Carmen Pitarra, President of 4 the Office.
4 the Office
Pittston, PA
Year Founded: 2007
Principal/President/CEO: Carmen Pitarra
Number of Employees: 9
Primary Vendors: Xerox, Kyocera, HP, Sharp
Primary Solutions Offerings: PaperCut, Print Fleet Printsmart
Primary Supplies Vendors: S.P. Richards, Horizon USA, West Point Products, Ingram Micro, Synnex
Primary Leasing Partners: Wells Fargo
Approximate Yearly Revenues: Less than $5 million
Fastest Growing Segments of 4 the Office’s Business: Service revenues (+70%), copiers/MFPs (+22%), Print Management revenues (+45%), and overall company net income increased fourfold (triple digit percentages) while adding staff.
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Quickly excelling to Gold in the Xerox Channel Partner Program. With the current pace, 4 the Office is confident that it will reach Platinum Level by the end of 2014.
5 Reasons We Consider 4 the Office Elite:
- The impressive growth it has experienced over the past 12 months.
- Its solutions-oriented sales approach and ability to deliver customers what they promise despite being a modest-sized dealership
- The way it has leveraged the Internet to increase business. A web presence and SEO have provided a steady flow of new profitable business. Additionally, by doing in-house website management and SEO, 4 the Office has been able to avoid costly online advertising.
- It supports the local community and is a good corporate citizen, consistently making monetary donations to local non-profit organizations, donating time and resources for community events, and making product donations to local non-profits.
- Its work culture. All employees have incentives above and beyond their normal pay. Management also offers generous time off and personal time. The dealership also recognizes the value of good employees and lets them know the organization is proud of their work.
American Ink Solutions
Westlake Village, CA
Year Founded: 2009
Principal/President/CEO: Christopher Garcia
Number of Employees: 5
Primary Vendors: Dell, HP, Zebra, Formax, Data-Pac
Primary Supplies Vendors: Supplies Network, Clover Group, MSE
Primary Leasing Partners: Marlin Leasing, GE Capital, Leaf Leasing, Celtic Leasing
Approximate Yearly Revenues: $1 million
Fastest Growing Segments of American Ink Solutions’ Business: Providing the public sector with imaging supplies and mailroom consumables for all mailing machine manufacturers.
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Its easy-to-use website where customers find it extremely easy to do business with American Ink Solutions. In conjunction with its field service support American Ink Solutions’ customers have given it an opportunity to earn a portion of their business at first and now most customers rely on the company for all imaging supplies.
5 Reasons We Consider American Ink Solutions an Elite Dealer:
- The way it specifically targets its business to larger customers, offering a no-cost preventative maintenance program on all printers that the customer purchases from it. This gives customers peace of mind and a partner they can count on for service above selling just supplies. Since its vendors are all local, American Ink Solutions adds value with same or next-day ink and toner delivery.
- The way it targets Big Box competitors due to the highest opportunity to market local service with competitive pricing. Its website allows American Ink Solutions to customize buying lists so customers have total control over the negotiated pricing which has been put onto their account for easy re-ordering. All customers have an assigned Account Manager which stays with them for the life of the account being active. The Account Manager acts as an extension of their business.
- Its President, Christopher Garcia, received an award called 40 under 40 among the top 40 businesses in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, acknowledging his entrepreneurship, company growth, and community involvement.
- It provides additional price incentives to non-profit accounts, provides free preventive maintenance support to small, startup businesses registered with its two local Chambers of Commerce, and it donates a portion of proceeds annually to three charities.
- Its small size allows it to be fast and family orientated. Everyone in the company serves as account managers/consultants to clients. It also prides itself in its work ethic and creating a work environment to groom great employees.
Consolidated Copier Services, Inc.
McDonough, GA
Year Founded: 1987
Principal/President/CEO: E. Patrick Nunnally
Number of Employees: 16
Primary Vendors: Konica Minolta, KIP, Muratec, HP, Fujitsu, MBM, Kodak
Primary Solutions Offerings: Dispatcher Phoenix for Education, Healthcare, Legal, and Finance; DocAudit, DocuBreeze, eCopy, Equitrac, Pagescope, Prism DocRecord, Unity, Pharos Primary Supplies Vendors: Arlington, Color Imaging, Precision Roller
Primary Leasing Partners: GE Capital, GreatAmerica, DLL
Approximate Yearly Revenues: $2.5 million
Fastest Growing Segments of Consolidated Copier Services’ Business: IT Services (20% growth)
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Upgrading its primary software to a fully automated and integrative program that offers an array of conveniences for customers and employees. Soon customers will be able to log in to their account portal online to access all of their information from purchasing paperwork to their next bill as well as request service and supplies. This is expected to free up 20-30 percent of the dealership’s administrative work time, which will allow the dealership to focus even more on future growth and giving customers the highest quality customer service.
5 Reasons We Consider Consolidated Elite:
- It recently added a new all-inclusive printer program to appeal to a wider base of customers. For a low monthly price they get the printer lease, supplies and service, and a base of copies.
- Its new office includes a visually appealing showroom designed as a “walk through” for customers and prospects with visually appealing, large glass panels that show who Consolidated is at a glance, with a focus on its civic and community leadership, how it gives back to the community, and its promise to employees and customers.
- The introduction of new marketing packets geared towards two emerging local markets: television and movie film sites and large plant manufacturing. Both of these are exploding in the market with requirements for instant nationwide or global-wide document sharing, large fleet management, high security, and flexible service time.
- It has been awarded Konica Minolta’s Pro-Tech Service Award for five consecutive years and also been named as one of Konica Minolta’s Fastest Growing Dealers. This year one of its sales consultants won her local chapter’s Rotarian of the Year, the Chamber of Commerce’s Volunteer of the Year, and was one of The Week in Imaging’s Top Sales Reps of the Year.
- The dealership treats its employees the same way it wants them to treat its customers—with care, respect, listening, and putting them first. Consolidated’s employees have always expressed appreciation that all their ideas are listened to and implemented when possible, and that they are given decision-making authority and are trusted to do their jobs well. Employees are also encouraged to be involved family members and are provided with flexible time for their family. In-house contests encourage physical health and good work performance. When health insurance costs went up this year, the dealership absorbed all of the extra costs so employees would not suffer any personal loss.
Seeley Office Systems
Glens Falls, NY
Year Founded: 1981
Principal/President/CEO: Tim Seeley
Number of Employees: 12
Primary Vendors: Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Muratec
Primary Solutions Offerings: Managed Print, Document Management, Print Audit
Primary Supplies Vendors: United Stationers
Primary Leasing Partners: DLL, GreatAmerica
Approximate Yearly Revenues: $3 million
Fastest Growing Segments of Seeley’s Business: Color/Digital MFPs, Document Management Solutions
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Seeley recently began working with a company in western New York to offer document management to the area. Because it recently established great working relationships with some of the large, local businesses in print management, the dealership is now providing document management and back scanning for these organizations.
5 Reasons We Consider Seeley Office Systems Elite:
- Throughout its 30+ year history in the community, the Seeley team has remained a staple of the region. It does not “over-reach” its territory, allowing the dealership to reach customers quickly because of their proximity.
- The dealership makes it a priority to actively participate in events, sponsorships, and community happenings.
- Because it is a small dealership Seeley has the advantage of a staff that has extensive experience working with the products it offers and excels at providing quick and friendly solutions to customer questions and issues.
- Its new marketing goals of adding touch points, follow ups, and customer loyalty programs with much of its social media spotlight focusing on local businesses.
- On the supplies side, Seeley is trying to “up the ante” in what products it offers. The dealership now delivers free samples to many of its loyal customers and is looking to increase touch points to all of its customers both in equipment and supplies.
Mark Wild, President of Upstream.
Upstream Office Solutions
Tampa, FL
www.upstreamofficesolutions.com
Year Founded: 2012
Principal/President/CEO: Mark Wild
Number of Employees: 6
Primary Vendors: Toshiba, Kyocera, Sharp
Primary Solutions Offerings: Papercut, Sentry File, MPS
Approximate Yearly Revenues: $2 million
Fastest Growing Segments of Upstream’s Business: Despite being a startup, anything Upstream is doing from scratch has led to growth; however, MPS currently represents its strongest area of growth.
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Signing a large ecommerce company for all their copiers and printers. The total contract is worth $276K.
5 Reasons Why We Consider Upstream Office Solutions Elite:
- In just two short years it has proven you can start an office imaging dealership from scratch in the current business environment.
- Its “Hot Knocks” approach, which involves targeting prospects where Upstream knows what technology they currently have and identifying what Upstream is able to upgrade and then approaching that prospect with a solution.
- It has done an admirable job of making every area of the business easy to do business with and has proven adept at being straightforward with customers and providing them with honest answers regarding what they can and can’t do for them.
- It sponsors various local Chambers of Commerce, donating $1,000 per year to each to sponsor local events.
- Its focus on MPS, which has contributed to the company’s initial success in the Tampa market.
U.S. Business Systems, Inc.
Elkhart, IN
Year Founded: 1992
Principal/President/CEO: Ron Hulett
Number of Employees: 27
Primary Vendors: Kyocera, Sharp
Primary Solutions Offerings: MPS, MNS, MDS, Business Process Automation and Improvement
Primary Leasing Partners: US Bank, GreatAmerica
Approximate Yearly Revenues: $4+ million
Fastest Growing Segments of U.S. Business Systems’ Business: Managed IT Services, Managed Print Services—all growing significantly year on year. Managed IT Services business has been the largest area of growth as a percentage of client engagements with roughly 42 clients added last year.
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: The launch of its MNS program.
5 Reasons We Consider U.S. Business Systems Elite:
- Its ongoing success in transitioning its business to provide customers with MPS and MNS solutions.
- The consultative approach U.S. Business Systems uses for recommending solutions and improvements to business workflow and its proven track record of delivering results.
- It created an MPS program in 2006 before MPS became an industry phenomenon. U.S. Business Systems calls it “MYPC” for Managing Your Printing Costs and has developed an entire services offering around this concept to include two flavors: 1) Complete Fleet Management, which includes hardware refreshment, software, services, supplies fulfillment, and automation. The CF program includes software and training to assist in print reduction and education and has typically resulted in anywhere from 7% to 15% reduction in page volumes annually. The other version is simply service / supply program similar to a standard service agreement.
- Its success with its MDS, or managed document services program, that goes beyond output management to on-ramp and imaging strategy to assist with workflow automation, compliance increases, and improved efficiency. This program can also entail BPI (Business Process Improvement) and management to ensure the business processes associated with key areas of the business are continually monitored and measured for effectiveness.
- It has twice received the Sharp Hyakuman Kai award and has been honored with the Kyocera Excellence in Solutions and Service Award.
