In-laws, cooking, shopping, extended family, in-laws, travel, friend time, in-laws, fruitcake, year-end accounting…in-laws. These are some of the pressures we face during the month of December. All of this takes time, money and a portion of our sanity. Most of it is pleasant. Some of it is anything but (and which one would that be?); hey, it all comes with the territory.
It’s been a great year in many ways, but it’s also been a tad bit difficult. So as we look at Round Three of our Elite Dealer challenges, let’s take a moment to be thankful. Many business difficulties are of the uptown variety, and we must remember those who are waging onerous life-and-death battles. Virtually everyone has a friend or relative battling cancer; one of my best friends is currently deep in stage four, and this will be his last Christmas.
It’s not just physical maladies; some are fighting inner demons: alcohol, drugs, depression. So while we’re trying to make sense of everything that is happening in our worlds, a warm smile and a hello go a long way when we’re crossing into other people’s universes. Sorry, apropos of nothing and a bit of a downer; let’s take a look at more Elite Dealer challenges.
Making Changes
It became clear to the leadership of Milner Inc. that its legacy ERP system was hindering its ability to adapt and grow. The solution for the Peachtree Corners, Georgia, dealership was a comprehensive system upgrade. The initiative involved a meticulous evaluation of its existing systems with a focus on using technology to streamline and optimize internal processes.
“We conducted in-depth process mapping to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks,” Milner wrote. “The new ERP system has been tailored to streamline these processes, eliminate redundancies, and enhance productivity. With our workforce of more than 350 employees and our decades of experience in the industry, we saw an opportunity to harness our collective knowledge.”
Growth falls under the category of nice problems to have, but more business often equates a need for enhanced resources and capacity. As San Antonio-based DOCUmation enjoyed rapid expansion and revenue, the need for more office and warehouse space become apparent.
“We’ve recently opened a 20,000-square-foot office in Dallas-Fort Worth with its own warehouse and are expanding our San Antonio warehouse for the second time,” the dealer noted. “Meeting increased demand also calls for a constant cycle of hiring, requiring time and effort for recruitment, interviewing, and onboarding processes.”
At Evoke Networking of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, one of the chief concerns was identifying and partnering with the ideal document management vendor. The dealer had a number of options at its disposal and a burgeoning demand for digital document management solutions. Thus, securing a provider with a robust product and top-flight customer support was imperative.
“We conducted a rigorous evaluation of multiple companies, eventually narrowing our selection to three finalists,” the dealer reported. “Through comprehensive discussions with all their sales and support teams, we found that DocMGT stood out as the most suitable partner. Their outstanding product and a highly knowledgeable team, coupled with their willingness to develop customized solutions, made them the clear choice.”
Margin Squeeze
When supplies margins get compressed, it’s bad news for dealers of all sizes. DEX Imaging in Tampa, Florida, has five-year service agreements with clients that include 12% annual escalators. Thus, when one of the company’s manufacturing partners raised its supplies costs to nearly 22% this year, that meant DEX would need to absorb the loss. The impact was felt the most in its MPS business.
“Overcoming this took some creativity, but we found a solution for moving forward,” the dealer wrote, pointing out it has more than 250,000 MIF. “In this case, our solution was to start manufacturing our own OEM cartridges, which we started doing in April of this year.”
While the pandemic may be a distant memory, the lingering after-effects (read: supply chain) loitered for part of the past year. That prompted countermeasures by dealers such as Loffler Companies of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, which needed its sales, operations and purchasing departments to maintain constant communication with its manufacturing partners.
“Through effective utilization of run-rate information and lead-time insights provided by our manufacturing partners, Loffler took proactive measures by pre-ordering hardware and accessories,’ the company reported. “This strategic approach was instrumental in minimizing disruptions to the sales cycle. Furthermore, Loffler successfully implemented solutions to re-lease our clients’ existing device fleets, ensuring their continued functionality and uninterrupted operations.”
Likewise, the manner in which end-users are conducting business has undergone drastic changes. Advanced Imaging Systems (AIS) of Minnetonka, Minnesota, was confronted with clients downsizing its number of locations and/or fleet. That required a counter approach to maintain sales per client.
“We have had to think differently. How can we do more business with the same client without the volume that they were perhaps doing prior,” the dealer wrote. “Adding services such as software, voice, IT all help grow that lost volume revenue in most cases add to it.”
Cost of Business
One post-COVID hangover that has been slow to dissipate is the high level of inflation. Dealers including UBEO Business Services of San Antonio found they needed to be aggressive in leveraging its strength with manufacturers to keep costs under control.
“Despite our strength, we still had to absorb price increases with the rest of the market. Luckily for us, our wide offerings allow us to increase the overall value to our customers and shield us a bit from direct price competition,” the company reported.
With an eye toward growth and replicating its success in the states, Chicago-based Green Office Partner expanded into Canada. Doing business in another country presents its own set of challenges: different tax and contract laws, vendor policies, and consumer buying habits, to name a few. The dealer relied on patience and a crackerjack team of professionals to become educated on the nuances of the Canadian marketplace and economy.
A degree of vendor assistance also simplified the process. “Xerox was a massive help under the direction of Karl Boissonneault and his team,” the dealer noted. “Being able to harness the Xerox Canada infrastructure (XPPS) and being supported by the Xerox Canada Channels team made all the difference.”
