areas required to achieve true workflow optimization. “It is a multi-source approach that delivers a comprehensive snapshot, providing clear visibility into each of the seven core business areas,” explains Johnson. “Integrated reporting tools deliver concrete, actionable guidelines for complete alignment of all technology and business process initiatives.”
As the company has undergone changes in ownership over the past year, one thing hasn’t changed is that upper management remains easily accessible, ensuring that ZOOM is still a great place to work. “They are either at headquarters or in one of our 10 locations with their doors open; anyone from sales, admin to service can walk-in and sit down to have a discussion when needed,” notes Johnson.
The company’s commitment to its employees is illustrated by the way they are constantly looking for new ways to show their appreciation towards staff. Whether it’s a car detailing for admin staff on Administrative Appreciation Day, Go-Kart Racing with the Service teams, a hosted off-site Christmas party, sales contests or incentive trips with the sales team, these remain integral components of ZOOM’s business culture.
“We believe that a fun and cohesive environment breeds exceptional work,” states Johnson. “When all of the teams can come together and laugh on a daily basis, we know the elation will spread among all of the departments and provide an environment where our employees will want to come to work.”
An Elite Dealer is never complacent and that’s particularly true of ZOOM. They continue to expand their marketing efforts via the Web and social media, continue to focus on winning net new business, and using technology to lower customer expenses. Bringing on a new copier line, Xerox, has helped expand growth into new markets.
ZOOM remains an exemplary example of an Elite Dealer and with its ability to “Think Globally and Act Locally,” it continues to set the bar high for themselves and their customers.
OFFIX
Gainesville, VA
President/Founder: Stephen Valenta
Year founded: 1999
Number of employees: 34
Primary hardware vendors: Canon, Sharp, Konica Minolta, Samsung, Océ, KIP, HP, FP Mailing, Secap, and MBM
Primary solutions and services offerings: MPS, eCopy, Intact SMART document storage, imageWARE, uniFlow, FM Audit
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $10-$15 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: Offix took over service of 161 printers and copiers for a large CPA firm with multiple locations on the East Coast. Going forward the company will be upgrading 20 –25 machines a year at locations in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Washington D.C., and Virginia.
Offix once again merits Elite Dealer status thanks in large part to the qualities and efficiencies that have earned them this recognition in the past. Growth is a common theme at Offix and nowhere is that more evident with what’s happening with the company’s MPS business. Since last January the company has added more than 1,000 devices, resulting in growth of over 150 percent over last year. With a focus towards building on this foundation and continuing this growth, Offix added a managed print services manager to the team this past March.
Clients enjoy working with Offix because of the great service they provide, however, that’s not the only reason for an impressive 94.5 percent customer retention rate.
Unlike its competitors, each Offix account includes several free options for remote monitoring systems depending on the equipment type (e-Info, imageWARE Remote, FM Audit, Bizhub vCare, FM Audit). This helps Offix get meter reads, send toner, and notify the service department of any issues often before the customer is even aware there is an issue. It’s commonplace for customers to receive service call alerts about the status of a service call as well as follow-up surveys after each call. “We want to know how we did and if there are any areas of improvement,” says Casey Stewart, business development and marketing manager.
Offix also provides customers with free managed print evaluations. “We work directly with customers to devise a strategy that allows the customer to control and manage the costs of their print environment, maximizing productivity so they can focus on core competencies,” explains Stewart.
Add to that an Offix-developed preventive maintenance programs, that Stewart calls ‘the most comprehensive program on the market,’ and the Service Smart Guarantee list with multiple guarantees, it’s little wonder that client satisfaction is this dealer’s top priority.
Offix deserves credit too for recognizing that customers and prospects spend more time doing online research before buying their office technology. To ensure that customers find the right answers and Offix, they’ve invested in their Website and are currently updating their entire online product catalog to include all products along with photos, detailed information, brochures, and a search function that makes it easier for potential customers to research Offix’s offerings based on the prospect’s needs.
We also like Offix’s vertical marketing strategy and the way they target real estate companies, mortgage companies, title companies, car dealerships, law firms, CPA firms, and private schools. It’s made a difference.
One of the biggest challenges, but also a significant accomplishment of the past year was the acquisition of Ken Reid Inc., a small Canon dealer in Norfolk, VA. This acquisition has increased Offix’s customer base by more than 8,500.
Offix hasn’t been shy either about adding new manufacturers to the mix and the latest additions Samsung and FP Mailing have broadened the company’s product offerings. “The decision was based on feedback from our current and potential customer base,” reports Stewart. “We needed to complete the Offix office technology solution by offering mailing equipment and smaller, more affordable printers and copiers.”
Offix has improved with age since we last honored them as an Elite Dealer in 2013. We expect the company to continue to age well as it looks for acquisitions to fuel growth. “We have a five-year plan to add one new office every year,” concludes Stewart. “This will be a great addition to the three offices we currently have in Gainesville, Richmond, and Norfolk, VA.
COPY PRODUCTS
Upper Darby, PA
President/Owner: Ed Cameron
Year founded: 1978
Number of employees: 20
Primary hardware vendors: Copystar, Kyocera, Konica Minolta, Okidata
Primary solutions and services offerings: MPS, PagePack, Square9 document management software, Managed IT Services
Approximate/Average yearly revenues: $5 million
Biggest sale/win of the past year: Providing an equipment/MPS solution to a Charter School in Philadelphia.
Copy Products
Where many dealers are finding that MPS has become a commodity, that’s not the case at Copy Products, a serious player albeit a smaller dealer in the Philadelphia region who has seen its MPS revenue grow to become 20 percent of its top-line revenue while allowing the dealership to go deeper and wider within their client’s organizations. MPS revenue now represents 43 percent of Copy Products’ contract base.
Overall, revenue is up 6 percent for the first half of 2013 while MPS revenue continues its upward swing with a 14 percent increase during the first half of 2013. Also promising is a 24 percent increase in equipment revenue. Color is another strong growth area and today represents a whopping 85 percent of all placements.
It’s not easy for a smaller dealer to keep pace with larger organizations, but for more than 30 years, that’s exactly what Copy Products has done. They continue to take the necessary measures to move forward and are becoming more technologically integrated through their Website and use of social media even though they acknowledge that this is a long process.
We also appreciate the way that Copy Products has found its niche and not strayed from it over the years. It helps that there’s been consistency within the organization with employees averaging 18 years of service with the company. That knowledge and integrity continues to resonate with customers.
Customers also appreciate the personal touch the dealership provides and like many of its Elite Dealer peers, all callers are greeted by a live voice. All service calls are screened by Copy Products’ service manager, which enables the dealership to close 20 percent of service calls on the phone. “That’s one way a smaller dealer can remain competitive in the market,” says Tony Minuti, general manager. “And we strive to build deeper and wider relationships so every quote does not rely on only pricing.”
Sometimes just focusing on the basics is a key component of an Elite Dealer. That’s illustrated by the way Copy Products leads with MPS and a consultative approach, which looks at the needs of a company rather than the sale of a box. “It engages a client at the point of their pain and we try to develop our offerings to that,” explains Minuti. “We bundle box pricing with a specific contract level pricing to insure a profitable mix.”
In a competitive urban market, we’re amazed at how well Copy Products can compete. That’s not to say they’re not challenged, especially when manufacturers constantly provide pricing well below theirs.
“Finding areas where they aren’t, i.e. MPS has moved us away from the price model to a value model,” says Minuti. “We have four direct branch operations in our market so it is imperative to adjust the way we do business. This has made us a better dealership from the intense competition.”
A better dealership and an Elite one at that.
