Oftentimes, in life and in business, we become handcuffed by a lack of resources necessary to execute a job or task in proper fashion. That presents a quandary: Do you push forward and “make do” with what you have, or do you persist in obtaining the resources needed to get the job done right?
Early in his career, Ted Gruener was presented with this dilemma during a sales training. The speaker offered this nugget of wisdom: If you have a gallon of paint and four walls, it is much better to paint one wall really well than to do a subpar job on all of them.
“That visual has helped me focus on what will move the needle versus what is just noise,” said Gruener, a 2019 ENX Magazine Difference Maker.
Gruener, the director of business development for Supplies Network, has long since banished the term “subpar” from his vocabulary. His career spans nearly 30 years, with high-impact positions at notable office product giants such as U.S. Office Products, Corporate Express and Boise/OfficeMax. Having held sales leadership positions at U.S. Office Products and Boise/OfficeMax, Gruener had the opportunity to do business with Greg Welchans and David Concors of Supplies Network, and was thrilled with the opportunity to join them in 2016.
“Supplies Network cannot be successful without great partners,” Gruener observed. “I love working in an organization that executes and innovates to help facilitate growth for our dealers. We have a culture that is never satisfied in that quest and are continuously searching for solutions and categories to fuel that growth.”
Family Business
Upon graduating from Missouri State University, he joined the family’s Gruener Office Supplies in St. Louis, representing the third generation. He had a hand in every facet of the business and enjoyed working alongside his father, Ed. Consolidation was greatly impacting the office products industry, and the family made the decision to sell. But Gruener was just getting started.
Having the opportunity to mold a team around their strengths and providing them the encouragement to succeed drives Gruener. Armed with high energy and initiative levels, along with a willingness to follow through on promises, he relishes the opportunity to ensure customers achieve their desired outcomes.
It was Ed Gruener who instilled in him the importance and value of integrity. Gruener follow his father’s “work hard, play hard” edict, and the understanding that success comes easier when you love your job.
In an effort to fuel that aforementioned growth, Gruener has added business development managers (BDMs) as a resource to expand Supplies Network’s thermal, A3 and MPS offerings. Already bolstered by a talented and tenured team of BDMs, the latest additions complement them with subject matter expertise in the field. Gruener notes the company’s BDM team also achieved double-digit growth for the third consecutive year.
“I take very little credit individually, but take great pride in each one of them achieving their personal and professional results,” he added.
Thermal Growth
This year, Gruener has invested much time in expanding Supplies Network’s thermal offering. The company has increased its inventory position for transactional business and is making great strides toward a thermal auto replenishment model. He sees it as a growth engine and natural extension for Supplies Network’s MPS dealers, while also providing transactional opportunities.
Moving forward, Gruener feels it is imperative that Supplies Network continues to evolve to remain a leader in the print and foster customer success. “Our CEO and leadership team select a set of OGSMs (objectives, goals, strategy and measures) each year and we are relentless in our pursuit to accomplish them,” he said. “As for me, I could run out of paper listing all the areas I would like to improve both personally and professionally.”
Gruener and his wife, Barb, have been married for 22 years and are the parents of two teenage sons, William and Tom. The boys play travel hockey year-round and also compete together on their varsity high school team. Barb and Ted are running enthusiasts and often wrap family vacations around major races in places like Leadville, Colorado. Ted will be attempting the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race in August, and a week later, he will join the Bike for Hope cycling team in the Blue Ridge Mountains in a four-day event. The 500-mile Bike for Hope trek is in its fourth year and includes riders from Supplies Network, HP and HSM. Proceeds raised benefit the City of Hope’s cancer research efforts.
