Profit Management Solutions: Dealers Find the Sky’s the Limit When it Comes to Software

In devising an angle for this month’s State of the Industry report, “Cloud-y With a Chance of Profit: Dealers Champion Software Solutions,” we whipped out the old Merriam-Webster dictionary to set the proper context of software: “something used or associated with and usually contrasted with hardware.”

Ah, hardware—the “Where’s Waldo” of the office equipment gallery. Kidding, we won’t go there. Still, the symbiotic relationship between the pair is undeniable, but this is software’s time to shine. We have seven examples of dealers who’ve outlined their solutions journeys, along with a peek at their top three vendors and an example of software in action that’s been critical to addressing client needs during the pandemic period (though not necessarily spurred on due to its impact on business conditions).

Although these solutions cross the entire gamut of the software universe, their unifying denominator is the ability to solve a challenge, enhance workflow/productivity, track and monitor, and certainly protect the interests of business partners.

Customize and Conquer

Impact Networking
Lake Forest, Illinois

Few North American office dealerships have risen to the heights as a technology specialist that Impact Networking has attained. The dealer’s track record is well documented, and its tech-first approach is embodied by the firm’s annual Optimize event that attracts hundreds of the region’s technology savants. Impact prides itself on the bevy of subject-matter experts it’s hired or cultivated; if there’s a discipline in the dealer’s portfolio, Impact has a specialist who can address it completely.

Impact is the largest distributor of DocuWare’s document workflow management solution in the Western Hemisphere (second biggest in the world). According to Brad Rozmarynowski, executive account manager and partner, this partnership flourished primarily because DocuWare offered a support structure that enabled Impact to develop an expertise with its platform. The dealer measures all potential partners by this standard; Impact seeks to control the development support and bring as much of the process in house as possible to control quality. To that end, the dealer isn’t shy about committing the necessary resources.

“If the partner can provide sufficient training certification and make us become experts, and hand it off to us and let us control our own destiny, that’s our standard. But we also need partners to be committed to continually improving and updating their platforms,” Rozmarynowski said. “It can’t get outdated. Depending on the solution, we want as many integration opportunities as possible. We want open architecture.”

Just ask SolarWinds MSP, which has the N-able remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool. Impact invested more than $1 million into “highly, highly, highly” customizing the solution for its own purposes, according to Rozmarynowski.

If the partner can provide sufficient training certification and make us become experts, and hand it off to us and let us control our own destiny, that’s our standard. But we also need partners to be committed to continually improving and updating their platforms

– Brad Rozmarynowski, Impact Networking

“That was another instance in which the software had to be flexible so we could do what we wanted with their support, and then fully own it and be as self-reliant as possible,” he said of the solution, which was rechristened as INC (Impact Network Control).

Likewise, Impact lifted the hood on Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 CRM/ERP to develop a customized internal CRM solution, a departure from its reliance on Sherpa, the dealer’s previous CRM. While Dynamics isn’t an industry-accepted CRM, Rozmarynowski felt its incumbent Sherpa solution no longer fit within its structure for building deals and the movement toward a huge investment in automation for sales lead generation. This customized version of Dynamics was rolled out to its sales force and management team about 18 months ago. Between data, analytics and lead generation, it has the open architecture of Salesforce and can be tied into an ERP or marketing automation system such as HubSpot (Impact also invested in HubSpot for the same purpose).

It was DocuWare that came to the rescue for a large non-profit association and educational institution that invested in the solution for content management and workflow in multiple departments. It took on a different meaning when the pandemic struck, but fortunately the client had invested in the hybrid option that allowed its employees to continue working with mobile devices, tablets and laptops through the cloud. As a footnote, the pandemic paved an upsell opportunity in the form of digital signatures through DocuWare’s integration with DocuSign.

“The CFO thanked us profusely over and over for convincing them to buy this software that he was very skeptical about many years ago,” Rozmarynowski said. “They would’ve been in big trouble as a non-profit if it was strictly an inflexible old school, on-prem software solution.”

Better Late Than…

Marco
St. Cloud, Minnesota

The migration from software being sold as a stand-alone product (e.g., Microsoft 365) to a subscription-based model had significant implications for providers such as Marco. The change helped the dealer forge stronger relationships with clients, notes Matt Kanaskie, vice president of solutions.

“We get to have more in-depth discussions about how they work, what they want to get out of their tools and the problems they’re trying to solve,” Kanaskie stated.

While Marco counts Cisco, CrowdStrike and the aforementioned Microsoft among its go-to options, the dealer has invested significant resources in evaluating hundreds of products, vetting them for their potential to make a meaningful impact in the workflow and processes of clients. Marco has also dedicated considerable time and resources to becoming Gold Partners with Microsoft and Cisco in order to provide its clients with expert-level support.

That commitment to unrivaled expertise frequently sets Marco apart from other vendors. “Our investments have been strategic, and they’ve paid off,” Kanaskie added. “We now have more recurring revenue streams, and we’re able to offer more comprehensive solutions to our clients.”

One of the dealer’s noteworthy recent engagements actually came on the heels of a strategic miscalculation by one of its clients. A longtime MFP client had been in discussions with Marco regarding a cybersecurity initiative. It’s a common tale: many businesses measure their investments by their propensity to either generate revenue or create savings through improved processes/workflows.

Our investments have been strategic, and they’ve paid off. We now have more recurring revenue streams, and we’re able to offer more comprehensive solutions to our clients.

– Matt Kanaskie, Marco

Cybersecurity is preventive medicine; many businesses operate under the assumption that they aren’t a worthwhile target for bad actors looking to penetrate their defenses. This client was no exception. Because nothing had happened to them yet, they went against Marco’s recommendations and chose not to upgrade their defenses.

One can guess where this client’s wait-and-see approach eventually led: they ultimately experienced a major cybersecurity incident. However, Marco was able to pick up the pieces and guide the client through the recovery process. On the positive side, the client’s industry began to outwardly support improved safeguards among its constituents, helping to transition many of these organizations into more urgent and effective mitigation measures.

“One of our recommendations was shifting to SaaS solutions, so this client could stay updated automatically,” said Dustin Bonn, solutions sales director for Marco. “In the future, it will also be easier for them to maintain compliance as their industry evolves. It’s been a shift for many clients to think about SaaS. It’s usually not a money-saving solution, but nevertheless, it’s an important investment in their future growth.”

In recent years, Bonn notes, there’s been a greater appreciation and evolution in how clients think about technology. The days of conversations dictated almost entirely by cost minimization are a thing of the past, particularly when it comes to cybersecurity. The potential of a disastrous financial loss stemming from a failure to enact security protocols has finally garnered front-of-mind consideration.

We’re now ongoing consultants, strategic business partners.
We’ve earned a seat at the table.

– Dustin Bonn, Marco

“With clients such as these, we’re no longer seen as a print vendor or a go-to IT provider when things go wrong,” he said. “We’re now ongoing consultants, strategic business partners. We’ve earned a seat at the table.”

Bringing Value to Deals

The Swenson Group (TSG)
Livermore, California

President and CEO Dean Swenson cites one of TSG’s core values as being problem solvers. When TSG includes solutions in its deals, it’s a living and breathing embodiment of the core value. Solutions add value and deepen the client relationship while increasing profits and revenues. But with many resellers carrying the same (or similar) software titles, the battle for market share comes down to a race of the initiated—be first to broach the subject.

Leading the list of top titles for TSG are Square 9 and PRISM document management, PaperCut print management and Copitrak, Kofax’s cost-recovery solution that the dealer aligns with the legal and AEC verticals. The greatest challenge TSG faces is the sales cycle that’s involved in bundling the solutions with MFP sales.

“The biggest downside is sometimes it does slow down deals because it makes them a little more complicated,” Swenson admitted. “But if we can bring more value to the client, and higher revenues/profits for us, it’s probably worth having a little bit longer of a sales cycle than to just sell MFPs like everyone else can.

“If you’re offering them as a package, you typically don’t have to break it out cost-wise, whereas you have to if you sell it separately. We’d rather tell clients that it’s x-amount per month, here’s what we’re going to do and here’s the problem we’re going to solve, along with the benefits of it. But while we prefer to do it all at once, sometimes the timing isn’t right. So we’ll do what’s best for the customer first, then follow up at the appropriate time.”

[I]f we can bring more value to the client, and higher revenues/profits for us, it’s probably worth having a little bit longer of a sales cycle than to just sell MFPs like everyone else can.

– Dean Swenson, The Swenson Group

TSG recently unearthed an opportunity with a large non-profit group that provides comprehensive child development and family support services to low-income families. Traditionally, its patient exams have been paper-based and manually driven, often requiring duplicate data entry. The customer was looking to modernize and streamline these processes by leveraging automation, improved data collection, access and improved reporting.

TSG implemented Prism Software’s DocRecord enterprise content management platform—featuring integrated content management, workflow, electronic forms, OCR capture—to build a solution that exceeds customer requirements. The entire process is hosted securely on an All Covered private cloud server, providing the client with a highly available and flexible platform for managing student information.

Swenson and the client are in the process of developing a case study that will benefit other non-profits that manage patient information and student record programs. “Anytime you can come up with a unique solution that meets a vertical’s needs and is repeatable, everyone wins,” he added.

Centralizing Control In-House

Edwards Business Systems/Virginia Business Systems (EBS/VBS)
Bethlehem, PA

Looking at software through the lens of managed IT, EBS/VBS had long partnered with a disparate group of vendors to provide various solutions and services. However, the downside was that doing so limited the dealer’s oversight when it came to managing and tracking client needs, given it was tied into the various partnerships. Seeing that centralization was critical to developing a more uniform and unified platform, EBS/VBS hired an IT services sales specialist, Dan Lamborn, and brought the solutions support in-house.

“Utilizing our engineers and our team made it a lot more personal for clients,” Lamborn said. “We were able to offer a lot more and adapt to what our clients needed as opposed to partnering with different vendors.”

As a result, EBS/VBS has seen significant growth the past three years. Each end-user is connected to a standardized technology stack that begins with antivirus software, making it easier for the dealer to service its clients. EBS/VBS constantly vets potential additions to its stack, amending it as research and customer feedback provide guidance.

Lamborn notes that business continuity, cybersecurity and unified communications are three of the cornerstone (and most requested) elements of EBS/VBS’ technology stack. The tandem rely on Konica Minolta for its UCaaS offering, which has netted numerous new accounts during the pandemic, serving accounts with as few as five employees and as many as 175. On the backup/restoration front, Lamborn loves the Datto application; from a client-facing standpoint, it’s virtually opaque to the user in the event of a server/hardware failure.

“In the case of disaster recovery, if a fire took out the client’s building, we’re able to reconnect them with their information,” Lamborn noted, “probably faster than they can get a server spec’d out, built and delivered.”

One of the biggest pandemic-era success stories involved onboarding an 80-person label manufacturing company in dire need of a standardization of services. EBS/VBS provided Microsoft licensing antivirus for all its computers, and the dealer’s helpdesk team enables the client to enjoy faster resolution of its issues.

“We were able to provide them a better, more standardized way to have their IT issues resolved,” Lamborn said. “Our helpdesk has a chat feature, or they can contact us by email or phone. The client’s been able to increase its productivity by having issues resolved in a much faster way.”

Changing Roles, Approaches

Frontier Business Products
Aurora, Colorado

For many dealers that have grown their solutions competency, the journey invariably entails refocusing from a sales representative posture to one of a business consultant who can provide guidance. That’s certainly been the case for Frontier Business Products (FBP), and the salutary impact has been added value for the client, with revenue and profit boosts to the dealer.

“The evolution in the sales process allows us to have deeper, more meaningful conversations about the customer’s business,” said Scott Schnabel, chief operating officer. “With this conversation, we can uncover more issues that we can then help address with our solutions portfolio. If you want to differentiate in this industry, you can’t be talking about just speeds and feeds.

“You need to back up the talk with key subject-matter experts who can provide support to the up-and-down-the-street sales rep. Once you bring them into the conversation, it’s a differentiator, and it makes your win percentages much higher. You can also maintain higher margins in your solution because you’re having much more of a consultative conversation with the client.”

The dealer has enjoyed considerable traction with cost recovery, front-end capture and content management solutions. FBP relies on PaperCut and PrinterLogic for its cost recovery, Ricoh and Umango for capture, and Square 9 and DocuWare for document management.

You need to back up the talk with key subject-matter experts who can provide support to the up-and-down-the-street sales rep. Once you bring them into the conversation, it’s a differentiator, and it makes your win percentages much higher.

– Scott Schnabel, Frontier Business Products

One of the underpinnings of any solution is enabling the user to concentrate foremost on its business objectives. That was the case for a health care client that needed to remain aligned with HIPAA requirements while allowing its nurses to focus on patient care. According to Schnabel, one of the challenges confronting the client was the issue of unclaimed print jobs sitting on output devices; in some cases, the printouts contained confidential patient health care information (PHI). A second was the output device itself—its location, usage and operational status, not to mention print volume that flowed through it.

“Nurses traveled around the facility and didn’t always have access to their primary printer,” Schnabel explained. “We implemented [PaperCut] that allowed for secure print release and the ability to have follow-me printing.”

The Virtue of Compatibility

Fraser Advanced Information Systems (AIS)
West Reading, Pennsylvania

An entrepreneurial spirit was the trademark of Fraser AIS’ foray into the solutions market. In the past, the dealer developed its own image capture and OCR software, but it was difficult to keep pace with stronger third-party tools that had more to offer users.

That caused a shift to identifying vendor solutions that would better suit their clients’ needs, with the caveat that they needed to dovetail with the brands Fraser AIS offers from a compatibility standpoint, given its status as a multi-line dealer. According to Justin Drabouski, director of managed services, that compatibility was of paramount importance.

“While solutions were once viewed as a source of add-on revenue or complementary products, now we are leading with solutions and showing clients the value of implementing solutions along with equipment,” Drabouski said. “This strategy is typically driven by a company’s automation initiative or workflow optimization program, with the added benefits of reducing overall IT support burden and integrating into existing system management platforms due to our API first solution strategy.”

Fraser AIS’ top core solutions are PaperCut print management software, Drivve | Image document capture and eGoldFax cloud faxing. In a recent application, the dealer implemented PaperCut for the entire U.S. printing fleet of a Fortune 500 manufacturing company. According to Drabouski, device location and compatibility issues prevented the end-user from enjoying a secure print solution in any location that was outside of its corporate headquarters.

“Through the integration of PaperCut MF into their print fleet, the company has been able to have all print jobs managed by a central server, and the company is able to track, control and secure their documents,” he noted.

With the presumed permanence of remote workforces and hybrid work environments, Drabouski feels Fraser AIS’ cutting-edge services make the dealer an optimal partner. The role of solutions in these environments can’t be overstated.

While solutions were once viewed as a source of add-on revenue or complementary products, now we are leading with solutions and showing clients the value of implementing solutions along with equipment.

– Justin Drabouski, Fraser AIS

“From asset management and remote device support to integrated, authenticated print management and release, companies are looking for new and different ways to be productive,” he said. “Many companies jumped on the Microsoft Teams and Google Meet bandwagon once meetings went virtual. Now that everyone is more comfortable with these platforms, we’re seeing a quicker shift away from local file servers to cloud-based storage.

“Many of the models we offer come with these connectors as a standard option, but logging in each time the user needs to scan can be cumbersome. The Sharp devices make it so much easier with the physical full-size keyboard, and adding a print management solution that offers single sign-on to these cloud locations increases productivity and makes life easier for employees and companies.”

The Ultimate Dealer Starter Kit

Solutions YES
Portland, Oregon

When a company is as new as Solutions YES, an 11-year-old startup, the ability to augment MFP sales with high-value software tools is essential to scaling. In fact, the firm added DocuWare’s document management solution in its third year of existence, though the company’s staff had experience selling it with a previous dealership. President Sean Bell quickly recognized the value of the solution and dedicated two full-time employees to selling and supporting it. As a result, DocuWare sales now account for 5% of Solutions YES’ revenue.

DocuWare isn’t the only tool in Bell’s arsenal; the dealer has also enjoyed strong placements with Biscom, an affordable yet effective on-prem, hybrid and cloud faxing solution. “With our industries’ constraints on A4 MFPs, and specifically fax boards, Biscom is a great option that sidesteps inventory constraints,” he noted.

A more recent addition to Solutions YES’ stable is Canon uniFLOW, and Bell is excited about the possibilities of garnering more client business with the print management solution.

The dealer recently proffered a blended solution to a client that furnishes consumer loans. The combination of FormedAI and DocuWare helped automate the lender’s approval process, generating decisions more quickly without the need for employee intervention while incorporating fewer paper-based documents.

With our industries’ constraints on A4 MFPs, and specifically fax boards, Biscom is a great option that sidesteps inventory constraints.

– Sean Bell, Solutions YES

“FormedAI was used to query credit scores from different bureaus and then push the scores into a DocuWare workflow process for generating automatic loan approvals, with a message to the applicant of that approval regardless of whether the auto approval was granted after hours, evenings or weekends,” Bell noted. “If the scores don’t meet minimum requirements, then DocuWare generates a message to an employee, who would then have a direct conversation with the applicant.”