This year Martin Whalen Office Solutions in Tinley Park, IL celebrated their 76th anniversary. However, there was an interesting twist to that celebration as the spirit of ’76 found the company acquired by Global Imaging Systems, marking the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.
When Xerox acquired Global a few years back some of my analyst friends were lamenting the fact that the Global model of allowing acquisitions to operate independently in their markets would soon be a thing of the past now that Xerox was in the picture. From what I hear, and believe me, I haven’t heard it all yet, that doesn’t seem to have happened yet.
If you ask Brian Kempke, vice president and sales manager at Martin Whalen, how goes the transition, he’ll tell you it’s gone remarkably well and it remains pretty much business as usual for the company. Granted, it’s only been a few months, and yes there’s been some changes, most notably a product line transition from Canon to Xerox along with all the various administrative issues that tend to go along with an acquisition.
“On the acquisition side of the equation, I’ve been on both sides of the table—buying and selling—so it’s familiar to me,” says Kempke. “The Global approach is local decision making, ‘You guys manage the business.’ It’s not talk, it’s exactly what it is; they’re there to support you and they’re there as a resource. The collaboration between the core companies is phenomenal; the sharing of best practices has been a great experience.”
The product line transition not so much.
“We were with Canon for 25+ years and Canon doesn’t respond favorably to acquisitions, and specifically ones by Global/Xerox,” reports Kempke.
Outside of Canon cutting them off from parts and supplies, I asked Kempke if anything has surprised him since becoming part of the Global/Xerox organization.
“Not really,” he says, “although a pleasant surprise has been the level of support. From the Xerox perspective it comes down to product support. They have a great support team in place and we have a dedicated rep that is here pretty much all the time. In a competitive situation he can talk about the challenges, what the environment is like, and can guide us through that process with the right Xerox solutions. On the Global end it’s the sharing of best practices. It’s no big surprise because that’s something they’ve always touted. The other sister companies are open and helpful and that’s helped us strengthen our position [in the market].”
The change of ownership and the transition to Xerox products hasn’t made a difference to Martin Whalen’s customers because they don’t buy from Canon or Xerox, they buy from Martin Whalen and that’s the company they’re dealing with.
“Our brand is Martin Whalen,” says Kempke. “We sell based on the virtues of our company and the other levels of support we provide. We have 76 years of history of supporting customers. We remind customers the people haven’t changed, you’ll see the same technicians you’ve seen in the past, you’ll see the same folks that are generating the invoices, and the same sales people. To me, we’re somewhat product agnostic.”
While the Martin Whalen brand works well locally, don’t underestimate the power of the Xerox brand either. “The Xerox brand still carries a lot of muscle and credibility and has opened up quite a few doors for us,” acknowledges Kempke.
After a stellar 2012, he expects that muscle and credibility to be a boon to the business in 2013. “We’re bullish about 2013,” says Kempke. “About two years ago we made a commitment to aggressively grow this business, doubling our sales force, and building the infrastructure to gain market share and increase our footprint in the Chicago market. The resources that Global brings to the table from training to support just further help our cause.”
