Following are some of the big and small news items for the month of September.

ECI Acquires Digital Gateway

September 21 – eCommerce Industries, Inc. (ECi Software Solutions, or ECi) has acquired Digital Gateway, Inc. reportedly in order to better serve the needs of dealers in the office equipment/managed print services industry. Digital Gateway will become part of ECi’s Office Equipment Division, which includes the e-automate, OMD and La Crosse dealer management software products. Jim Phillips, the CEO of Digital Gateway, will assume leadership of ECi’s Office Equipment Division working with Laryssa Alexander, president of OMD and La Crosse. Their mission is to ensure that all dealers reach maximum success regardless of which solution they are using.

“For years, Digital Gateway and ECi have been battling it out in the office equipment industry,” says Phillips. “I’ve always felt that it brought out the best efforts of both organizations on behalf of the independent dealers we serve. But there are larger forces at work that threaten our dealer community. We realized that we needed to stop fighting each other and focus our attention on protecting our customers against the threat of encroachment on their businesses by IT VARS and the organizations that are supporting that incursion. We have never stopped being one-hundred-percent committed to doing what is in the best interest of independent dealers and I will gladly swallow a little pride and join with ECi because I know it is what is best for my customers.”

“We’ve long recognized the innovative solutions Digital Gateway has brought to dealers through eautomate and its add-on modules,” adds Ron Books, President and CEO of ECi. “Digital Gateway, in name, products and employees, represents the same mission as ECi: to provide dealers with the best industry-specific solutions to manage their businesses. We have full confidence in Jim and Laryssa and their ability to bring e-automate, OMD and LaCrosse users together in a way that not only protects the dealers in this industry from outside forces but provides the tools and software necessary to bring a strong competitive advantage to our customers. The dealers in this industry know their business and this market better than anyone else and when banded together in a common purpose, they will become an even more powerful force for positive change and will deliver the type of value to their customers that cannot be matched by anyone.“

More details about the new Digital Gateway organization can be found at digitalgateway.com and ECiSolutions.com/Welcome_DGI.

Panasonic Scanner Awarded Cerner Peripheral Medical Device Certification

Sept. 7 – Panasonic System Networks Company of America has announced receipt of Cerner Peripheral Medical Device Certification for its high-speed, high- volume KV-S5055C A3-compatible color scanner. The Cerner Certification Program is structured to ensure relevant data from healthcare devices, bedside devices, smart beds, laboratory or imaging devices, nurse call systems or consumer devices, is captured and seamlessly delivered to the electronic medical record. The company is a trusted provider for solutions, technology and hardware and now resells medical devices for select certification partners.

Strategy Development Hosts BTA MPS Sales Workshop in North Kansas City

September 6 – Strategy Development and BTA is conducting their BTA MPS Sales Workshop on October 18-19 at Harrah’s North Kansas City property. The BTA MPS Sales Workshop is an intensive, two-day program designed to provide dealerships with the tools they need to establish a managed print services strategy that will allow them to increase the quantity of captured prints, lock in customers, distinguish themselves from competitors and, ultimately, sell more hardware. Callinan will be teaching the October session. Topics covered in this two-day workshop include: understanding the print space (the opportunity, IT’s involvement, the sales approach and target markets); getting the appointment; presenting a value proposition; conducting an assessment; developing a strategy and tactics; building an MPS proposal that sells; pricing an MPS contract; expanding the opportunity after the sale; and preparing for quarterly business reviews.

The program is recommended for dealership principals, sales managers, vice presidents of sales and MPS specialists. For more information or to register, contact Tom Callinan at callinan@strategydevelopment.com or at (610) 527-3317.

FlexPrint Named One of Nation’s Fastest Growing Private Companies

Sept. 6 – FlexPrint Inc., (www.flexprintinc.com), a national provider of document management and managed print solutions, has been named one of the nation’s fastest growing private companies by Inc. magazine. In the past three years, the company has seen a 289 percent growth. This marks the second consecutive year FlexPrint has made the Inc. 500/5000 list.

“We are honored to once again be named to such a prestigious list,” says Frank Gaspari, CEO and Founder of FlexPrint. “I continue to attribute our success to our unique and proven business model, and our passionate employees who are dedicated to delivering exceptional customer service.”

FlexPrint was among the top 20 fastest growing companies in Arizona on this year’s Inc. 500/5000. Additionally, the company was one of 327 businesses that were featured in the top 500 last year, to actually make the list again this year.

Katun Introduces Performance Toner Kit for Kyocera Mita MFPs

September 6 – Katun Corporation has introduced a Katun Performance toner kit for use in Kyocera Mita KM 3050/4050/5050 and TASKalfa 410i-series digital copier/printers. With this introduction, Katun has developed a complete toner kit – including toner cartridge, waste toner bottles, cleaning cloths, etc. – that provides excellent image reproduction, according to the company. (A “No-Chip” version of this product is still available for interested dealers.)

Kyocera Mita dealers reportedly receive excellent print quality from this new Katun Performance toner kit, including OEM-equivalent image density, yields, and fusing performance. Also, this 360º certified toner has been tested to ensure complete forward and reverse compatibility with the OEM toner.

As with all Katun Performance products, this toner kit may be ordered via the Katun Online Catalogue – Katun’s one-stop Internet resource that allows registered customers to locate and order thousands of Katun products while accessing real-time information about their orders and accounts. Customers can access the Katun Online Catalogue at www.katun.com.