When James Morrissey was brought on as northeast region president of UBEO Business Services earlier this year, the main thrust was to help the Austin, Texas-based company continue down the path of becoming a significant megadealer by building out a strong position in the northeast through acquisitions while crafting the sales strategy of the company.
Well, the leadership team at UBEO, led by Jim Sheffield, the president and CEO, concluded that Morrissey’s methods and results would pay even more dividends when leveraged across the entire national network. After all, Morrissey was already taking ownership of the headquarters team and function, and he was involved with the central and west regions. Thus, this week’s announcement that Morrissey was taking the helm of national president came as little surprise but helps bring his role and the company’s strategy into focus.
“We want to stay flat at the headquarter level and allow the regions to run independently and make sure they remain focused on the customer,” Morrissey told ENX Magazine. “Customer decision-making is so important to our strategy of customers first, employees second and profits third. We needed a cohesive strategy and synergies that we’re going to be able to leverage for the company inside of those particular regions.
“We also want to have intellectual property leveraged inside all of the companies and ensure we’re looking at best practices across the enterprise. We’re not forcing anybody to do anything nationally; we’re making recommendations and bringing to light some quantified best practices.”
Morrissey touts an impressive industry background that includes stints with manufacturers Canon, Ricoh and, most recently, Xerox. He spent nearly 16 years with Alco Standard (later IKON Office Solutions) between 1994 and 2008, when it was acquired by Ricoh. He also served as president of Consumers Interstate Corp., a national consumables distributor.
Northeast Expansion
Last month, UBEO made a significant foray into the northeast with its acquisition of A&A Office Systems, an $18 million dealership based in Middletown, Connecticut. A&A will serve as the northeast hub, with more deals to follow. Morrissey expects UBEO to add branches in Boston, Rhode Island, upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania during the course of the next six months. In fact, Morrissey believes that three acquisitions per quarter is a sustainable pace for 2020, as the company currently has 28 M&A prospects in its pipeline.
“Decentralized decision making is the way to go in this industry,” Morrissey noted. “I want to make sure that we’re pushing the decisions down while offering up tools and resources that make sense from a customer-driven strategy. At the same time, we’re able to leverage the financial points around that strategy.”
One of the differentiators Morrissey believes will help separate UBEO from the pack is offering production print equipment. Its regional holdings have enjoyed success with products from Ricoh (its biggest supplier), Xerox (predominantly in the central region), Canon (which Ray Morgan Company has successfully leveraged in the west) and Konica Minolta. Morrissey notes that one of the biggest central deals for Xerox product was in excess of $500,000.
“We have all of the ingredients necessary to go into that (production print) market aggressively,” Morrissey said. “We’ve hired some high-quality people like Brian Murphy, who is an expert in service, and we’re starting to see terrific results. The biggest thing a dealer needs to be successful here is software specialty, fantastic service and the ability to deliver the heavy iron with all the features that customers are seeking. We have all three. All the manufacturers are clamoring to get to the market share in that area, and we’re able to pick and choose the best-in-class products to be able to deliver to the market.”
Ideal Fit
Sheffield believes Morrissey is the ideal fit for the president role. “James commitment to UBEO’s core values of being customer and employee-centric combined with his energy and vast industry experience make him a great fit for the job,” Sheffield said. “I’m looking forward to working alongside James as we continue to grow and take UBEO’s mission across the country.”
As CEO, Sheffield’s focus is setting UBEO’s strategy and vision. As president, Morrissey will execute UBEO’s mission, continuing to grow the company across the country while delivering on its commitment to customer service.
Since Morrissey joined the UBEO team in May, the document management company has grown to a total of 11 acquisitions, including A&A Office Systems. The move amplified its reach to the east coast, making UBEO a coast-to-coast company (UBEO acquired California-based Ray Morgan Company last year). Morrissey and the whole UBEO team continue to seek acquisitions that align with their core values.
Morrissey began his career in document management sales immediately after earning a degree from the State University of New York at Oneonta. He has worked with top industry leaders in a variety of roles including senior leadership positions with Fortune 500 companies. Morrissey is well known for his passion toward employees and his customer-centric philosophy, which will make him a perfect fit for the UBEO family.
UBEO, founded in 2004, has operations across Texas and Louisiana, as well as in California. UBEO is co-headquartered in Austin and San Antonio. It merged with Sentinel Capital Partners in April 2018.
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About UBEO Business Services Co-headquartered in Austin and San Antonio, Texas, UBEO is now the fastest growing business technology organization in the country. While the organization is rapidly growing, its commitment to excellence is paramount. UBEO Business Services with its best of breed offering remains committed to being the “high-end customer experience” in the industry. UBEO’s success is attributable to its commitment to acquire best-in-class companies and build a premier brand in the Document Technology industry.
