april 2013 office technology

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Volume 19 • No. 10

F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S

10Managed ServicesLooking for an added source of recurring revenue?by Brent HoskinsOffi ce Technology Magazine� e competitive advantages of your dealership are being noticed once again. In fact, they are being viewed as ideal for a service o� ering that you may have initially seen as distant from your company’s core o� erings. Providing your customers managed services is no longer as ominous as it may have once seemed.

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D E PA R T M E N T S

33 Business Technology Association• BTA Education Calendar• BTA Highlights

Executive Director’s Page

BTA President’s Message

Advertiser Index

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CONTENTS

20Assessment 911Determining the success of your MPS engagementby Mike LamotheOffi ce Document Consulting Inc.Understanding what the customer is really spending and how he is using his current technology will be de-termined through a print assessment, which can be used to suggest possible improvements. Most of you are currently assessing your customer’s technology use, but by no means are you performing a proper assessment.

Target: Managed ServicesGAP, Continuum introducing new business modelby Mitch MorganGrowth Achievement Partners� e o� ce technology industry is moving quickly toward the managed services business. BTA Channel dealers are primed to make a signi� cant impact into this adja-cent space, which o� ers them a unique opportunity for pro� table growth. Based on our experience, we believe dealers need a business plan for managed services.

C O U R T S & C A P I T O L S

36Obsolete InventoryIt has a tremendous impact on your � nancial healthby Ken StaubitzBEI ServicesInventory management is not a glam-orous topic. Generally, most people’s eyes glaze over when even broached with the subject. However, the manner in which you manage your inventory has a dramatic impact on your organization’s cash � ow.

S E R V I C E C O N N E C T I O N S

32Building Your TeamPlace an emphasison employee loyaltyby Robert C. GoldbergBTA General CounselEmployees are the most valuable as-sets a business has — good products and excellent service are not sold by themselves. � is year should be the year when you develop loyal employees who are committed to your organization.

24‘Change or Die!’ Really?Beware of doom & gloom, false optimismby Edward McLaughlinValderus LLCOver the past few months, I have heard enough con� ict-ing information about how our industry is changing that, frankly, my brain feels like it could explode. While it is true that print volumes are declining, they are also evolving and shifting, and that, candidly, is more im-portant. So, how do we take advantage of this evolution?

F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S

28Managing MobilityDealerships already havethe skills, resourcesby Greg Walters & Jennifer ShutwellWalters & ShutwellToday, companies need more help than ever managing the increased responsibility of information and work� ow surrounding mobile devices. � is provides an opportunity for the BTA Channel — and it is easily within reach.

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

Executive Director/BTAEditor/Offi ce Technology

Brent [email protected]

(816) 303-4040

Associate EditorElizabeth Marvel

[email protected](816) 303-4060

Contributing WritersRobert C. Goldberg, General Counsel

Business Technology Association

Mike Lamothe, Offi ce Document Consulting Inc.www.offi cedocumentconsulting.com

Edward McLaughlin, Valderus LLCwww.valderus.com

Mitch Morgan, Growth Achievement Partnerswww.growthachievementpartners.com

Ken Staubitz, BEI Serviceswww.beiservices.com

Greg Walters & Jennifer Shutwell, Walters & Shutwellwww.waltersshutwell.com

Business Technology Association12411 Wornall Road

Kansas City, MO 64145(816) 941-3100

www.bta.org

Member Services: (800) 505-2821BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688

Valerie BrisenoMembership Marketing Manager

[email protected]

Mary HopkinsDatabase Administrator

[email protected]

Teresa LeerarBookkeeper

[email protected]

Brian SmithMembership Sales Representative

[email protected]

Photo Credits: iStockphoto, Ryan McVay. Cover Image: In-magine. Cover Design Concept: Continuum. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2013 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material. However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.

Musings on Changeand ‘My Two Cents’

I am sometimes asked by advertisers and others: “What is the

theme of the next issue of O� ce Technology maga-zine?” My answer usually is: “� ere is no speci� c theme, but rather a varie-ty of articles on topics for o� ce technology dealers.” I’m not sure my answer applies to this issue. I do see a theme.

In this issue, you will see two articles that address the topic of managed services. � ere is de� nitely a theme there. However, there are also two other articles that relate: “Managing Mobility” and “‘Change or Die!’ Really?” How do they relate? To some de-gree, albeit in di� erent ways, both address the questions and issues many dealers are grappling with in today’s marketplace. How can I best ensure the ongoing success of my dealership? What changes should I pursue? What is the hope of the future? I can im-agine dealers answering each question, in part, with “managed services,” “managed print services” or “mobility.”

I have stated before in this space that there are at least two interrelated, current market/societal changes that should be capturing every dealer’s attention. � e � rst is the newest generation of employees now entering the workforce. To net it down: � ey don’t print much. � e second is the rise of mobility. To net it down as well, from the perspective of an individual from that new generation entering the workforce: “I don’t print much due, in part, to the fact that I can access and share documents anytime, anywhere via my mobile devices.”

No, I am not leading us down the print path of doom and gloom. � e majority of people in the workplace are from the “yes-I-print-pages” generations. So, there are still many pages to be printed for years to

come. However, the reality is we have a new generation of employees in the workforce and, knowing how the calendar works, over time their numbers will only increase. Some of them will move into management and make the technology acquisition and im-plementation decisions at their companies. � eir leadership will likely contribute to the continued decline of the printed page.

I am not telling you anything that you don’t already know. But this “themed” issue of O� ce Technology does have me revisiting the question: What would I do if I owned a dealership? Simply stated, I would be look-ing for ways to broaden my footprint in the customer location — “more share of wallet,” as some like to say. I would be focused on ad-dressing my customer’s document, data and digital anything needs. I would be striving to di� erentiate my dealership from my compet-itors. And, of course, I would be seeking to capture as many printed pages as possible.

� is all leads to some simple advice re-lated to “broadening your footprint” in to-day’s marketplace. I will admit, it emerges from the fact that I just completed writing the cover story on managed services, so am currently thinking about the topic. My ad-vice: Give at least some thought to partner-ing with a third-party company that o� ers managed services support through remote network monitoring.

Why the advice? Because I’ve seen it work � rsthand. BTA itself is a new customer in a relationship involving a dealership (EBE Of-� ce Solutions, Olathe, Kan.) and a third-par-ty managed services provider (Collabrance LLC, Cedar Rapids, Iowa). I can tell you that, so far, it has worked well and, it seems to me, it is a great strategy for EBE. Perhaps, as you consider our changing world, managed services would be a rewarding addition to your product portfolio as well.

— Brent Hoskins

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE2012-2013 Board of Directors

President Terry Chapman

Business Electronics Corp.219 Oxmoor Circle, P.O. Box 531066

Birmingham, AL [email protected]

President-Elect Todd J. Fitzsimons

Network Imaging LLC122 Spring St., Ste. B3Southington, CT 06489 tjfi [email protected]

Vice President Ron Hulett

U.S. Business Systems Inc.3221 Southview Drive

Elkhart, IN [email protected]

BTA East Rob Richardson

Allied Document Solutions & Services Inc.200 Church St.

Swedesboro, NJ [email protected]

BTA Mid-America Dave Quint

Advanced Systems Inc.2945 Airport Blvd., P.O. Box 57

Waterloo, IA [email protected]

BTA Southeast Debra DennisCopyPro Inc.

3103 Landmark St.Greenville, NC [email protected]

BTA WestMike Ehlers

Yost Business Systems685 E. Anderson

Idaho Falls, ID [email protected]

Ex-Offi cio/ImmediatePast President

Tom OuelletteBudget Document Technology

251 Goddard Road, P.O. Box 2322Lewiston, ME 04240

[email protected]

Ex-Offi cio/General CounselRobert C. Goldberg

Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC222 S. Riverside Plaza, Ste. 2100

Chicago, IL [email protected]

Patent Issues Focusof Industry Summit

In the February is-sue of O� ce Technol-ogy magazine, I wrote

about BTA’s plans to convene a meeting of in-dustry leaders to address concerns about “patent trolls” sending letters to end users seeking licens-ing fees for the use of MFPs to scan and send documents to an email address. e Patent Issues Industry Summit took place March 14 in Newark, N.J., with representatives of eight MFP manufacturers among the attendees.

In recent months, many of you have re-ceived inquiries on the patent issues and/or copies of letters received by your cus-tomers. e letters are from law � rms and others alleging the need for license fee payments. Sent by or on behalf of various licensing agents, the patent trolls seek fees based upon employee count. Fees demand-ed vary, but the average is $1,000. Patent trolls, as you might expect, are entities that seek to enforce a patent, but neither make a product nor perform a service. eir sole purpose is to enforce a patent that, very of-ten, they did not originally � le.

During the industry summit, BTA Gen-eral Counsel Bob Goldberg listed several proposed solutions to address the problem, including such things as an ethics com-plaint against attorneys who have never visited an end user to determine if the equipment is even in use, yet threaten liti-gation; a patent o� ce challenge; congres-sional legislation; and/or an industry posi-tion paper. BTA will be preparing a position paper in the form of an end-user education-al pamphlet that dealers and others can share with customers as invoice stu� ers and otherwise. e pamphlet will be simi-lar in nature to the one prepared for distri-bution several years ago, when the industry

was facing the issue of data security relat-ed to the use of an MFP’s hard drive.

As national president of BTA, I had the privilege of being among the attendees at the industry summit. I was impressed with how much concern the manufacturer rep-resentatives have for end users and how they are on the same page in their reaction to the patent issues. It was great to witness this industry cooperation taking place, speci� c to the matter at hand. ese are companies that compete on a daily basis in a professional manner, yet they will gather to address shared common problems and challenges. In the coming months, watch for additional information regarding the e� orts resulting from the industry summit and any subsequent meetings.

Naturally, I am pleased that BTA was able to facilitate the industry cooperation that led to this industry summit. As noted, this is not the � rst time we have done so in recent years. When a CBS Evening News report fueled interest among lawmakers to pursue legislation regulating the cleansing of data from MFP hard drives, BTA hosted the Data Security Summit in June 2010. A second summit on the issue was held in September of that year. Both were attended by MFP manufacturers and others in the industry. e summit attendees recognized that the real need was not legislation, but better end-user education. I am pleased to say the results of the e� orts set in motion at the two summit meetings have been favor-able for our industry.

Whatever the issue — if it negatively im-pacts our members — BTA is poised to step forward as the industry’s advocate of the dealer channel. ese recent meetings were not the � rst time the association has brought industry players together for the good of all. No doubt, they will not be the last.

— Terry Chapman

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Managed ServicesLooking for an added source of recurring revenue?

by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

The competitive advantages of your deal-ership are being noticed once again. In fact, they are being viewed as ideal for

a service offering that you may have initially seen as quite distant from the core offerings of your company. Your entrepreneurial drive, loyal customer base and inherent ability to sell all point to an opportunity you may want to consider pursuing, if you have not done so already. Providing your customers with man-aged services is no longer as ominous as it may have once seemed.

Today, a growing number of third-party remote monitor-ing and IT management providers are looking to align them-selves with BTA Channel dealers. They bring to the table the right infrastructure and personnel to handle much of the IT management work that may be outside of the scope of your employees’ expertise. They also bring to the table the prom-ise of a new, recurring revenue stream for your dealership.

Third-party management of an end-user’s network is noth-ing new. So, why the BTA Channel? Why now? Some would say it is simply because players in the IT monitoring and management space either have a newfound realization of or an increasing interest in the competitive advantages that dealers offer. The advantages become particularly apparent when compared to more traditional sources of IT support — managed services providers, often referred to as MSPs.

“While managed services providers are very adept at deal-ing with the data side of the equation, they are not particular-ly good at selling,” says Michael George, CEO of Continuum, a SaaS-based managed services platform provider. He notes that the average MSP typically has a small customer base. “They have really just built their businesses upon word of mouth and are not typically professional sales organizations.

“I have a particular affinity for managed services pro-viders from the data side, because they have been the lion’s share of our partner community historically,” George con-tinues. “But their fundamental deficiency is that they don’t really know how to market and sell themselves.”

While MSPs may be deficient in their mar-keting and selling skills as compared to BTA Channel dealers, it appears that many of them are at least making an attempt to broaden their footprints. Increasingly, MSPs are see-ing that there is a new opportunity for them — managing not only the customer’s IT infra-structure, but capturing the customer’s print-ed pages as well.

“Today, they want to go out there and sell hardware and offer managed print services,” says Roy Serhal, senior account executive with

N-able Technologies Inc., a provider of remote monitoring and IT management software. “They have finally noticed and realized, ‘You know what, I ‘own’ the customer’s network. I am the one who approves connecting print output devices, so why shouldn’t I be the one to sell them to the customer?’”

In fact, Serhal says, the new focus of MSPs is leading to a “collision” of IT services, VoIP (voice over IP) and print out-put devices. “For every small and medium business that is in this space, there is an urgency to start offering this three-pronged approach to become the customer’s single point of contact,” he says, advising BTA Channel dealers to take note. “It is becoming very critical for the copier dealer to get into this space [managed services] if he [or she] wants to maintain his customer base.”

George agrees. “You can get into the managed services business or you can plan on a diminishing marketplace for yourself,” he says, advising dealers. “So, there is a very criti-cal, defensive measure that is necessary, because the con-vergence is taking place.”

The management team at Continuum has had its eye on the BTA Channel since acquiring the managed services business from a public company, George says. “During our due diligence, one of the things that we uncovered was a very untapped channel for the distribution of our products and services,” he says. “We felt that our NOC and help desk would uniquely position us to enable the BTA Channel to enter into and dominate this market category.”


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What does a company like Continuum bring to dealers that could lead them to dom-inate the managed services market? “We basically take companies on board and make them effective imme-diately, because we bring all of the technical resources; it’s kind of like ‘just add wa-ter,’” George explains. “We make them, instantaneous-ly, a services provider in the data services world, without the heavy lifting.”

Instead, the heavy lifting is left to Continuum and its NOC (network operations center; for around-the-clock re-mote monitoring of servers, desktops and mobile devices; responding to alerts; providing data protection; etc.) and help-desk services (providing one-on-one support to end users seeking guidance to address specific IT-related prob-lems). The partnering dealership, in turn, provides any on-site IT support that is required, such as replacing a faulty hard drive on a PC, etc. The customer is invoiced monthly by the dealership, given that Continuum’s involvement is “completely white labeled in every dimension,” George says. “That includes all of the reports, etc., and our help desk. So, we answer the phone with the dealer’s company name. We want the dealer to own the relationship; we don’t want to interfere with it.”

It is up to the partnering dealer to determine the fees charged to the end users, George says. “We give them ad-vice, telling them what the current standard market rates are, but we encourage our partners to mark up our prod-ucts,” he says. “They are marking it up two to three times, so the margins are spectacular.”

Jim Burns, general manager of Collabrance LLC, a subsid-iary of GreatAmerica Financial Services, notes another ben-efit for dealers. “I like to think of us as being ‘experienced em-ployees’ of the dealership,” he said of Collabrance, a provider of managed services, complete with its Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based help desk and NOC. “We provide dealers a means to get into the space without a huge investment and we allow them to scale as they get more comfortable and grow their business-es. At the end of the day, dealerships are the technology pro-viders to their customers. Their success is what matters to us.”

Entering the market category does require an investment by the dealer, often in the form of hiring at least one new em-ployee. “Typically, on the technical side, dealers tend to go out and hire new personnel, simply because the resources they already have are utilized or even overutilized to support

the copier side of the busi-ness,” Serhal says. “On the sales side, however, dealers tend to promote from with-in. You want to have at least one dedicated person selling managed services.”

Steve Ricketts, vice presi-dent of marketing for Con-tinuum, offers a slightly different perspective on the need to hire a dedicated person. “They need to only hire one key person as a

senior technician who, essentially, builds the dealership’s credibility with the client and provides on-site support,” he says, noting that Continuum will help dealer partners in the interviewing process. “This person is the ‘IT team leader’ — initially just one person who is providing both sales sup-port, as well as providing the operational IT support. We are backing up that person, providing the rest of the IT service delivery through our NOC and help desk.”

Whether promoting a salesperson from within or hiring a new employee, it is necessary for there to be “direct in-fluence of the principal leaders or the owner,” Burns says, referring to the required level of commitment to ensure suc-cess in managed services. “Everyone starts off excited and invigorated. But where we have seen the most success is where a key leader in the organization is actively involved, talking to sales and support on a daily basis. It shows ev-eryone around the dealership that this is important to the organization.”

Serhal concurs. “We have small dealerships that have five employees and we have dealerships that have 150 employ-ees,” he says. “Either way, the primary things that any suc-cessful managed services dealership has are drive and com-mitment. Yes, we offer support from the technical side, but if you are not willing to invest the time needed into developing the business, then you are wasting both time and money.”

Of course, companies like N-able want to see their dealer partners succeed, so they enter their relationships with tools to help dealers optimize their managed services programs. N-able, for example, provides dealers its Blueprint for Success, which helps them better understand their costs, the pricing model, the best go-to-market strategy, etc. “A long time ago, we recognized that in order for us to achieve our goal, which is making sure that our partners are successful managed ser-vices providers, we have to provide them business help so that they can hit the ground running, rather than going through a year and half of trial and error,” Serhal says.

Ricketts cites one of his company’s support offerings,


“We provide dealers a means to get into the space without a huge investment and we allow them to scale as they ... grow their businesses. At the end of the day, dealerships are the technology providers to their customers.”

— Jim BurnsCollabrance LLC


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which demonstrates the type of assistance dealers can expect from Continuum. “We help them create a pro-fessional video of the IT ser-vices they are offering, and we even script it for them,” he explains, noting that the company has a studio that is available to dealer partners. “They can customize that script if they wish, but either way, we show them how to market themselves to an IT audience. So, as our partner, you have access to video ser-vices as part of our overall sales and marketing program.”

Is the timing right for you to take a look at partnering with a third party to begin providing your customers managed services? If so, it may be helpful to know that the opportunity is quite large. Ricketts estimates that the current penetra-tion by outside managed services providers within the SMB

space — the BTA dealer’s pri-mary target — is only about 5 to 10 percent, “but no more than 10 percent.” George de-scribes it as a “land-grab op-portunity” for dealers.

In addition, George says, dealers may be surprised how quickly success arrives. “It doesn’t take long,” he says. “Generally, the dealer-ship gets a deal quickly and the owner is saying, ‘Wow, we looked at this for three

years, have been offering it now for three weeks and we already have five or six of our customers signed up.’” n

Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor

of Office Technology magazine. He can be reached at [email protected].

“We help them create a professional video of the IT services they are offering, and we even script it for them. They can customize that script if they wish, but ... we show them how to market themselves to an IT audience.”

— Steve RickettsContinuum

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Target: Managed ServicesGAP, Continuum introducing new business model

by: Mitch Morgan, Growth Achievement Partners

The o� ce technology industry is mov-ing quickly toward the managed serv-ices business. BTA Channel dealers are

primed to make a signi� cant impact in this adjacent space, which o ers them a unique opportunity for pro� table growth.

Since 2009, Growth Achievement Partners (GAP) has been presenting the BTA Managed Services Workshop to dealers. Our experience in the IT services market goes back to the ear-ly 1990s. We have worked closely with a vari-ety of companies to help guide their success in this space and have consistently focused on the appropriate metrics that drive high performance. Based on our experience, we believe dealers need a business plan for managed services — sup-ported by a time-tested business model — to be successful.

� e existence of a business model for managed services can help accelerate successful entry into the market. For dealerships that have been in the managed services busi-ness, the opportunity to utilize historical data and ongo-ing model enhancements will provide a continually re� ned road map for future success, much as the model for the traditional business has guided success in the past. � e up-coming announcement and release of a business model at the ITEX National Conference and Expo in Las Vegas (April 17-18) will represent a “di erence-maker” for dealer success in the managed services space.

� e business model for our industry has served as an important guide through the many changes that have oc-curred in the industry. � rough BTA’s ProFinance course, dealers have had access to important measures to help guide business activity and drive � nancial performance. Adherence to a time-tested and consistently updated tem-plate has provided many companies the necessary road map to build healthy businesses, or to recognize and make adjustments, when appropriate, to get back on track.

� e same principles apply to the managed services busi-ness, with one notable di erence. � e IT services business model has been in a constant state of transition, and the key

metrics to measure success have changed with it. � e industry’s business activity has shifted from project revenue to hourly billed service and support, then to a managed ser-vices model characterized by recurring reve-nue. As the business has changed, the success measures have changed with it. For example, e ective hourly billing rates, revenue per engineer and billing utilization percentages were primary success drivers in the past. � ese have been replaced by key metrics,

such as recurring revenue per seat, number of seats under contract and gross margin on managed services contracts.

I am pleased to introduce the Managed Services Business Model to the BTA Channel. � e model re� ects a combined e ort between GAP and Continuum, a leading managed services platform provider in the IT services market. Con-tinuum has brought years of experience and currently man-ages more than 500,000 devices in this environment.

� e model starts with a consistent chart of accounts to record the revenue and expenses into consistent “buck-ets.” Additionally, the model includes a description of select key metrics and operational targets re� ecting some of the more important “guideposts” that can bring value to deal-ers. For instance, the most important � nancial measure for high-performance companies in managed services is gross pro� t on core managed services. � at number should be ap-proaching, if not exceeding, 60 percent in order to achieve appropriate pro� tability levels.

Some additional key metrics in the model include: Revenue — � e appropriate targets, mixes and types,

and how those should change over time. Contracts & Account Expansion — Seats under man-

agement, revenue per seat and growth expectations via additional products and services. Activity & Pipeline — Sales cycle duration, pipeline

metrics and activity targets to achieve business model rev-enue targets. Head Count — Productivity measures for sales and


Morgan Apr 13.indd 1 3/28/13 4:47 PM

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vCIO personnel, tar-get head-count lev-els based on seats managed and cus-tomers under con-tract, and personnel mix between sales and operations. Compensation —

Who to pay, how to pay and when to pay,

as well as target compensation levels as they relate to gross pro� t and revenue. Pro� tability — Target contribution level and opera-

tional levels to enhance performance.� e model also incorporates a focus on next-generation

services to guide dealers to appropriate strategies to opti-mize the business. Two notable examples that are impor-tant to the model and re� ect the strategic direction are hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) and cloud services. HaaS re-� ects providing hardware and software on a monthly pay-ment basis and managing it. It lines up with a core compe-tence of our industry — selling a payment. Based on our analysis, it is a key driver of success for high-performance companies. Additionally, the sale of the appropriate cloud services can bring greater revenue per contract and in-creased account control. � e model will guide participants through issues, such as the percentage of seats under HaaS contract and target gross pro� t margins on cloud services.

� e Managed Services Business Model will be distrib-uted in the ITEX breakout session, “Catapult Your Pro� ts With Uni� ed Managed IT and Cloud Services,” 8:30 to 9:20 a.m. on April 18.

Dealers can learn about the use of the model in the newly updated BTA Managed Services Workshop. � e workshop will next be held on June 19 in Chicago, following the Cruise to Success district event, hosted by BTA Mid-America, on June 17-18. In this one-day class, the model will be reviewed in detail. Attendees will receive a business planning tem-plate for dealers to use in developing appropriate action plans for this critical new business opportunity.

Mitch Morgan is a partner at Growth Achievement Partners. He founded the Connectivity Dealer Program from NIA in

1991. After his business was acquired by IKON O ce Solutions in 1996, he led its Technology Services

division. Morgan has been consulting with CEOs on strategy, operations, organizational development and sales since 2005. He can be

reached at [email protected] or at (913) 269-7255.

Visit www.growthachievementpartners.com.

The model also incorporates a focus on next-generation services to guide dealers to appropriate strategies to optimize the business.


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Assessment 911Determining the success of your MPS engagement

by: Mike Lamothe, Office Document Consulting Inc.

Almost one year ago I received a panicked call from my mother: “It’s your father. I don’t know

what’s wrong with him! He’s rolling on the floor in pain. I need your help!” I could hear him in the background and he was obviously in pain. She went on to say that he woke up in a sweat, breathing strangely, and then rolled out of bed. I told my mother the best way to help him would be to hang up and call 911. Reluctantly, she hung up and called. The emergency operator attempted to calm my mother down and then asked for her help to assess my father. (A little more on this later.)

You have heard all the stats: An unmanaged print environment, for example, can cost as much as 30 per-cent more than necessary. Or, printing costs can be as much as 1 to 3 percent of an organization’s annual revenues. Understanding what the customer is really spending and how it is using its current technology will be determined through a print environment assessment, which can be used to sug-gest possible process or workflow improvements.

Most of you are currently assessing your customers’ tech-nology spending and use, but by no means are you perform-ing a proper assessment. Early in my career, it was always part of my process to ask the customer permission to get a better understanding of his needs before I provided a quote. I would walk around to determine where the devices were, ask what features were important (basically, “speeds and feeds”), ask about volumes and, finally, ask for lease, pur-chase and service costs so that I could create some kind of current versus proposed scenario.

Yes, you are performing assessments, but in a number of cases, problems lie in who approved the project, what you are assessing and where the information came from (Is it

actual customer information or just industry averages?). During my past experience as a general sales manager, I saw sales reps get frustrated with assessments. They took too much time and increased the length of the sales cycle, so reps would cut corners to speed up the process.

Here are four things to keep in mind as you begin or re-fine your own process:

(1) If industry averages are used, make sure you deter-mine if the customer gets any discounts. Understand where the customer buys consumables and whether they are OEM or third-party products.

(2) Ensure that the CFO/comptroller agrees with estimat-ing consumable pricing to avoid objections late in the game.

(3) Have someone help manage the various stages of an assessment and sign off on them before presenting them to the customer. This way, nothing is forgotten or assumed.

(4) Always validate your findings with the financial au-thority and decision maker, because this is where objections


Lamothe Apr 13.indd 1 3/28/13 4:49 PM

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will be discussed and overcome.� e diagram on page 20 is an example

of the steps I took during an assessment I did a few years ago. You might consider putting together a similar diagram so that all critical areas are disclosed and approved before any work begins. All of the steps listed below can vary from customer to customer and, depending on the size of the company, can be com-pleted in a few days. Decision-maker approval A � oor plan to map current device locations An inventory of all print-related technology At least one month of device volumes (if seasonal, more

than one month), preferably with the installation of remote management software Interview a cross section of end users Full disclosure of all related � nancial information All purchases, leases, net book value, capital cost avoid-

ance, consumables, service contracts, time and materials,

and IT-related costs A validation meeting A strategy session A presentation at the decision-

maker level Another way to ensure the entire

assessment process is managed e� ec-tively is to have your MPS champion oversee it. As a rep engages a customer, each phase is reviewed and signed o� on by the MPS champion, who ensures

everything has been completed so the rep can progress to the next step.

Also, keep in mind that there are a number of software solutions on the market today that can help you with assess-ing customers’ print environments. � ey give you the ability to map a customer’s current device locations and con� gura-tions in one step, capture end-users’ device usage, potential process and work� ow improvements and, at the same time, establish a customer’s current � nancial state measured by a proposed solution. In most cases, these solutions can pro-vide a proposal document containing the complete assess-ment � ndings and the proposed solution.

Keep this worthwhile statistic in mind: From my past ex-perience, closing rates on strategic business supported by a thorough assessment were 80 percent or greater. Taking the time to manage the process systematically is well worth the e� ort.

Getting back to my personal situation: I arrived at the hospital to � nd out my father was in critical care after suf-fering a massive heart attack. After a few days of tests and a complete cardiac assessment, they determined he had sev-en blockages. My father has since had bypass surgery that cleared all of the blockages and he is back to normal. To this day, my mother reminds me of the 911 operator asking her to assess my father as he su� ered on the � oor. � e ultimate outcome was a success.

Although it is by no means a matter of life or death, do not lose sight of the fact that taking the necessary time and approach to assessing your customer’s print environment can determine whether your engagement is successful. � e health of your customer’s print environment will determine your longevity within the account.

Mike Lamothe is president of O ce Document Consulting Inc. (ODC). ODC specializes

in MPS strategies, developing software tools and implementing MPS programs at

dealerships across North America. He can be reached at

ml@o cedocumentconsulting.com. Visit www.o cedocumentconsulting.com.

From my past experience, closing rates on strategic business supported by a thorough assessment were 80 percent or greater.


Lamothe Apr 13.indd 2 3/28/13 9:02 AM

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‘Change or Die!’ Really?Beware of doom & gloom, false optimism

by: Edward McLaughlin, Valderus LLC

Over the past few months, I have heard or read enough conflicting information about how our industry is changing that, frankly, my brain feels like it could ex-

plode. Managed print services (MPS), the savior only a few years ago, is now considered a commodity, or worse. Now it is network IT services. If we do not embrace these services, we are told, we will be out of business in a few years. Both positions are dead wrong.

We all know that page volumes are decreasing, but there are some who say pages are going to come roaring back with a soaring economy (frankly, I expect neither). There was even an industry executive (who shall remain nameless) who stat-ed: “All paper will be gone in two years.” That was two years ago. I wonder what he is thinking now? The combination of doom and gloom and false optimism is maddening.

I do not want to mislead anyone. There is a great deal of change happening to the processes and forces that impact our business. We only need to look back a few decades to see how the use of what used to be an absolute staple in the office — the typewriter — has changed. Similarly, it is dif-ficult to find anyone focusing on microfilm reader printers these days. Process and technology changes can essentially eliminate an entire industry.

I am, however, weary of the “Chicken Little” approach to motivating change. I also disagree with the idea that every-one must leave their existing knowledge base and leap into services that they are not equipped or structured to deploy. While it is true that print volumes are declining, they are also evolving and shifting, and that, candidly, is more important.

So, how do we take advantage of this evolution and posi-tion ourselves to prosper in the document business? First, we need to understand that one size does not fit everyone. It really depends on where your company is today and how well you can work with multiple partners. Are you account focused or transaction focused? Are you fully engaged in all segments of the business or only the lower segments? Are you fully engaged in the machine intelligence provided by your manufacturer or do you only sell an identified “best-in-breed” application? Do your compensation programs align

with your desired outcomes? Are the changes you make in your business motivated by the value you bring to your cus-tomers — or where someone told you the money is?

Let’s look at the way that pages have changed over the past few decades and what forces are accelerating those changes today. In 1990, nearly 90 percent of all page output in the office landed in the copier output tray. Today, that number is closer to 20 percent. The shift is mostly attrib-uted to the proliferation of the desktop laser printer. Less than 5 percent of color images were created on-site in 1990. The four-color process was commercially available, but the biggest customers were off-site service bureaus and print shops. Today, color is everywhere and off-site production work is moving in-house. Also, a relatively recent develop-ment is the impact of mobile devices, which reduce the de-pendency on convenience printing.

The lower value prints in our industry are going away and no level of economic upturn will bring them back. They are gone forever. They are not, however, disappearing overnight. If your business is focused on fighting for these declining prints, you do have a problem. And, if that is the case, you are not even remotely prepared to shift into IT services. Actually, you are not really ready for MPS (which should not be confused with cost-per-copy printing) either. The real opportunity is with the off-site production of high-value color prints that is moving in-house. This opportunity


McLaughlin Apr 13.indd 1 3/28/13 9:10 AM

Print Audit ad Apr 13.indd 1 3/25/13 12:58 PM

offers double-digit growth for both the top and bottom lines. This is one of the most significantly growing volume seg-ments in the document business. Nearly every manufacturer has a product offer-ing. If you are not taking advantage of it, you should wait no longer. You do not have to be in a major market to take ad-vantage and it is also within your exist-ing core business model.

Let’s talk about the lost promise of MPS. There has been so much said about this lately that I do not know where to begin. Personally, I have always felt that the opportunity was real, but the hype was overstated and oversimplified. MPS is a consequence of the natural evolu-tion of products. In this case, the printer. All products go through a decline in value. From the first day a product is introduced, it begins to lose value. If you graph the life cycle, you will see a point where services are interjected to create new value. These services give new life to the value chain.

I recall an industry meeting a number of years ago where there was a panel discussion about evolving technology. Somehow, the discussion shifted to the then newly intro-duced iPod. There were a number of critics of the technol-ogy. A lot was said about hard drives versus RAM and flash memory. I remember creating a little stir when I suggested that the entire conversation was irrelevant. I argued that it was all about the content received through iTunes. The product did not really matter. Was it easy to use? Yes. Was it sexy? Yes. But, it was iTunes that made it relevant. Today, not many would argue about this point. It was the service that changed the value offering. Nobody cared about what was inside the device.

The same is true with MPS. It is not so much that MPS did not live up to the promise as much as we never really un-derstood the opportunity. The average dealer is doing about 10 to 12 percent of his (or her) business in MPS; it should be twice that and maybe more. In fact, if you have 100 percent of the MFPs, you only have 20 percent of the pages.

The move to MPS meant a transition from a transaction-based sales process to an account development sales pro-cess. But that transition has still not happened. It is still a churn business and we are completely device-focused. Most dealers, when asked about their recent MPS success, will discuss the placement of new printers in an account. This is simply not an MPS transaction. They may have picked up the printers and put the billing on a cost-per-print basis, but that is not MPS.

All services are about knowledge. In fact, MPS is a knowl-edge business. MPS is about the base and the prints — it has nothing to do with devices. It is the management of a very

fluid environment. In fact, the single thing that has dealers upset is the cost of managing all that movement and the number of devices that just cannot seem to stay in one place.

Even the reactive method of service response that serves us so well with the copier/MFP base is miserably inad-equate for MPS. I have had the privilege to see, up close, the process used by some who are successful in the MPS arena; it

is a self-created predictive service model. It comes from being very account focused and the affect on efficiency is stunning.

I have also sat with CIOs who told me about very compel-ling additional benefits they received from well-managed print fleets. To me, the most interesting thing has been that the level of account knowledge picked up from a well-man-aged account offers a very compelling competitive advan-tage for MFP placements and competitive activity.

It is true that the opportunity has been oversold as a growth industry. First, it is not an industry — it is a service inside the office technology industry. Second, the growth is in picking up new “real estate.” Prints, as I stated earlier, are declining. Printing is a mature industry, and that maturity is what creates the opportunity for services or knowledge to help an account control and maximize its output.

So, here we are at network IT services — the “next big thing.” We are told to “embrace this or die” or that “this is where the money is.” Is it all hype? Like all advice, there is an element of truth.

Unfortunately, the entry level of this business is even more of a commodity than any other part of the copier/MFP/printer business. The truth is at the very high level of big data/business intelligence (BI) downloads and manage-ment. There is also a big opportunity in offloading mission-critical business processes and managing them. Your com-petition will be IBM, AT&T, Verizon and Century Link, just to name a few.

Unstructured data management, disaster recovery and business continuance are also big opportunities. What do you know about them? The resources and partners required are mind numbing. I actually know of only one dealership in the country that is doing these things successfully. The reason? The company has been in IT for years. Management knows where the company can bring value and it is account focused. There may be a few others, but not many can produce the scale and focus to make it pay. In short, this advice to “jump into IT” is as shallow as the advice to simply “jump into MPS” was. It will be equally disappointing to follow this advice.

We are told that if we do not have the skill set, we can just partner with a company that does. Perhaps, but wait until

Even the reactive method of service response that serves us so well with the copier/MFP base is miserably inadequate for MPS.



you see all the partnerships you willneed. If you are having a di cult time managing the many pieces of MPS al-ready, partnering is far more complicated.

� en there is the danger of vendor con-solidation. Companies want one person to turn to for all of their problems. What if you do not do it all? � is business does not utilize your existing skill sets; you need to develop new ones. It takes being “account focused” to another level.

Can your manufacturer help? Perhaps. Some are certain-ly further along than others and some have made signi� cant investments in developing the skill sets. � is, however, is a decision you have to evaluate. I am not about to endorse one vendor over another, but network services is a business de-manding resources, strong partnerships and knowledge.

In closing, take another look at the MPS business. If done properly, it will help you evolve to a more account-centric organization. � at alone will help you transition and evolve. But MPS is actually a step into our past — we were much more account focused 30 years ago than we are today. Mov-ing to MPS will help us get closer to our customers and get a better sense of how we create value.

Alignment is the key. Make sure that your processes and priorities are aligned with your customers’ needs. Invest

in some account management. Ensure there is freedom to develop your ac-counts. Adjust your reward system to align with your mission. And forget about sharing commission; every sales-person I know failed “sandbox.” � ose programs only create resentment and a lack of teamwork.

Most of all, stay true to yourself, know your strengths and weakness, and if ad-visors are telling you to employ their sys-

tem or “you will go out of business,” � re them. An industry veteran with 40 years of experience,

Edward McLaughlin is chairman of Valderus, a newly formed holding company focused on bringing together dealerships

with an innovative approach for shared pro� tability while retaining local management and brand identity.

Previously, he was president of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. Prior to Sharp,

he held sales and management positions with several Fortune 500 companies,

including 3M Co., SCM, Saxon Industries, Canon U.S.A. Inc. and Savin Corp.

He can be reached at [email protected].

Visit www.valderus.com.

I am not about to endorse one vendor over another, but network services is a business demanding resources, strong partnerships and knowledge.

w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g. c o m | A p r i l 2 0 1 3 | 27


Managing MobilityDealerships already have the skills, resources

by: Greg Walters & Jennifer Shutwell, Walters & Shutwell Inc.

Today, companies need more help than ever managing the increased responsibility of in-

formation and workflow surrounding mobile devices. This provides an op-portunity for the BTA Channel — and it is easily within reach. That is, office technology dealerships have the ex-isting employee skills and resources needed to launch a successful mobil-ity practice.

The reasons to consider the oppor-tunity are compelling. Dealers are being challenged by the increasing usage of screen technol-ogy over paper. According to IDC and Credit Suisse, in 2012 there were 107.4 million tablets and 687.9 million smart-phones sold worldwide. These numbers are expected to in-crease to 142.8 million and 1.05 billion, respectively, in 2014. IDC reports that in 2010, users of mobile devices download-ed 10.9 billion apps and it is projecting users will be down-loading 76.9 billion apps in 2014.

With this growth in mobility over such a short period of time, management challenges are vast. The increasing costs of labor, hardware, software, maintenance, etc., are relatively easy to see because they are visible. The difficulty lies with the complexity and impact of what cannot be seen. This includes not only hard costs, but soft costs related to the rapidly increasing volume of storage needed, disaster recovery, security, end-user productivity, help-desk resolu-tion, IT support and infrastructure, administrative costs and environmental controls.

Been There, Done ThatThe Business Technology Association (BTA) and the deal-

er channel have been in place for decades. Most would be surprised to learn that BTA was founded in 1926; the asso-ciation and its members have weathered many changes over the years. The office of tomorrow, no matter how it changes, has its roots in the 19th century in U.S. business machines

that evolved from quills to comput-ers in about 100 years. As we consid-er the gargantuan and swift changes being experienced today — including the rise of mobility — there is com-fort in reflecting upon the previous tectonic shifts.

BTA and the dealer channel have been here before. From world wars to recessions, typewriters to computers, steno pads to spell check, during each economic and technology shift, there was no doubt a great deal of doom-

and-gloom talk. Yet, the office — and those who supported the many activities of business — prevailed and thrived.

Consider the copier industry’s humble beginnings. Down-the-street sales harken back to the days of cold calls, one-appointment closes and hiring decisions based on the size of the vehicle a candidate drove. It had to be big enough to carry two machines and “don’t come back to the office until they are both sold.”

Through the 1980s and into the next century, business technology advanced and, with it, the way our industry op-erated continued to evolve. Today, our services span from basic copying to network support and cloud applications. As we face the challenges of today, looking back, it is easy to see that we already know what we need to know.

Managed ServicesWe have heard about and, at the very least, considered

moving into managed network services, managed IT ser-vices or simply “managed services.” Interestingly, managed services — including the management of mobile devices — has always appeared to be a natural progression from man-aged print services (MPS). It has been said that if you can manage printing, you can manage anything.

As natural as the MPS to managed services step appears to be, there are challenges to entry. We see three common bar-riers: (1) fear of not having the knowledge set; (2) regarding


Walters Shutwell Apr 13.indd 1 3/28/13 9:38 AM

IT professionals as more than what they are; and (3) expanding beyond one’s com-fort level.

Relativity can sometimes help clar-ify the facts. If we think our industry’s transformation is intense, consider what is happening in the IT realm.

The personal computer (PC) is a ubiq-uitous device throughout the business environment. In 2009, 64.6 percent of all computing was performed on a PC. In Q4 of 2012, only 24.8 percent of computing was performed on a PC. In three short years, the tide erased nearly two de-cades of PC growth in usage, in terms of processing. For us, it would be like experiencing a 40-percent drop in volume during a 36-month lease.

The driving factors are many and manifest themselves even more in the increased usage of tablets and smartphones with the advent of the cloud and the grass-roots bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement. Despite all this turmoil, pun-dits do not describe this time as a “post-PC era.” Actually, the

impact is on the office technology deal-er’s domain. As consulting firm Deloitte LLP states: “Tablet computers replace paper, not PCs.”

Establishing a Mobility PracticeThe insights we have from managing

printing can be applied to today’s mobil-ity movement. This service is about ac-tively managing devices and processes that are enabling communication and

freedom for people and information to move. Information may be stored in the cloud and accessed through services like Salesforce, Amazon, Microstrategy, Apple and Google.

Accessing massive amounts of data from anywhere is in-creasing with Wi-Fi connections available for free. Consider this: There are 7,000 Starbucks, 15,000 government libraries and 12,000 McDonald’s offering free Internet access across the country. Internet access is becoming ubiquitous, which further supports mobile users being free to move around the country; managing these changes is of utmost importance.

This service is about actively managing devices and processes that are enabling communication and freedom for people and information to move.

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To kick off a mobility practice, you should start with evaluating ways to combine and expand services from the addressable needs of your clients’ mobil-ity growth patterns. According to Comp-TIA’s guide for solution providers that want to craft a mobility strategy, there are eight key steps to consider: (1) Evalu-ate and assess; (2) Understand business goals and priorities; (3) Consider end us-ers; (4) Address the issue of devices; (5) Opt for mobile life-cycle management; (6) Secure the device, network and data; (7) Develop an app strategy; and (8) Cod-ify the mobile policy.

Each step addresses an aspect of what it is going to take to build a holistic approach to provide managed mobility services. Do some of these steps sound familiar? For the dealer community, many have already taken this type of approach with MPS. Consequently, many dealerships have already acquired or developed the skills and resources nec-essary to put together the operational infrastructure for a mobility practice without even knowing it. It is a matter of directing operational team members to look at what else they can monitor and manage by utilizing remote monitor-ing and management (RMM) tools. VARs have been using RMM tools for years; now that dealers are beginning to use them, a whole new world is opening.

The Dealer’s EdgeThere are striking similarities and differences between

the dealer and IT VAR business models. As far as similari-ties, both models are turning toward using similar client engagement models to pursue services with value propo-sitions, assessments, proposals, contractual agreements, implementation methodologies, service and support levels, and continuous improvement plans. However, when you look a little deeper, you begin to see apples and oranges.

For example, dealers are excellent at facilitating on-site sales meetings and service functions. In contrast, the VAR would rather perform sales and service from a remote loca-tion. When it comes to billing, dealers are accustomed to monthly leasing and service fees, while VARs are more famil-iar with large capital purchase orders and one-time annual maintenance agreements. These are just a couple of the many differences between dealer and VAR business models as you consider your go-to-market strategy for a mobility practice.

First StepsThere are some actionable steps you can take today. Begin

with assessing the current state of your market, business and operation, and then choose to build, buy or partner. If your

IT acumen is weak, then strengthen it through training or hiring additional resources. This will mean re-evaluating your current talent pool and determin-ing who is onboard with your new ad-venture and who is not.

Evaluating your client base and un-derstanding the relationship spectrum is critical. Some clients are commodity buyers, while others want a unique so-lution that will add specific and mea-

surable value to their businesses. When designing your mo-bility services, remember to build a spectrum that relates to the client with value and dollars.

Establishing a mobility practice enables dealers to ac-celerate revenue streams to create more secure and sus-tainable operations as client demands grow. Like many times before for BTA dealerships, it is time to transform the what — not the why — of your business. The new, recurring monthly revenue provided by mobility is available in your existing client base today; your current ways of servicing clients are particularly valuable as you pursue a mobility strategy. Good selling. n

Greg Walters, senior correspondent for the Business Transformation Center, is president of the Managed Print

Services Association (MPSA) and Walters & Shutwell, a mobility, communications and transformation consultancy.

During an IT sales and services career that has spanned a quarter century, he helped turn a large West Coast VAR’s struggling managed print services practice into a highly

profitable business. A prolific writer and frequent speaker at industry events, Walters considers himself a “contrarian

technologist” — someone with a unique and provocative view of technology and how to sell it in the 21st century.

He can be reached at [email protected] or (909) 239-7894.

Jennifer Shutwell, CEO of Walters & Shutwell, has nearly 20 years inside the document services industry. Her experience includes successful selling with dealerships and OEM direct

operations, including IKON Office Solutions, Hewlett-Packard, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. and Canon Business Solutions Inc. Most recently she served as a

senior consultant with Photizo Group prior to co-founding Walters & Shutwell. Shutwell is known for her insights and recommendations

on complex business environments.

She can be reached at [email protected]

or (980) 333-3658. Visit www.waltersshutwell.com.

Establishing a mobility practice enables dealers to accelerate revenue streams to create more secure and sustainable operations as client demands grow.



Printer Essentials offers the largest selection of compatible imaging, copier and power products in the industry. Quality products with rigorous testing - backed with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee but manufactured to stop potential problems BEFORE they reach your customer.

We give you the freedom to choose from a robust and comprehensive MPS program or a cost effective and simple to use Auto-fulfillment program. Each program offers a hassle-free solution to guarantee sales and secure business with your customers.

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Printer Essentials ad Apr 13.indd 1 3/27/13 2:09 PM

With each passing day, I re-ceive more and more inquir-ies regarding non-compete,

non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements. Dealership owners are tak-ing all necessary precautions to protect their customer bases and avoid unfair competition from ex-employees who leave with confidential information. In reality, these precautions are essential and have varying enforceability from state to state. However, is the correct emphasis being placed on the employ-ment relationship? Do we worry about an individual leaving rather than imple-ment strategies to keep employees and develop a loyal team?

Employees are the most valuable as-sets a business has — good products and excellent service are not sold by themselves. Recruiting, training and developing employees is an expensive undertak-ing. Satisfied employees can be convinced to leave and try an-other dealership, whereas loyal employees sing your praises and are not about to leave. This year should be the year when you develop loyal employees who are committed to your or-ganization and to customer satisfaction.

If you are not building your team with team members who support each other, you really do not have an organization. A dealer I work with on a regular basis offered starting positions to all graduating seniors on a local college hockey team. The results were outstanding. Their team spirit and cooperation was brought to their employment. They had each other’s backs and gladly covered for and assisted each other. It was all “us” and not “me.” Customer satisfaction soared while repeat and expanded business came to the dealership.

The following 12 questions are a result of a major study con-ducted by the Gallup organization and published in the book, “First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Manag-ers Do Differently,” by Marcus Buckingham. In his book, Buck-ingham suggests that the first six questions contain the basic foundation for the success of each member of the team. Hav-ing your team answer these questions on a one-to-five scale is a great exercise. Following the assessment, organize a team meeting to discuss the results. The questions are:

(1) Do I know what is expected of me at work?

(2) Do I have the materials, resourc-es and equipment I need to perform my job correctly?

(3) At work, do I have the opportu-nity to do what I do best every day?

(4) In the past seven days, have I re-ceived recognition or praise for doing good work?

(5) Does my supervisor seem to care about me as a person?

(6) Is there someone at work who en-courages my development?

(7) Do my opinions seem to count at work?

(8) Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel that my job is important?

(9) Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?(10) Do I have a best friend at work?(11) In the last six months, has someone spoken with me

about my progress?(12) This last year, have I had opportunities to work, to learn

and to grow?These questions will assist you in building a quality team

that is devoted to your business and to customer satisfaction. The goal each month is not sales revenue, but developing loyal employees and customers who will generate sales and growth.

Every employee needs to feel appreciated and that his (or her) contributions are recognized while he continues to grow in his role. Employees also recognize those individuals who are not making a proper contribution and they understand when these individuals are replaced on the team.

By having your employees respond to these questions and by discussing them in team meetings, loyalty will grow and thoughts of leaving will diminish. Although it is essential to pro-tect yourself from departing employees who may take confidential information, the real emphasis should be placed on building employee loyalty. This investment will pay rewards for years. n

Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

He can be reached at [email protected].

Building Your TeamPlace an emphasis on employee loyalty

by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association

COURTS & CAPITOLS


Goldberg Apr 13.indd 1 3/28/13 10:05 AM

April24 Building My Business Webinar - “Eight Simple Rules for Getting the Most Out of Your Sales Force”

This webinar, geared to business owners and managers, covers the eight key components of building a sales force. Included are sales planning, hiring, compensation, activity management, relationships and more. Led by Troy Harrison of SalesForce Solutions, this webinar will include direct takeaways that you can use to help grow your business now and throughout 2013. Visit www.bta.org/BuildingMyBusiness to register.

25-26 FIX: Cost Management for Service Workshop New Orleans, La.FIX teaches you how to compute the cost of your service labor hour (service burden rate) and im-prove your overall service department profi tability. Instructors Ronelle Ingram and Rock Janecek will cover proven management and customer service programs to improve morale within your service department. The April 25-26 workshop’s fee includes admission to the AIMED Product Showcase on April 25, and the keynote speech by USPS Senior Vice President Jim Cochrane on April 26. Visit www.bta.org/FIX to register.

June5-6 ProFinance 2.0 Denver, Colo.

With more than 30 key benchmarks, including benchmarks for MPS, ProFinance 2.0 will help you and your team achieve double-digit operating income. John Hanson and John Hey of Strategic Business Associates will share their knowledge from their experience in building one of the largest dealerships in North America and from advising many successful companies in the industry. Visit www.bta.org/ProFinance to register.

17-18 Cruise to Success - A BTA district event hosted by BTA Mid-America Chicago, Ill.BTA Mid-America will host its annual district event, open to BTA members and non-members from across the country, June 17-18, 2013, at the DoubleTree by Hilton - Magnifi cent Mile. The event will feature a keynote presentation by Doug Albregts, president of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, four additional educational sessions presented by industry leaders, and a dealer panel focused on turning business disruption into opportunity. In addition, there will be time to network with fellow dealers and visit with 30-plus exhibiting sponsors. To wrap up the event, attendees will enjoy a three-hour scenic skyline dinner cruise on the Spirit of Chicago. Visit www.bta.org/BTAMidAmericaEvent to register.

For more information, visit www.bta.org/Education or call (800) 843-5059.

EDUCATION CALENDAR


Calendar Apr 13.indd 1 3/28/13 4:48 PM

BTA HIGHLIGHTS

BTA would like to welcome the following new members to the association:

Dealer MembersHigh Sierra Business Systems, Carson City, NV

Visual Edge Technology, North Canton, OH

Service Associate MembersCaley Enterprises, Canton, OH

National Printer Repair Network, Whitinsville, MA

For full contact information of thesenew members, visit www.bta.org.

CompTIA Exam Voucher Discounts BTA member dealers may purchase dis-counted exam vouchers for CompTIA’s CDIA+ certifi cation direct from BTA for only $241, a $43 savings. CompTIA CDIA+ certifi cation covers the knowledge needed for a career in the digital imaging and enterprise content management industry. BTA member dealers may also purchase discounted exam vouchers for CompTIA’s PDI+ certifi cation direct from BTA for only $222, a $39 savings. CompTIA PDI+ certifi es that an individual has the required knowledge and skills of the core operations of printing and document imaging devices. CompTIA PDI+ serves as a foundation for a career involving the service and support of printers, copier/MFPs, scanners and fax machines. For more information, visit www.bta.org/CompTIAVouchers.

For information on BTA member benefi ts, visit www.bta.org/MemberBenefi ts.

For the benefi t of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its Vendor or Service Associate members in this space.

BTA Vendor Associate Mem-ber Paessler AG,

based in Nuremberg, Germany, with repre-sentatives in the United States, offers network monitoring solutions that provide peace of mind, confi dence and convenience at an af-fordable price. Paessler has been at the fore-front of providing the industry’s most powerful, affordable and easy-to-use network solutions since the dawn of the modern Internet. Its lightweight products make it easy and conve-nient to manage network availability, perfor-mance and usage without draining valuable system, personnel and fi nancial resources.

www.paessler.com

BTA Service As-sociate Member National Printer

Repair Network (NPRN) consists of printer and copier/MFP dealers across North America who have agreed to assist each other in re-pairing imaging equipment for a fi xed dollar amount and parts markup. This agreement ensures these companies can maintain their profi tability for their national account custom-ers. NPRN was founded by Frank Topinka, an industry and managed print services veteran who is dedicated to growing membership and extending the coverage footprint throughout North America.

www.nprn.net

A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.


Highlights Apr 13.indd 1 3/28/13 8:38 AM

Digitek/Reception ads Apr 13.indd 1 3/28/13 8:00 AM

Obsolete InventoryIt has a tremendous impact on your financial health

by: Ken Staubitz, BEI Services

Let’s face it, inventory management is not a glamorous topic. Generally speaking, most people’s eyes glaze over when even broached with the subject. However, the

manner in which you manage your inventory has a dramatic impact on your organization’s cash flow.

Consider that the items in your inventory — whether they are sitting on a shelf in your warehouse, in one of your tech-nician’s cars, on your demo floor, etc. — are dollars residing in these locations. Also, consider the opportunity cost of the excess dollars tied up in your inventory. The more dollars an organization has tied up in unused inventory, the less money the organization has to spend on other things (e.g., raises, technology, new initiatives). As a business owner, what else could you do with this money if it was not tied up in excess — or obsolete — inventory?

Unavoidably, your organization has to purchase and main-tain a stock of goods that you sell, but there is a delicate bal-ance in ensuring your organization maintains the appropri-ate amount of items used while reducing its risk of inventory write-off. Having inadequate inventory on hand to meet de-mand can result in upset clients waiting on much-needed items. Conversely, too much inventory on hand can increase the organization’s risk of future write-offs.

All major enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has some type of inventory module with varying degrees of automation, allowing one to create minimum and maximum stocking levels, reorder products, restock warehouse loca-tions, transfer items, etc. The degree to which you take advan-tage of this automation really depends on the skill and exper-tise of your logistics staff in optimizing the use of the software.

Automation is fantastic at minimizing redundancy and reducing errors. There is no question that your organization should leverage the technologies purchased for the benefit of the company. However, the degree of automation does not matter if one is purchasing and maintaining inventory that is not being used, increasing your risk of write-off. On the other hand, not stocking enough of the items being used will lead to increased service manpower, which can put customer service levels at risk.

To illustrate my point, consider the following example: ABC Company is doing a fantastic job exceeding various BTA Channel service benchmarks. Service margins, first-call effec-tiveness and net calls per day are all at, or above, benchmark. This organization is optimizing the use of its ERP software to

reorder, restock and account for inventory. The technicians are happy because they typically have the parts needed to fix a customer’s problem on the first visit. Generally speaking, the logistics department at ABC Company is happy because when it comes time to take a physical inventory, everything is accounted for within reason.

After joining the Overstock Parts Network (OPN, www.over stockpartsnetwork.com), ABC Company was provided with a detailed snapshot of various overstocked and obsolete parts in its inventory. The analysis was staggering. The owner of the organization was surprised (an understatement) to find that the company was warehousing more than $109,000 in parts that had not been used in more than 18 months.

Of the $109,000 in obsolete inventory, more than $20,000 was residing in technician car stocks. Further analysis showed that the company purchased more than $5,000 in parts that were already residing in some of the technicians’ car stock in-ventories. Now, the organization must decide what to do with

service connections


Staubitz Apr 13.indd 1 3/22/13 1:22 PM

the obsolete inventory, address the various process issues that are creating an abun-dance of obsolete items in the technicians’ car stocks and avoid purchasing items al-ready in stock.

� e good news for ABC Company is that the owner is now aware of this opportunity. In order to reduce inventory and increase cash � ow, the company sold many of these obsolete items to the OPN. In addition, the OPN analysis provided ABC Company with a list of understocked items, allowing managers to order the needed inventory before risking any customer relationships.

Inventory management is not glamorous and � ashy, but it has a tremendous impact on the � nancial health of the orga-nization. Not enough of the right inventory will create upset customers, resulting in a decline in market share. Too much inventory can hamstring the organization’s ability to invest in areas to gain market share. Isn’t it time you took a closer look at the location and use of your money (inventory)?

Ken Staubitz has experience in all levels of service and operations. Before joining the

BEI Services team, he was an operations and service consultant for Strategy

Development, where he trained and coached hundreds of vice presidents and service

managers in best practices to maximize productivity and e� ectiveness. While

working in the dealer channel, Staubitz was the director of client services for

Modern O ce Methods (MOM), Cincinnati, Ohio, managing more than 60 service personnel

in various locations. He consistently exceeded various � nancial and operational benchmarks, which allowed him to successfully train and consult for both

the dealer channel and various manufacturers to improve their service operations. He can be

reached at [email protected] or (513) 200-2169.

Visit www.beiservices.com.

Inventory management is not glamorous and fl ashy, but ithas a tremendous impact on the fi nancial health of the organization.


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22 • Ask the Analyst

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/AsktheAnalyst

27 • BTA Marketplace

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/BTAMarketplace

35 • BTA Member Appreciation Reception

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/ITEXReception

2-3 • BTA Mid-America District Event

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/BTAMidAmericaEvent

18 • Business Imaging Expo

www.businessimagingexpo.com

9 • Clover Technologies Group

www.clovertech.com

39 • Continuum

(724) 720-9001 / www.continuum.net

21 • Digital Gateway

(866) 342-8392 / www.digitalgateway.com

5 • DocuWare

(888) 565-5907 / www.docuware.com

35 • Digitek

(888) 353-0301 / www.digitek.com

37 • ENX Magazine

(818) 505-0022 / www.enxmag.com

40 • GreatAmerica Financial Services

(800) 234-8787 / www.greatamerica.com

14 • IBPI

(480) 393-1694 / www.ibpi.net

23 • Innovolt

(877) 682-7015 / www.innovolt.com

19 • Miracle Service/Nexent Innovations

(866) 639-3681 / www.miracleservice.com

11 • MSE

(800) 673-4968 / www.mse.com

15 • MWA Intelligence

(800) 875-2371 / www.mwaintelligence.com

25 • Print Audit

www.printaudit.com/pc1

31 • Printer Essentials

(800) 965-1180 / www.printeressentials.com

38 • ProFinance 2.0

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/ProFinance

17 • Samsung

(866) 726-4249 / www.samsung.com/mpa

29 • Sindoh

www.sindoh.com

13 • Toshiba

(949) 462-6201 / www.business.toshiba.com/dealer

7 • West Point Products

www.westpointproducts.com

Advertiser index

Ad Index Apr 13.indd 1 3/27/13 4:53 PM

Upsize Your Business While Maintaining Downsized CostsOne of the hottest topics at ITEX 2013 is how resellers, VARS and MSPs can capitalize on the rapidly growing managed IT services market opportunity — estimated at $118 billion in IT spend among small to medium-sized businesses.

This is where choosing the right technology partner can mean the difference between success and survival. A partner like Continuum, working closely with Growth Achievement Partners (GAP), co-authored an industry-first managed services business model that shows you how to scale your business without adding staff.

Upsize your business. Stop by booth 503 to learn more about our fully integrated managed services platform and see why office product resellers are turning to Continuum for unprecedented levels of automation and efficiency that are not possible with master managed services providers. For more information, please contact us at [email protected] or call (724) 720-9001.

www.continuum.net724.720.9001 • [email protected]

503Stop by Booth

Continuum ad Apr 13.indd 1 3/26/13 8:41 AM

Helping You get tHere. greatamerica.

www.greatamerica.com | 800.234.8787

Where do you Want to take your business?

GreatAmerica is committed to helping you get there. From Managed Print Services and HR support to Managed IT Services, we’ve developed a suite of offerings that go well beyond traditional financing solutions.

Our goal is to help you achieve greater success.

“EGP Document Solutions has valued working together with GreatAmerica as true business partners. We trust GreatAmerica with our clients. Thanks to GreatAmerica, our business has successfully grown over the years.”

John GleasonVice President

EGP Document Solutions Visit us at Booth #511

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