Last month, we reported on how Chicagoarea dealer Feller Business Solutions movedquickly to do its part to help victims of theHaiti earthquake, by donating one day’sprofits from online sales to relief efforts.

Now, comes word from Pensacola,Florida, of a similar effort by Mark andJohn Wright and Lane Harper and theirteam at Gulf Coast Office Products(GCOP).

GCOP took a slightly different tack for theirfundraising. They picked a day last month

and committed to donate 2% of all pur-chases made that day to Haiti disaster relief.

“The response among our customers wasincredible and we ended up posting ourbiggest office supplies sales day ever,” re-ports John.

The result: The GCOP team was able topresent their local Red Cross with a much-needed check for $3,000 and provide yetone more example of the independentdealer’s ability to move quickly and with in-novation in support of deserving causes.

Like It or Not,You Still Needto Be Investingin Technology!

Our cover story this month is long—abouttwice as many pages as it usually gets—but there’s a very good reason for that.

Putting it simply, technology is right at thetop of the list of mission-critical issues fortoday’s independents and if you aren’tgiving it the time, effort and yes, financialresources it deserves, you’re putting yourdealership and its future at serious risk.

Nobody right now is exactly looking foropportunities to spend money. But like itor not, technology is one of those areaswhere you don’t really have a whole lot ofchoice.

Regardless of the state of the market orthe overall economy, you need a businesssystem that helps you maximize the pro-ductivity of your people at every opportu-nity.

You also need a web site that’s just asgood if not better than anything your bigbox competition is currently putting outthere.

And you need tools to give you criticalbusiness information—on your salesteam, on product trends and, most impor-tantly, on what your customers are andare not buying.

And, one last item for the list: You needtechnology training and periodic visitsfrom consultants to make sure you’rekeeping up to speed and making the mostof your investment on an ongoing basis.

Is all this expensive? You bet! But askyourself this: What will it cost your busi-ness tomorrow if you don’t spend moneyon the technology you need today? Youknow the answer to that question as wellas I do. Do yourself and your business ahuge favor and act accordingly.

THE

WINNERS’Circle

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 2

Left to right: John Wright and Lane Harper of GCOP, Jerry Kindle of the Red Cross and Mark Wright of GCOP ata presentation ceremony for the funds raised by the dealership in support of Haiti disaster relief.

Gulf Coast Office Products, Pensacola Dealer, Enjoys ‘Best Sales Day Ever’ in Support of Haiti Relief

Congratulations are in order and thensome for Jennifer Smith, president of In-novative Office Solutions in Burnsville,Minnesota, who later this month will befeted at a special awards banquet by En-terprising Women magazine as one of its2010 “Enterprising Women of the Year.”

Enterprising Women is the national magazinefor women business owners and Jenniferwas selected by the publication’s editorialteam from hundreds of nominations.

Award winners were chosen on the basisof outstanding business growth, mentoringand supporting other women in business,and leadership in their communities andJennifer certainly qualifies on all counts.

Jennifer started IOS with 23 people in Juneof 2001, just months before 9/11 hit andsent the economy into a tailspin. Sincethen, she and her team have taken thedealership and turned it into a thriving or-ganization, close to 60 people strong andwith annual sales in excess of $22 million.

Jennifer was profiled recently by a TwinCities small business magazine and shelaid out her management style and philos-ophy for them. “For me it’s truly my wholeteam,” she said. “We all work together.When you all create something together,that feeds on itself.”

And if the past nine years offer any indica-tion, the food’s been pretty darned tasty!

Jennifer Smith, Twin Cities Dealer, Named an ‘Enterprising Woman of the Year’

THE ADVANTAGE BUSINESS CONFERENCE IS OPEN TO ALLFIRST CALL INDEPENDENT DEALERS OF S.P. RICHARDS COMPANYGO TO WWW.SPRICHARDS.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS EXCITING PROGRAM

Missouri Office Systems & Supplies Earns ‘Supplierof the Year’ Honors from Local Minority BusinessDevelopment Council

Virgie Dillard of Missouri Office Systems & Supplies (center in white) receives“Supplier of the Year” honors at a special awards ceremony.

In Kansas City, Missouri, Virgie Dillard and her team at Missouri Of-fice Systems & Supplies (MOSS) are popping champagne afterearning recognition from the MidAmerica Minority Business Devel-opment Council as Supplier of the Year in the $1 million-$10 millioncategory.

The award recognizes certified minority suppliers who have dis-tinguished themselves and their business by:

n Successfully demonstrating growth in sales andemployment while overcoming significant obstacles;

n Consistently providing high quality products and servicesat competitive prices, offering innovative approaches, andcost-saving ideas;

n MBE to MBE purchases; and

n Significantly contributing to the growth and developmentof society in their community.

MOSS beat out stiff competition from other local minority-ownedcompanies to earn the honors, due, says Virgie, to an outstandingteam of hard-working, service-oriented professionals at the dealer-ship.

“If it wasn’t for my people, we wouldn’t be anything like the busi-ness we are today,” she says. “My crew does a marvelous job oftaking care of our customers and creating a reputation for serviceand value that’s second to none.”

Evidently, she’s not the only one who feels that way. In additionto this latest honor, MOSS two years ago was tapped by a localsmall business magazine as one of its Smart Companies to Watchand Virgie herself has been named by the Kansas City Globenewspaper as one of its 100 Most Influential in Business.

And how is business? “It’s been challenging for us just like every-one else,” Virgie admits candidly. “But we’ve got a great team inplace and some very strong strategic partners and we’re lookingfor great things in 2010 and some solid growth.”

Louisville Dealer Tricia Burke Recognized as Local‘Leadership Connector’Congratulations are also in order for Tricia Burke at Office Envi-ronment Company in Louisville, who last month was recognizedas one of just 128 “Leadership Connectors” in her community bythe Leadership Louisville Center, a local non-profit whose missionis to help develop “a diverse group of leaders to serve as catalystsfor a stronger community.”

Tricia was selected from among 5,500 nominees submitted fromthroughout Louisville and Southern Indiana to join what the Centerdescribes as “a dream team of existing and emerging leaders.”

Connectors, as defined by best-selling author Malcolm Gladwellin his book “The Tipping Point”, are “people who make it possibleto bring great ideas into fruition through their ability to create andimpact change in their communities.”

A self-confessed “avid networker,” Tricia certainly meets that def-inition and then some, with many years of support and involve-ment in local community organizations and business groups.

Tricia is immediate past president of the Louisville chapter of theNational Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), for-mer board chair of her local Downtown YMCA and most recently,took office as chair of the Louisville Metro Parks Foundation, anon-profit organization charged with raising funds and resourcesto support improvements to the city’s 120 parks and other recre-ation facilities.

In addition to all that, she also finds time for volunteer involvementin her church and, on the national level, in industry organizationslike NOPA and TriMega, not to mention running one of the city’sleading independent dealerships.

Stephen Fraga, President of Houston Dealer Tejas Office Products, Named to Local Sports Authority Board For Stephen Fraga, president of Tejas Office Products in Houston,the calendar has become just a little more crowded, after beingappointed to the board of the city’s local sports authority.

The organization is responsible for planning and developing localsports and community facilities and counts among its previousprojects Minute Maid Park, home of Major League Baseball’sHouston Astros; Reliant Stadium, which houses the NFL’s HoustonTexans, and Toyota Center, where the NBA’s Houston Rockets play.

“I have participated in sports since first grade and have a love forcompetition and professional sports,” Stephen said. ”When I wasgiven this opportunity to serve my community by joining an organ-ization that was responsible for building three professional sportsarenas, I jumped at it. I believe that to be considered a world-classcity, you need to have professional sports. The Harris-CountyHouston Sports Authority had a tremendous hand in making thathappen and continues to promote sports in our great city.”

“The Harris County - Houston Sports Authority is pleased to wel-come Stephen Fraga to the Board of Directors. His business ex-

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 4

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continued on page 6

perience and dynamic leadership in the community will be an in-valuable asset to the organization,” commented board chairmanJ. Kent Friedman.

Stephen will serve a two-year term with the option for term re-newal after that.

Universal Business Equipment, CT Dealer, Celebrates 80th AnniversaryIn Bridgeport, Connecticut, Tom Kraebel and his team at Univer-sal Business Equipment are also icing up the champagne as theyget ready to celebrate their dealership’s 80th anniversary this year.

In a market that’s fiercely competitive by any measure—all threebig boxes, plus W.B. Mason and several other independents areall there out pounding the streets—that’s a particularly impressivelandmark and, says Tom, testimony to a proud tradition of supe-rior service and community involvement.

And while the Universal team is justly proud of reaching the 80-year landmark, the focus, Tom says, is very much on the future.

Even with the current state of the market, the dealership is gettingready to open new satellite locations in nearby Hartford and Ran-dolph, Massachusetts, with plans to pretty much double in sizeover the next year or so.

“We’ve got a great team here and we’ve been showing a local in-dependent can compete against the big boys quite successfully,”

he says proudly. And, just like it is for so many hard-driving inde-pendents, the best looks like it’s still very much to come for Tomand his team.

Michigan Independent Finds Chamber Deals Openthe Door to Business OpportunitiesIt’s unfortunate, to say the least, but all too often when it comesto the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its local affiliates, there’sa disconnect between their much trumpeted support of smallbusiness and their willingness to cut sweetheart deals with bigbox competitors like Sam’s Club and Office Depot in exchangefor exclusive supplier “endorsements.”

In Lansing, Michigan, Steve Klaver and his team at DBI are doingsomething about it, after cutting similar deals of their own withthe Lansing Regional Chamber and the Greater Jackson, Michi-gan Chamber about 40 miles down the road.

Chamber members get special discounts and a dedicated DBIcustomer service rep, while the two chambers get rebates fromthe dealership based on total purchases. In addition, DBI also offers a similar benefit to members of the Michigan OsteopathicAssociation.

But while the endorsements open the door to potential businessfor the dealership, they’re not only about new sales opportunities,says Steve.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 6

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Phone: 888.632.5515 Email: sales@imagestar.comFax: 888.635.7479 Web: www.imagestar.com

I.S. Connect is Image Star’s new service offering designed to

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“There’s a principal involved here,” he points out. “You can’t reallyhave any credibility as a supporter of local small businesses if you’reout in the market promoting one of our big box competitors.”

Interested in exploring a similar deal with the local chamber in yourmarketplace? “The key is to get involved in the community and inchamber activities,” Steve advises. “We’ve always been very activeand supportive of the chamber’s own membership development effortsand that makes it hard for them not to return the support,” he adds.

At the same time, though, Steve warns against getting expecta-tions up too high. “If you really want to make it work, you have tobe persistent and make a point of letting chamber members knowyou’re there for them and following up with new members,” hesays. “It’s nice to have the relationship with the chamber but there’sstill nothing automatic about getting the business.”

Warehouse Direct, Chicago Area Dealer, Celebrates 20th Consecutive Record Sales YearCongratulations to Kevin Johnson and his team at Chicago areadealer Warehouse Direct Business Products & Services who lastmonth announced they recorded their 20th consecutive recordsales year in 2009.

Management at the dealership credits the organization’s successto an entrepreneurial, empowered, and energetic staff and saidthat so far in 2010, the company has continued its record sales

pace and plans to expand its customer base, capabilities, productlines and workforce.

“Our staff should be proud of what they accomplished last yearas well as in the previous 19! I feel we have the best team in theindustry,” said Kevin, who serves as vice chairman at WarehouseDirect. “Looking forward we believe that we, along with our ven-dor partners, have more opportunities for growth today than atany time in our history.”

Warehouse Direct currently employs 260 people, including 85 ac-count executives. The dealership is a member of AOPD and Pin-nacle Affiliates.

Best Office Products, CA Dealer, Bucks the Trendto Find New GrowthSouthern California has hardly been the easiest place to do busi-ness in the past couple of years. Unemployment currently standsat over 12% and is not expected to fall below double-digit levelsuntil 2012. At the same time, home prices have plummeted andthe state’s own seemingly endless budget crisis has led to sharpcuts in local government spending.

Don’t tell any of that to Vic Gamboa and his team at Best OfficeProducts, though. Vic’s dealership, located in Pomona, just 30miles east of Los Angeles, has been bucking the trend and grow-

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 8

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MWV - MeadWestvaco is making an impact in the fight againstcancer and our product promotions benefiting City of Hope allowus to do that. Through specially packaged items that support theirbreast cancer programs, we have successfully connected ourbusiness with City of Hope’s lifesaving mission.

Doing well is good business. Enhance your business through acharitable sales promotion and help City of Hope’s National OfficeProducts Industry find the answers to cancer. Contact Matt Doddat 866-905-HOPE or visit cityofhope.org/CRM.

David J. WilliamsonGeneral Manager of MWV - MeadWestvaco’sOffice Products Group

canswer.

How can you help erase cancer?

ing very nicely thank you, driven by a strategy that combines afocus on strong organic growth with aggressive acquisition moveswhen the right opportunities come along.

Last year saw Vic bring two local competitors into the Best OfficeProducts fold, adding close to $2 million in new volume with thepromise of more to come.

An industry veteran who started out working part-time while stillat high school, Vic has been at the helm of Best since he boughtthe dealership in 1992. It’s come a long way since then and de-spite all the gloom and doom in the headlines, his confidenceabout keeping the business moving in the right direction comesthrough loud and clear.

“These are tough times, but you have to keep a positive attitudeand take advantage of opportunities as they arise,” Vic contends.“Our business started to pick up in the middle of last year and ingeneral has been doing quite well,” he reports.

And as for 2010? “We’re looking to grow organically by at least10% this year and we’re also looking for additional acquisitionopportunities,” he says.

Acquisitions Help Fuel Sales Growth for Source One Office Products, Illinois DealerIn Elgin, Illinois, about 40 miles west of Chicago, Bill Hayden andhis team at Source One Office Products have also found a wayto keep growing, thanks to a couple of recent acquisitions thathave helped boost sales and open the door to new opportunities,despite a market that, says Bill, was mostly flat at best last year.

In December, Source One acquired T&M Computer Supply, alocal dealer specializing in the government market. That deal wasquickly followed by another purchase, this time of the commercialsales operation of Viking Office Supply in neighboring Geneva,just 30 miles down the road.

“We’ve known Viking president Weldon Johnson for years and heand his dealership have a great reputation for service and value,”says Bill. “We’re excited to welcome Viking as part of our familyand looking forward to strong growth both in our commercial andgovernment business.”

The Viking deal will add about 30% to Source One’s volume, Billestimates, and with the company’s jan-san and computer sup-plies sales showing welcome signs of strength, there are plentyof solid reasons to be optimistic about the coming year.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 10

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continued on page 12

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Savannah Dealer Office Services Opens NewShowroom, Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Office Services’ David Culverhouse, assisted by Kay Halligan, cuts the ribbon onthe dealership’s new showroom, as local county commissioner David Gellatly(left) and HON’s Ric Andersen lend their support.

The red carpet was out in fine fashion last month at Office Serv-ices in Savannah, Georgia, as David Culverhouse and his teamwelcomed customers and prospects to the dealership’s sparklingnew showroom for a grand opening, complete with ribbon cuttingfestivities and a luncheon and continuing education class for localinterior designers and architects.

The 7,500 sq. ft. facility highlighted furniture offerings from keyvendors HON and Inscape, among others, and featured a strong“green” message, built around use of HON’s environmentally-

friendly Nature Core fiberboard as a design element in the show-room.

David and his team had even more reason to celebrate, as thedealership marked its 10th anniversary of service to the Savannahbusiness community. Congratulations, and here’s to the next tenyears!

Kavanaugh’s Office City, Ohio Dealer, Moves toNew and Improved LocationIn Springfield, Ohio, Bob Kavanaugh and his team at Kavanaugh’sOffice City have just about finished with the unpacking after mov-ing into a new and far more efficient location.

The move, says Bob, was bittersweet—the dealership was leav-ing a facility had called home for more than 50 years—but itbrings their offices and warehouse, which had been in separatelocations, under one roof and provides plenty of room for futuregrowth.

In addition to some 8,600 sq. ft. of warehouse space, Ka-vanaugh’s new home will also feature a 4,200 sq. ft. furnitureshowroom highlighting the dealership’s primary furniture supplierssuch as Trendway and Global.

For various reasons, the move wasn’t exactly a trouble-free ridefor Bob and his team. To begin with, wrangling over the legal

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 12

WINNERʼS CIRCLE: continued from page 10

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in memoriam: John E. Huguley, former NOPA Board PresidentFormer NOPA Board president, John E. Huguley, of Charleston, SouthCarolina, died February 15. He was 83.

A graduate of The Citadel who saw service in the U. S. Navy duringWorld War II, Huguley joined Legerton’s Office Supply in 1951 andbecame president of the company in 1959. He purchased Legerton’s in1969, renamed it and ultimately became its chairman of the board.

Huguley was a life member of the National Office Products Alliance(NOPA) where he served as 1971-72 president. According to his son-in-law Ed Horres, “Being the president of NOPA was one of the highlightsof John’s career.”

He is survived by Elizabeth Hanna Huguley, his wife of 62 years ofCharleston; his son John E. Huguley, Jr. and his wife Vivian Viles ofCharleston; his daughter Elizabeth Huguley Horres and her husbandEdward of Williamsburg, VA; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to The Citadel Development Foundation, 171Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC 29403. Visit his guestbook atwww.postandcourier.com/deaths.

boundaries of the new location resulted ina six-week delay from the original movedate and once the dealership had madethe move, winter weather set in with avengeance, with a series of heavy snow-storms making business conditions chal-lenging to say the least.

Despite all that, Bob and his team are ex-cited about the new location and opti-mistic about the year ahead.

In addition to the expanded furniture effort,he’s also gearing up to take advantage ofnew ad specialty and national accountprograms from his dealer group, TriMega,and putting plans in place for an OpenHouse to introduce the new location tocustomers and prospects—always as-suming, of course, that warmer weather fi-nally shows up one of these days!

Got News? Email Simon!simon@idealercentral.com

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 14

WINNERʼS CIRCLE: continued from page 12

been a valuable business partner to Kennedy Office and the independent office products and office furniture industry of North Carolina. Due to NOPA's continuous efforts and support, the 2008 North Carolina - 615A Office Products Contract was awarded to four Independent Office Products Dealers. NOPA's advocacy support in this arena is very visible across the United States and NOPA is standing by to assist your business, but you must take the first step and become a member. Please join NOPA and use the valuable tools and

Kennedy Office

Raleigh, NC NOPA Member Since 2004

I AM

For membership information, call 800.542.6672

or visit www.nopanet.org

Several years back, Joanne and Frank San-tomauro took a hard look at their business anddecided that to continue to grow in whatseemed to be a slowing market, a new direc-tion was needed.

With the help of their son, Jonathan, a studentin the MBA program at Cornell University at thetime, their own people and a variety of outsideexperts, a new strategic plan was developed.

“This was no small undertaking,” Joanne ex-plained. “We grew our existing teams by offer-ing educational programs. We hiredexperienced, best-in-the-field individuals andconsulted with and hired contractors who wereexperts in supply chain management.”

Building On the Single Source Idea

Like many other progressive dealers, ISG wasalready marketing a broad product and serv-ices mix that included supplies, furniture, inte-rior design and space planning services,janitorial, breakroom and technology products.The new plan built further on the single sourceidea, and included the creation of a new divi-sion called Ancillare.

Joanne describes Ancillare as leveraging thecompany’s ability to manage customers’ sup-ply chains and deliver globally, while offering in-creased value-added services.

“We can document customer savings of 35%or more,” she explains. Ancillare has experi-enced double-digit growth in the last two years.The division has broadened its product offeringeven more, with the addition of ad specialties,medical supplies and devices, food productsand exercise equipment, as well as enhancedcustomer services, such as customer specificinventory management programs, hazmat cer-tifications and even cold storage capabilities.

The company serves many diverse and highlyspecialized organizations, including the Mayoand Cleveland Clinics, pharmaceutical and bio-medical institutions, insurance and cable com-panies, and other large corporations.

ISG/Ancillare serves customers in South Amer-ica, India, China, Russia and European Unioncountries. They have even shipped goods toIraq and Afghanistan.

Is This Our Future?

I asked Joanne Santomauro for her thoughtson what their company is doing that would behelpful to other independents. Here’s what shehad to say:

“Look within your company, diversify your of-ferings, become better at what you do, reachout to experts in the field who can help youleap rather than creep, utilize your supply chainexperts, observe what they do best and makeyour offerings better. Embrace and understandyour areas of expertise and modify and en-hance them to achieve added success. Look toyour customers and offer programs that will in-crease their overall efficiency and reduce theirbottom line costs.

Never become complacent or satisfied withwhere you are in your business plan. Always re-member that organic growth is one of the keyindicators of true success and above all…makesure that the mantra of your management,sales and customer service teams is, “Theprice of a product is not the true cost…it is theoverall cost of the goods plus the internal op-erational structure that impacts our customers’bottom lines!”

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 15

ISG Office Solutions, Inc.North Wales (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania

n Joanne Santomauro, President & CEOn Supplies, Furniture, Medical,

Customer Supply Managementn Founded: 1978n Sales, $30 Millionn Employees: 30 n Partners: TriMega, United Stationersn On-line sales: 40%n Web: www.isgoff.com

www.ancillare.com Moving in a New Directionby Jim Rapp

Ridethe

e-marketing wave

sending an email to address customer feedbackassures customers that you are listening in a moreimmediate sense than a direct mail response. To maintainany relationship requires effort, and email marketing canoptimize your results.

For Analytical DataThe data gathered from email marketing is a valuable tool inunderstanding your customers and evaluating your market-ing strategies. When you send your e-marketing messagesthrough a customer relationship management (CRM)program or service, it allows you to track data more quicklyand easily than direct mail. There are some limitations to thedata, some of which is untrackable, such as customers whodirectly visit your website or make a purchase offline as aresult of your email message, but these only serve toincrease your return on investment.

For Marketing SuccessIf you haven’t already gotten your feet wet, AD-Links is the

perfect vehicle to test the waters and starta simple email campaign. It offersprofessionally designed sales flyers,promotional offers, and newsletters thatare compatible with CRM programs, suchas Constant Contact, ACT!, andeMAP360. New to the customer relation-ship management field, eMAP360 offersenhanced tracking features, such asgraphical statistics for each emailcampaign. So whether you’re a beginneror more experienced, AD-Links andeMAP360 may be one of the easiestlessons you’ll master on your e-marketingride to success.

For more information about AD-Links™ or eMAP360,email tcraig@opma.com or visit www.opma.com.

It may come as no surprise that email as a market-ing medium is expected to increase in 2010. Thebenefits of email marketing are tipping the scales inits favor not only for its cost-effectiveness, but for itsrelationship and brand building power as well.Although there are many other digital avenues open-ing, email remains a strong marketing path.

Not just for Sales BuildingGenerating sales may be the first thing you think of whenyou hear “email marketing.” But be careful not to barrageyour customers with promotion after promotion. Emailmarketing allows you to do more than just sell products andservices; it allows you to reach a large audience withtargeted and useful information. Because of the fasterresponse time, you can gain a greater understanding of yourcustomers and more quickly adjust to their needs. So it’simportant to find the mix of sales and true marketing towhich your customer base responds the best.

For Relationship BuildingCustomers’ perception of your businessmay also be influenced by the contentyou send via email. A study by Epsilonand ROI Research reveals that consumershad “a more positive impression” of abusiness from which they received anemail. And 40% were “more likely tomake a future purchase from a companythat sent them email.” Email is a powerfultool that can keep your brand fresh inyour customers’ minds when they areready to buy.

Most small businesses are valued for theircustomer service, and email marketingcan help build relationships. For example,

I

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Wal-Mart claims its urban stores can rein-vigorate city neighborhoods and recaptureretail spending leaking to the suburbs. Buta new study by researchers at Chicago’sLoyola University researchers, who trackedthe impact of a Wal-Mart store that openedin Chicago in 2006, found otherwise.

Within two years, 25% of the businesseswithin a four-mile radius of the store hadclosed, according to the study, which was

first reported to us by the New Rules Pro-ject’s Hometown Advantage Bulletin(www.newrules.org).

Loyola researchers estimate Wal-Mart’sopening resulted in the loss of about 300full-time equivalent jobs in its own andnearby zip codes, a loss about equal toWal-Mart’s own addition to employment inthe area.

These estimates support the contention

that large-city Wal-Marts absorb retailsales from other city stores without signif-icantly expanding the market, researchersnote.

The study also analyzed the impact of theWal-Mart store opening on sales tax data.For the six quarters before and after Wal-Mart opened, researchers found a signifi-cant decline in sales in the Wal-Mart store

New Study Shows Damage Done to City Neighborhoods by Wal-Mart Stores

If you have news to share - email it toSimon@IDealerCentral.com

Office Depot Contract Problems Garner National Attention; Company Takes to YouTube Alleging ‘Misinformation Campaign’Office Depot’s problems with state and

local government auditors and purchasing

officials are starting to garner nationwide

attention, if an article in a recent issue of

Fortune magazine offers any indication.

In the article, reporter Suzanne Kapner

said the company is “facing troubles that

go deeper than reduced demand for paper

and pens: namely, an investigation by the

SEC that's in the final stages of settlement

and a fresh round of probes into whether

the company overcharged government

customers.”

While noting Office Depot CEO Steve Od-

land’s explanation that the price discrep-

ancies are due to a few rogue employees

and his claim that the company is the vic-

tim of a smear campaign by former em-

ployee David Sherwin, Kapner said

investigations sparked by the former em-

ployee’s allegations and government au-

dits have started to verify Sherwin’s

claims.

“Office Depot has since repaid several mu-

nicipalities, from Lee County, Fla.

($121,000), to the state of California ($2.5

million),” Kapner pointed out, adding that

in December, San Francisco released audit

results that showed $5.75 million in over-

charges.

Meanwhile, Office Depot is turning to

Web-based social networking platforms to

counter the negative publicity it has re-

ceived.

Business Solutions Division president

Steve Schmidt last month posted a video

message on You Tube the company said

was designed to “set the record straight

regarding government contracts.”

Schmidt spent most of his six-minute

presentation lambasting Sherwin and af-

firming his own company’s integrity.

While attacking Sherwin, Schmidt did not

address in any detail the numerous allega-

tions of overcharges and other irregulari-

ties in states where Sherwin did not work.

Moreover, while thanking customers who

“resisted the pressure to turn run of the

mill contract questions into allegations of

fraud,” he was equally silent on the rea-

sons that led Office Depot to make multi-

ple payments totaling in excess of $3

million over the past two years to various

state and local government agencies after

those allegations.

The most recent reports of such payments

came last month, as the Naples News in

Florida disclosed a local school district re-

ceived a $102,362 check last December,

bringing the total amount of money it re-

ceived from Office Depot in relation to

contract discrepancies cited by local offi-

cials to just under $200,000.

For more on Office Depot’s problems with

its state and local government contracts,

visit the Depot State Contract Watch sec-

tion of the INDEPENDENT DEALER web

site: www.idealercentral.com/id_watch.html.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 17

continued on page 19

In honor of of this year’s Spirit of Life Award Winner for theCity of Hope, David Williamson of MeadWestvaco, Paul

Ventimiglia and Martin Clemente of Shachihata are continuingtheir unique fundraising efforts to buy musical instruments to

help make life easier for the patients who come to the City ofHope for cancer treatment each year.

David’s theme of “Sharing Hope….Uniting the Body and Soul”reflects the important role music plays in the healing process.

It enhances relaxation, encourages positive thoughts, decreasesmuscle tension and stress, while increasing the body’s production of

endorphins. It also helps reduce the anxiety, depression, anger and fatigueassociated with cancer treatment.

That’s why your support of Paul and Martin’s efforts is so important.

Thanks to your generosity, the Piano Fund, as it has come to be known, hasalready provided the City of Hope with a baby grand piano and two portablepianos, but much more still is needed.

Please see the link below for the Sheri and Les Biller Patient and FamilyResource Center where the music therapy and art therapy rooms will be

housed and join Paul and Martin in supporting this noble cause.

www.cityofhope.org/patient_care/Biller-Center/Pages/default.aspx

Any dollar amount is welcomed. Please make your checkspayable to “City of Hope in care of the Art & Music Ther-

apy Fund” and send to the address listed below:

Shachihata, Inc.

Attn: Chris Wiederkehr,

Sr. Trade Mktg Mgr

1661 W. 240th Street

Harbor City, California 90710-1310

Add Your Voice to the Chorus of Hope

“There is no profit in curing the body if in the process we destroy the soul ”

zip code. For this same period, two neigh-boring zip codes also showed a significantnegative trend.

Overall, researchers conclude, the weightof evidence suggests that the Wal-Martopening led to the displacement of a rangeof businesses. There is no evidence, theycontend, that Wal-Mart sparked any sig-nificant net growth in economic activity oremployment in the area.

“Under the circumstances, claims that theChicago Wal-Mart has led to significanteconomic development in nearby areasmust be considered skeptically,” theywarn.

For more information, visit:www.luc.edu/curl/pdfs/Projects/Wal-MartReport2009122.doc.

BSA Looks to the Next Decade;‘The Challenge of Change . . . theNext Decade’ is 2010 MeetingThemeIt’s still a ways off, but now’s the time toblock out the dates on your calendar forthe 2010 Business Solutions Association(BSA) Forum in Scottsdale, Arizona, Octo-ber 25-28 at the Intercontinental Montelu-cia Resort.

“The Challenge of Change . . . the NextDecade” is the theme of the forum, re-flected in a logo, designed by Office Prod-ucts Marketing and Advertising, thatdepicts two travelers walking the steps ofthe coming years.

“We are dealing with change at all levelswithin the industry,” said BSA vice presi-dent and program chair Mike Wilbur ofShachihata USA. “With continuing eco-nomic uncertainty, we know that there willbe many challenges in the ways we con-duct our business. Our goal is to exploreand discuss how things may change for all

of us. The program committee is busy set-ting up panel discussions and other edu-cational offerings so that BSA can providean outstanding value and investment forits members.”

A highlight of the meeting is the panel dis-cussions in which industry people partici-pate in lively and active conversations.Three panel discussions are planned:

n E-Commerce—Featuring a discus-sion of new online innovations that will

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 19

INDUSTRY NEWS: continued from page 17

continued on page 21

www.dreamlakelodge.com

impact electronic funds transfers, transaction processing, in-ventory management and marketing.

n End Users/Consumers—Several prominent end users andconsumers will discuss how they outsource their businessproducts. Emphasis will center on strategies of channel se-lection and selection of sources. Buying behavior and pat-terns will be explored.

n The Future—A repeat of last year’s panel in which panelistsforecast their outlook for the next 24 months. Topics includethe economy, increased government regulations, marketingtechniques, e-commerce, strategic partnerships and productdevelopment.

The 2010 Forum will also feature the bedrock interviews in whichparties schedule one-on-one meetings using the suites of theMontelucia Resort.

“There are still times when face-to-face meetings represent thebest opportunity for productive engagement. This year’s BSAmeeting holds so much promise for all of us as stakeholders inthe success of the independent dealer community,” says JimO’Brien of S.P. Richards Company, BSA Program Committee.

To register or for more information, contact Stacey Johnson at BSA(PH: 410-933-3453; staceyj@businesssolutionsassociation.com).

Baumgarten’s President Launches ‘Donations for Haiti’ Industry FundraiserIn response to the devastation of the Haiti earthquake, Baum-garten’s president David Baumgarten has launched an industry-wide “Donations for Haiti” fundraising effort.

Baumgarten is calling on U.S. manufacturers and dealers ofschool and office supplies to donate complete school back-packsfor 20,000 kids and 1,000 teachers and supplies to rebuild 30public schools in Haiti.

All goods would be shipped to Atlanta, containerized and thenshipped safely to Haiti via the Haitian Alliance, an Atlanta-basednon-profit recognized by the IRS as a 501-C-3 charitable organ-ization.

“In Port-au-Prince, there were 30 public schools totally demol-ished and many others badly damaged,” David said. “There is theimmediate need for supplies of any kind to help these childrenand the thousand teachers. Even before the earthquake, fewerthan 30% of Haitian children reached the 6th grade.”

“Donations for Haiti” needs school supplies, office supplies, craftsupplies, chairs, desks, blackboards, bulletin boards, paper andall those items in our own schools that we take for granted.They’re not looking for money (but they’ll take it). They’re lookingprimarily for materials and goods.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 21

INDUSTRY NEWS: continued from page 19

Office Snax Rainforest Certified Coffee:• Regular - (63) 1.75 oz pkts• DECAF - (63) 1.75 oz pkts

Chock full o' Nuts Original Coffee:• (6) 39 oz cans/case• (42) 1.75 oz pkts/case

Hills Bros Coffee:• (42) 1.75 oz pkts/case (K)• (6) 39 oz cans/case (K)

EXACT Nutrasweet:• Pink Sweetener - 2000 pcs/case• Blue Sweetener - 2000 pcs/case• Yellow Sweetener - 2000 pcs/case

Packets:• Equal - (12) 100 pc boxes/case (K)• Splenda - (12) 100 pc boxes/case (K)• Sweet ‘N Low - (4) 400 pc boxes/case (K)

Canisters:• Sugar - (24) 20 oz can/case (K)• Non-Dairy Creamer - (24) 12 oz can/ case (K)

Sugar: • Packets - 1200 pcs/case (K)• Sugar in the Raw - (2) 200 pk boxes/case (K)• EXACT Natural Cane Sugar - 2000 pcs/case

Coffee Stir Sticks 5":• (10) 1K pc boxes/case (K)

continued on page 22

The organization is not asking everyone to send 21,000 items.“Send what you can!” David urged. “Check your warehouses forobsolete stock or excess inventory. It may be excess or obsoleteto you, but to 21,000 Haitian children, it could mean the differencebetween nothing and having the wherewithal to get an educa-tion.”

To make a donation or contribution, please contact: Donations for Haiti144 Ottley Dr., Atlanta, GA 30324PH: 404.931.7761; Fax: 267.295.1273 E-mail: david@donationsforhaiti.orgwww.donationsforhaiti.org

AOPD Partners with Dealer Pricing ServiceAmerican Office Products Distributors (AOPD) has inked a newagreement with Dealer Pricing Services, LLC, to provide AOPD’sdealer members with state-of-the-art contract RFP and pricingservices. AOPD executive director Bud Mundt, made the an-nouncement.

Micheal Mathews, president of Dealer Pricing Services, brings toAOPD thirty years of industry experience in contract and bid pric-ing analysis for regional and national accounts. In the past, hehas worked for BT Office Products, Corporate Express, and var-ious AOPD member companies.

“We are extremely pleased to offer such a valuable resource forAOPD and our dealers,” said Bud. “This is a very critical segmentin the large regional and national accounts, contract selling cycle.”

United Stationers AcquiresMBS Dev, Appoints New VP ofE-CommerceUnited Stationers has acquired dealertechnology provider MBS Dev in amove it says is intended “to employMBS Dev as a solution to capitalize onkey trends and to develop marketingand merchandising best practices on

behalf of all resellers and technology providers.”

“Acquiring MBS Dev is consistent with our long-term goal of as-sisting resellers with their technology needs,” said S. David Bent,United Stationers’ senior vice president of eBusiness services andcorporate CIO.

“Most recently, this effort has focused on developing rich productcontent for resellers’ web sites, offering United Smart Search asa search engine tool, and creating email campaigns to drive trafficto reseller web sites,” Bent said.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 22

INDUSTRY NEWS: continued from page 21

The Stacking File Vault comes

with a large removable label

card for easy organization.

Heavy-duty latch can be fitted

with a padlock for additional

security. * lock not included

Perfect for long-term storage of files, collectible literature, memorabilia and seasonal items; these

stable, locking storage containers can be stacked high without fear of collapse because they are

made out of 22 gauge recycled steel. The Stacking File Vault will keep dirt and dust off all your

long-term storage items, and is the perfect size to hold manila file folders. Heavy-duty handles

with rubber grips make transport easy and comfortable. These textured steel containers resist

scratches and easily wipe clean. Available in 4 great colors Silver (-3), Black (-4), Platinum and

Blue (-B), so you can color-code your storage area for easy organization! Custom colors are avail-

able for order of 50 or more. Can be shipped via UPS, no assembly required!

Introduces the

The #93067 Stacking File Vault is available only through Buddy Products direct.

Contact your sales rep, call Buddy Products customer service at 1.800.886.8688 or visit our website www.buddyproducts.com

#93067

continued on page 23

“While these efforts will continue, United Stationers is committedto playing an even stronger role in supporting independent resellertechnology, which we plan to accomplish through investments de-signed to accelerate the creation of additional eMarketing andeMerchandising solutions,” he continued.” Our investment in MBSDev is an important step toward achieving that.”

Added Bent, “As we have in the past, we expect to continue towork with other technology providers to solve common chal-lenges. No one technology solution will satisfy all resellers. Webelieve that choice is good for independent resellers.”

“The acquisition of MBS Dev will enable our existing customersto leverage United Stationers’ extensive knowledge base and ad-ditional resources,” said Laura Guillaume, business developmentmanager for MBS Dev. “In particular, access to United’s eMarket-ing and eMerchandising capabilities will help our customers con-tinue to grow and succeed.”

MBS Dev will continue to serve customers’ needs under its cur-rent management team of Steve and Laura Guillaume, and willoperate as a separate business unit within United, United said.

Separately, United announced the appointment of Mark Hammer-schick as vice president of eCommerce. In this newly created role,Hammerschick will be responsible for developing and deliveringnew eBusiness capabilities, deployed through United Stationers’resellers to their end consumers.

Hammerschick brings 25 years of experience in eCommerce, on-

line marketing, advertising, sales and product management toUnited Stationers. Most recently, he served as director of eCom-merce operations and product marketing at Follett Corporation,the nation's largest operator of college bookstores. Before Follet,Mark managed the Quill.com Internet Marketing and CatalogMedia Group at Quill Corporation.

“The enablement of our eBusiness initiative is a key growth strat-egy and a service differentiator for United Stationers,” said Bent.“By expanding our core, catalog-based expertise into new onlinecapabilities, we provide more eBusiness competencies to our re-sellers and to our suppliers. We are pleased to add Mark to ourteam, as he brings a wealth of eCommerce experience that willhelp our resellers be successful through expanded online offer-ings.”

ECi Launches Offsite Server Backup Service Dealer technology provider ECi Software Solutions (ECi) haslaunched a remote server backup service to provide protectionagainst business interruption as the result of data loss.

Remote Server Backup saves data to an off-site server daily, sothat in the event of an emergency, a company can restore files totheir machine through a simple Web interface. If a single file needsto be replaced, business can continue on the server while thedownload takes place.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 23

INDUSTRY NEWS: continued from page 22

E-mail: sales@houseofdoolittle.com www.houseofdoolittle.com

This year House of Doolittle is offering our FREE/NO CHARGEimprinted flyers in support of United and/or S.P. Richards. All flyers feature list prices, are full color, and have an imprintarea of approximately 2.5”H x 7.5”W that you can personalizewith your company information.

1751 Nicholas Blvd.Elk Grove Village IL 60007

800.621.9546Fax: 888.621.6660

UDGF Flyer

100% Recycled Products100% Post-Consumer Fiber

Made in the USA

continued on page 24

Service is subscription based and offered at three levels:

n Database Service which includes daily back up of data-bases, with back-ups kept for 30 days, and monthly for 18months;

n Full OS Service includes everything in Database Serviceplus daily back up of entire business operating system, and

n Full Disaster Recovery which includes everything in Level 2plus 7 years of data retention, plus an optional hosting serv-ice which would reduce downtime due to a disaster to a mat-ter of hours rather than days.

ECi launched the new service January 1 for Lumber/Build Mate-rials/Hardware customers running its Advantage software. Thecompany said the service is currently in beta testing and will soonbe available to customers using any ECi software platform.

AOS Ware Launches Block and Sub Feature for JWOD/Ability One ItemsDealer technology provider AOS Ware has released a newJWOD/Ability One item block and substitute feature on its OPCommander 3.0 e-commerce platform.

For dealers with federal government accounts, OP Commandercan be set up to handle automatic substitutions of JWOD/AbilityOne items. The new feature functions as a "hard sub," meaningthat all SKUs which have a corresponding JWOD/Ability One sub-stitute SKU will automatically be blocked from ordering on thesite. Instead, the user will only see the JWOD/Ability One items.

The substitution occurs throughout every section of the site wherea user may search or purchase a product and is available bothfor United Stationers and S.P. Richards dealers.

A dealer may also choose to provide their own custom block andsubstitute SKU list to use on the web site. Once the feature is ac-tivated, it can be applied to every company currently orderingthrough the dealer’s web site, or to a select group of customersspecified by the dealer.

For a demo or for more information, please e-mail sales@aosware.comor call 888.310.9964.

Supplies Network’s CARBON SiX MPS Introduces Professional ServicesThe CARBON SiX program from Supplies Network has introducedan offering of professional services it says is designed for “re-sellers who would like to accelerate the timeframe to sell andclose a managed print services (MPS) contract with their largestcustomers.”

The new Professional Services Group (PSG) provides an experi-enced team to work in tandem with resellers and their customersevery step of the sales cycle, Supplies Network said.

This program is designed to help resellers achieve two importantgoals. The first goal is to provide an efficient, effective sales cycle,securing MPS contracts with top customers before a competitordoes. The second goal is to lower financial risk by minimizing

staffing requirements and developing quality contracts that areprofitable.

For more information, visit www.suppliesnetwork.com/carbonsix,call 800-775-5056 or e-mail carbonsixPSG@suppliesnetwork.com.

Quality Park Sponsors ‘Curling for a Cure’Fundraiser for City of Hope

Quality Park president Steve Kouroupas (right) presents City of Hope’s Matt Doddwith a check for over $12,000 at last month’s “Curling for a Cure” fundraiser.

They may not have quite made it to the Winter Olympics, but thecurling teams at last month’s “Curling for a Cure" tournament, spon-sored by Quality Park, still posted some pretty impressive numbersin support of the City of Hope.

Twelve teams participated, including Smead Manufacturing, Print-Ware, FC Meyer, Walter G. Anderson, Sun Chemical, Litin Paper,Pregis Packaging, Sealed Air, and Quality Park employees andspouses.

After some no holds barred competition, the winners turned out tobe the dedicated City of Hope staff t and their patients, as the eventraised over $12,500 to support research into cancer and otherdeadly diseases.

“Curling for a Cure” was part of a year-long effort to raise funds forthe City of Hope in honor of David Williamson of MWV-MeadWest-vaco, recipient of this year’s City of Hope’s Spirit of Life Award. Formore information please e-mail City of Hope’s Matt Dodd(mdodd@coh.org) or visit www.cityofhope.org/nopi.

Clover Issues First Annual Sustainability Report,Hires Industry Veteran Scott OdomImaging supplies maker Clover Technologies Group has issuedits first annual sustainability report, outlining the major environ-mental impacts of its North American business operations lastyear.

According to Clover, the report examines the entire life cycle ofthe products the company collects and manufactures, reviews

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 24

INDUSTRY NEWS: continued from page 23

continued on page 25

2009 goals and achievements and establishes 2010 objectives.Among the report’s findings:

• Clover collected 47 million cartridges, reused over 29 millioncartridges and recycled over 2,000 tons.

• Clover’s cartridges use 91% less virgin materials than OEMcartridges and have an 89% smaller carbon footprint thanOEM cartridges.

• Clover reduced its waste generation by 6% despite a produc-tion growth of 244%.

• Conservation efforts preserved 65,308 cubic meters of greenspace.

• Clover purchased enough renewable energy credits to offsetthe electricity consumption of all its North American facilities.

“A huge part of Clover’s business is remanufacturing—restoringused products to new condition,” commented Clover HoldingsCEO Jim Cerkleski. “Preserving the environment is inherent in ourcompany's processes and success. We are excited to share ourbusiness model and document our goals and progress so we cancontinue to enhance our environmental sustainability.”

Separately, Clover announced Scott Odom, former chief commer-cial officer for XPS b.v., Venray, Netherlands, has joined the com-pany as vice president, strategic accounts. A 25-year veteran ofthe office products industry, Odom will be based in Clover’s Hoff-man Estates, Illinois corporate headquarters.

Safco Classroom Desk Heading to the SmithsonianSafco’s AlphaBetter classroom desk is scheduled to go on displayat the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum inNew York City as part of the museum’s “Why Design Now?” ex-hibit, which will run May 14, 2010 - January 9, 2011.

The exhibition examines why design is an essential tool for solv-ing some of today’s most urgent problems, with items presentedthrough eight different design themes.

The AlphaBetter Desk, designed by Tim Skiba of Wisconsin-based Sunway, will be featured under the “Simplicity” theme,which highlights designers who strive to simplify productionprocesses and lower materials usage.

HON Introduces Huddle, NEW Multi-Purpose Table Line

The HON Company has introduced Huddle, a new collection ofmulti-purpose tables designed to address new work styles andthe trend for meetings and work to happen throughout a facility,including impromptu meeting spots.

“Huddle tables provide the perfect platform for training, meetingsand collaboration by allowing you to use the same space for avariety of purposes,” said Fred Colony, vice president of productsfor The HON Company. “Arrange tables in rows for training in themorning, and then reconfigure them into a presentation-friendly‘u-shape’ just a few hours later. Or pull one into an office for aspontaneous meeting with a coworker, then push it against thewall to display items for a new business meeting. The possibilitiesare virtually endless.”

The line offers a variety of accessories to tailor the tables for spe-cific uses, including optional ganging hardware that allows the ta-bles to be locked into place and optional wire management traysand USB grommets.

The Highlands Group Adds New York Account ManagerThe Highlands Group National, LLC has announced the additionof Nick Rafael as account manager, based in New York. The com-pany described Rafael as “the latest link in The Highlands Groupnational coverage model,” and said he will manage the New Yorkand New Jersey markets.

Rafael joins the Highlands Group with 30 years of office productsexperience, most recently as general manager of S.P. Richards’Middletown, NY facility.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 25

INDUSTRY NEWS: continued from page 24

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 26

NOPA Members in Pennsylvania Host Rep. Sestak;Grassroots Advocacy at its Best

NOPAnewsBest

Above: Rep. Joe Sestak, who is running in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senateprimary, met last month with two dealers in his state on the problems facingsmall business from big box “pass-throughs.” Below: Rep Stepak discusses theissue with William Bell of Lititz Office Products. Right: He meets with the teamat D&D Office Plus (Left to right: Frank A. Dittig, Angela Moffatt, Rep. Sestak,Frank W. Dittig and William Shay).

Last month, two NOPA members in Pennsylvania, Lititz OfficeProducts in Lititz and D&D Office Plus in North Versailles, hostedvisits from Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), who is running in the Demo-cratic Senate primary race this year.

By serving as hosts, these two members demonstrated the cen-tral role that individual grassroots advocacy plays in gaining andsustaining support on industry issues from key legislators. NOPAapplauds the willingness and energy of these two dealers and

their commitment to educating Rep. Sestak and his staff aboutour industry, their businesses, and NOPA’s priority issues.

Rep. Sestak recently introduced legislation (H.R. 4420 – the SmallBusiness Contracting Protection Act of 2010) to curb the use ofsmall business “pass-throughs” in federal government contractbids by big box companies.

In January, AOPD, is.group, TriMega and NOPA sent a joint letterto Rep. Sestak thanking him for his leadership in introducing thisbill and confirming their strong support for his legislation.

NOPA will be helping Rep. Sestak gain additional co-sponsors ofthe bill and also is working to get similar legislation introducedand advancing in the U.S. Senate.

Rep. Sestak’s visits to Lititz Office Products and D&D Office Pluswere a prompt follow-up to dealer organizations’ joint letter andprovided a mutually beneficial platform for expanding mediaawareness of NOPA’s key advocacy issues and the candidate’scommitment to ensuring a level playing field for small businessesin the federal procurement arena.

H.R. 4420 would require the U.S. Small Business Administrationto launch and complete NOPA-recommended rulemaking withinsix months to halt abusive “pass-through” practices in the officeproducts and other affected industries.

A recent GAO report highlighted the harm that pass-through busi-nesses cause to legitimate small government contractors in anumber of industries.

NOPA Pushes for Small Business Participation inArmy, FAA and GSA ProcurementsMeanwhile, dealers’ grassroots advocacy is also helping NOPAensure equitable small business participation in a planned newArmy blanket purchase agreement (BPA) contract for office prod-ucts.

It also is proving to be critical in NOPA’s current uphill battle togenerate sufficient congressional support to persuade the Federal

continued on page 27

Aviation Administration (FAA) to amend itsnew solicitation guidelines to encourageindependent dealer bidding and potentialparticipation in one or more future con-tracts.

Members’ calls and e-mails to theirelected officials in Congress and to theU.S. Army are having the desired impactand promoting changes in its RFP (requestfor proposal) guidelines so that small busi-nesses can equitably bid on that BPA op-portunity.

Multiple awards—including contracts withsmall business—are now contemplatedand the U.S. Army is expanding its em-phasis on inclusion of competitive smallindependents in contract awards.

Dealers’ early, full and sustained engage-ment with federal agencies—backed byCongress as necessary—is proving to beeffective in building positive agency rela-tionships and better recognition of inde-pendents’ capabilities to serve large,

demanding federal customers.

As an example, NOPA—with broad, ongo-ing dealer support—also is involved in aconstructive dialog with the General Serv-ices Administration (GSA) as it develops anew multi-agency Federal StrategicSourcing Initiative RFP.

By positioning independents as a valuabletechnical resource as well as a group ofhighly competitive vendors, NOPA’s advo-cacy programs are gaining increased re-spect and traction at the federal level.

Don’t Forget State and LocalGovernment Market AdvocacyWhile state and local government con-tracting environments often are signifi-cantly different from federal contracting,industry grassroots advocacy at these lev-els also is proving to be helpful in gainingincreased awareness, credibility and suc-cess for independents in those markets.

Local dealer commitment and unity withNOPA political guidance and coordinationare elevating the independent channel’svisibility and creating opportunities for animproved dialog and office supplies con-tracts with state and local governmentsaround the country.

Dealers in California, Florida, Georgia, NewJersey, North Carolina and Texas havebeen most active over the past few years.

In addition, NOPA is working with inter-ested dealers around the country to de-velop model RFP provisions that are smallbusiness-friendly and can be proactivelyused by dealers in discussions with stateand local government purchasing officials.

Contact Chris Bates at NOPA(cbates@nopanet.org; tel: 703/549-9040,x 100) for more information and becomemore active as an advocate for the inde-pendent channel on its key issues.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 27

NOPAnews: continued from page 26

member of NOPA for many years and is now a member of

OFDA. NOPA provides a rallying point for independent

dealers throughout the United States regardless of buying

group affiliation, wholesaler affiliation or region.

communication with the purchasing people in Austin

allowing the independents to stay up to date. It would have

been impossible for us to be this organized without NOPA.

Karen Bogart, President

Convenience Office Supply Austin, TX

NOPA Member Since 1998 I AM

For membership information, call 800.542.6672

or visit www.nopanet.org

If use of the latest technology isn’t a given in your dealership, it

ought to be. After all, how can anyone remain competitive if they

aren’t keeping track of the latest business management, e-com-

merce, CRM and sales intelligence solutions available to the av-

erage and not-so-average office products dealership? With that

in mind we’re presenting a look at 14 dealer-specific solutions,

through the eyes of some of the dealers who use them on a daily

basis.

Just about all of these technology providers should be on your

radar screen, though that doesn’t, of course, make them all a

good fit for your dealership. Only you can determine that.

However, these are the technology providers and technologies

that independents across the country are using to enhance their

own business operations and you owe it to your own company

to know who they are and what they might be able to do for you.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 28

Cover Story:

continued on page 30

UpdateBy Scott Cullen

Acsellerate Solutions www.acsellerate.net

“Knowledge is power and I immediatelysaw the value in that,” maintains BetsyHughes, vice president of sales at FriendsBusiness Source in Findlay Ohio, recallingthe first time she saw a demonstration ofAcsellerate.

That was three years ago. Today, Acseller-ate serves as an important tool within thedealership. With Acsellerate, sales repshave information about customers, in-voices, and margins at their fingertips any-time of the day.

“Acsellerate allows us to retrieve informa-tion much quicker than we did before,”adds Laura Wagner, margin manager andsales assistant to one of Friends BusinessSource’s top sales reps. “We used to do amanual business review and the businessreview portion is one of the tools we useand we’re using it very successfully.”

“Previously you had to wait for someone

to run you a report out of the system,”notes Hughes. “Just being able to go inand grab it, you can get back to your cus-tomers faster, and can also catch errors ona ticket quicker.”

Asked about recent enhancements to thetechnology, Hughes mentions the addedfunctionality to the business review feature.

“There are different ways of filtering infor-mation now, such as the number of itemsit shows,” she says.

“A lot of our larger customers want to seetheir top 50 items and you can go in andeasily adjust for that,” explains Hughes.“We can filter out the machines and furni-ture and just show the office supplies por-tion, providing them with accurateinformation.”

The system also allows Friends BusinessSource to specify goals by sales rep andregion under the “Managers” tab, so dif-ferent reps or regions can see wherethey’re at as a percentage of their goals.

“We also look at our contracts and cus-tomer price plans and keep an eye onthose through our ‘Top Performer’,” saysHughes. “With that screen, you can seewho is up or down in a second, view bycustomer price plans or the marginsthey’re yielding. It’s just a great plus to beable to see that information.”

Acsellerate also keeps the dealership’s in-side sales team informed about productcategories their customers aren’t buying.It even provides alerts about accounts thathaven’t ordered in 30 or 60 days.

Ease of use is another thing that Hughesand Wagner like about Acsellerate. Thedealership has been hiring a lot of newsales reps of late and Wagner is responsi-ble for getting them reps up to speed.“They’ve been catching on quickly andmost of the items they need to use are onthe front screen, which makes it easy toremember where that information is,” shesays.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 30

COVER STORY: continued from page 28

k n o w. s e l l. p r o f i t.

Acsellerate® now combines the power of web-based analytics and advanced customer reporting, with the benefits of sophisticated CRM! We leverage the power of information to help sales professionals, managers and executives easily understand the effectiveness of their customer relationships and turn that insight into bottom-line results.

Identify and manage margin improvement potential

Recognize cross-selling and up-selling opportunities

Benchmark your customers, sales reps and product segments against each other or prior periods

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continued on page 32

www.bmiusa.com

Activant Solutions www.activant.com

Office Supply Services in Concord, NorthCarolina, has found Activant essential for im-proving its backroom support. The technol-ogy has been particularly handy forprocessing order entries and handling inven-tories. President and owner Garry Vreugden-hil has a unique take on working withActivant, a company whose product is thede facto standard in the auto parts industry.

“We use their services as an ASP orhosted system, which is nothing unique tothem,” acknowledges Vreugdenhil, “but Ithink it’s a real plus that they have thatavailable to office products dealers. I don’tneed to have any hardware per se in ourestablishment—we’re basically just usingDSL lines.”

He also likes the pedigree of the company.

“Because they’re not just focused on theoffice products industry, they have accessto other ways of doing things,” statesVreugdenhil. “I think that’s better for us be-cause they’re moving some of the capa-bilities from the automotive industry tooffice products, which means there’s moreinformation available.”

Office Supply Services started using Acti-vant in 2002 after their previous technol-ogy provider was purchased by Activant.Despite the change in ownership, OfficeSupply Services still interacts with many ofthe same support people they were work-ing with before.

“Some of those support people have beenin this industry a long time,” says Vreug-denhil. “They know our business. Youdon’t have to explain what you’re trying todo. They’ve been there and done that andthat’s a strong point.”

Adds Vreugdenhil, “When you look at theautomotive side, they’re tracking thou-sands of parts, and here on the officeproducts side, we’re doing the same thing.“Whether you’re tracking a pen or sparkplug—doesn’t make any difference. I thinkthey have more history and background of

what can be done in the field and that setsthem apart from many of the other softwarevendors.”

AOS Ware www.aosware.com

Paul Thomas, owner of National OfficeStore in Broadway, North Carolina, hasbeen using OP Commander for just overthree months now. “What attracted me wasthat it is more user friendly and the graphicsare aesthetically pleasing,” he says.

A good portion of National Office Store’scustomers are schools who use their owne-procurement program. That means theycan’t place orders with the dealership fromstart to finish online, but that doesn’t mat-ter to Thomas as long as they’re ordering.

“Our web site is used more as a referencetool for those customers where they canlog on, see the products, the prices andthe numbers and then go into their own e-procurement system and plug it in there,”he explains.

Thomas is still ramping up his online mar-keting efforts and concedes that NationalOffice Store hasn’t been pushing onlineprocurement to customers as much asthey should.

That said, they’ve picked up a couple ofadditional online customers since makingthe switch to OP Commander.

Meanwhile they’ve been visiting existingcustomers, letting them know that they’veput the old site to rest and are invitingthem to revisit the new site and try it out.

“From a consumer standpoint, they candeal with an independent office supplydealer and they don’t give up any function-ality as far as the web site goes,” saysThomas.

“We have to have something that’s goingto compete with the big boys,” concludesThomas. “Short of going out and spending$50,000 on a product, this is the bestequivalent,” he contends.

Business Management International www.bmiusa.com

It was 15 years ago when Vic Diaso, presi-dent of World Class Business Products inLong Island City, New York, switched to BMIand, he says, he hasn’t looked back since.

Since then, they’ve been providing Diasowith the kind of technology and support thatkeeps his business up and running and re-quires a minimal investment of his time.

“One advantage that I love is their generalledger package,” says Diaso. “It’s excel-lent and allows me to operate without acomptroller.”

Diaso spends two hours at the end of themonth pulling his numbers out of the sys-tem, then passing those to his accountantwho handles the rest.

What’s made the relationship with BMI sofruitful is their ability to respond to Diaso’sspecial requests. If he needs something,they provide it. For example, when he hadspecific order entry needs, they tweakedthe system so that it could accommodatethose needs.

“Every dealer thinks that they do it the bestand BMI has been able to handle my idio-syncrasies,” states Diaso.

“With the latest upgrade I was able to re-duce my warehouse staff by two peoplebecause of the new functionality they gaveme,” says Diaso.

How so?

“A lot had to do with the alignment of thetrucks every morning. I usually run 10trucks every day, but some days I have atruck that’s out or I may want to hold oneback because business isn’t as good as itis on other days. I can easily move the or-ders from one truck to another, print out anew manifest and give it to the drivers sothey know what needs to be pulled off thefloor, delivered, and signed for.”

He also likes the system’s flexibility forhandling commissions and billing.

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“We now do our invoicing every day and I don’t have 60% of mybilling going out in the last week of the month and that’s a goodthing,” he says.

Diaso is so bullish on BMI that he’s even recommended it to otherdealers.

“The system functions well and I have no problems with it,” hesays. “I started this business 16 years ago from scratch and inthe second year I put the system in. Now I’m going to close thisyear with close to $22 million.”

ECi Britannia www.ecisolutions.com/products/systems/britannia/default.htm

Bill Martin, CEO and owner of Buffalo Business Products, in FortWorth, sure likes Britannia. After acquiring a company that wasusing a proprietary system that wasn’t working well and was dif-ficult to manage, he switched to Britannia in 2008.

“I chose Britannia because I had nine locations and Britanniacould handle nine different inventories,” recalls Martin.

Martin can’t say enough about the system’s ability to handle mul-tiple inventories. “That was key for me. And the fact that it washosted meant I didn’t have to worry about our people learning anew system or worry about maintenance.”

Asked what the biggest change in his business has been sincemaking the transition, Martin doesn’t hesitate. “It gave me the op-portunity to manage margins and manage my customer base,”he says. “It also incorporates easily into Acsellerate, which givesme detailed information on my business on a daily basis.”

Buffalo Business Products pretty much made the transition to Bri-tannia overnight. At least that’s how Martin remembers it.

“It was an easy move for our IT manager and our operational peo-ple. It was easy to understand and methodical in its approach,”he recalls.

Martin also gives kudos to the customer support he received fromBritannia during the conversion period. Meanwhile, he’s lookingforward to the latest version of Britannia.

“Based on our initial look at it, we think it’s going to be state ofthe art and will be far superior to anything else we’ve seen on themarket once it’s fully implemented,” he says.

“The people at Britannia are easy to deal with as well,” he notes.“That’s what makes it nice for me as an owner. I can reach thepeople I need quickly and they’re very accommodating. They pro-vide the answers I need and understand the functions that I per-form within the company.”

ECi DDMS www.ddms.com

Steven Woodall, information systems manager at Reliant Busi-ness Products in Houston, swears by DDMS. Reliant has used itto automate virtually every aspect of the organization.

Woodall is particularly enamored with the system’s inventorymanagement capabilities. “Just the way it ties in with the whole-salers’ products and also allows us to have our own merchandiseis a big plus,” he explains. “When entering orders, it knows whatto pull from our stock and what to source from our wholesalers. Iknow other systems have features like that, but DDMS just seemsto be better for the way we do things.”

Woodall also likes the fact that that it’s an integrated front- andback-end system, and integrates with the Acsellerate program.

Reliant also uses DDMS’s RouteTrak electronic delivery systemfor collecting electronic signatures. “That saves us from havingto file delivery paperwork and saves the client from having tomake a telephone call. They can just go on our web site and getthe information for themselves,” notes Woodall.

Pricing is another area where the DDMS system shines, accordingto Woodall. “We’ve always used contracts, but never used price-modeling. Recent enhancements mean it’s a lot easier now forour sales reps and our vice president to manipulate data to findout when we’re making money, when we’re not making money,and how we can increase margins on accounts,” he reports.

Reliant has been using DDMS for at least 16 years—as long asWoodall has been with the company—and even though he’s beentempted to switch technology providers, he ultimately realizedthat DDMS and Reliant remain a good match.

“A few years back we looked at other systems to see if it waspossible to replace it, but the others just didn’t have the flexibilitywe have with DDMS,” concludes Woodall.

GoldMine from Longbow Consulting www.longbowcg.com

Fain Enterprises in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, began usingGoldMine in the fall of 2001 and was able to more than doubletheir sales from the prior year. Sales and marketing manager MikeKlinetobe directly attributes that surge in business to GoldMine.

Prior to installing the system, Fain Enterprises sales reps keptcustomer contact information on business cards that were keptin drawers and rotary card files.

“GoldMine just seemed to put everything together and give usgenuine contact management,” notes Klinetobe.

“We open it up in the morning and it pretty much drives the entireday. It is a central point on the computer for making contact with

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customers, and prospects, looking at sales from the previous day,and last orders, because everything is synced up from our DDMSbusiness software system to GoldMine,” states Klinetobe.

Last summer Fain Enterprises upgraded to GoldMine Premium8.5 from Longbow Consulting. The upgrade has an enhanceduser interface and a host of new features, including a UniversalSearch function, which Klinetobe says is similar to a Googlesearch.

One feature that has been particularly helpful is a reporting func-tion that sends an e-mail to all sales people every morning. Thereport recaps the prior day such as calls made and contactsmade.

Like any independent, competition for Fain comes from everywhich way—the big boxes, other independents and the Internet.Customer information is dare we say it, like gold, but becauseGoldMine resides on Fain’s network, all that precious data is avail-able for all employees who have access rights within the dealer-ship .

And, even better, it stays there! “If one of our sales associates de-cides they’re going to work somewhere else, all the informationthey put into GoldMine is still on our system, so if they leave thecompany, we still have it,” says Klinetobe. “It’s always there forus, whereas companies who don’t have GoldMine risk seeing

valuable customer information leave with the departing sales per-son. That’s another tremendous benefit.”

GOPD www.gopd.com

Valley Office Supply in Grand Junction, Colorado, is perchedsquarely at the upper end of the GOPD technology curve, holdingthe distinction of being GOPD’s first customer. The 30-year-olddealership, which was acquired by Teresa Kareus and her hus-band David in 2004, has found GOPD’s OP24-7 Web Store justthe ticket.

“I was the purchasing agent and when I saw how much time I wasspending and how much time our bookkeeper was spending,working seven days a week to maintain our previous system, Iknew I needed to find another option,” recalls Kareus. “We alsoneeded something more automated, less expensive, and that of-fered a web site with a shopping cart.”

After looking at various other options, Kareus settled on GOPD.

“Two things pushed me to GOPD,” says Kareus. “At that timeGOPD was the only one with a live stock check that the customercould see, not just the dealer and that meant fewer steps for me

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and the ability to reduce back orders,”notes Kareus.

“Second was GOPD president DonnaSnyder. She is so attentive and informa-tive. She and her partner would take mycalls at 6 in the morning or 9 at night. Itdidn’t matter when, they’d return my call.The fact that they were always availablewas really comforting.”

Oh yes, and there’s another thing that hasswayed things in GOPD’s favor—the au-tomation.

“Once the customer locks in the order, it isso fully automated that it basically allowstwo of us to do the work that four weredoing before for a fraction of the price,”she reports happily.

Valley Office Supply has gained a host ofother benefits too. For example, Kareuscan run more reports in different ways thanbefore and she claims that the reportingfunctions on the QuickBooks side areamazing.

Not only does Kareus hold the distinctionof being GOPD’s first customer, she’s alsoone of the company’s biggest advocates.

“GOPD has allowed us to take the busi-ness away from retail in a commercial di-rection, build the business with feweremployees and given us a much betterbottom line than we had before,” she says.

Innovative Business Associateswww.ibainc.net

Lorick Office Products in Columbia, SouthCarolina, has been using IBA since early2000. For Bill Stowe, Lorick’s informationtechnology manager, the reasons why IBAstands out from the pack come down toits personnel, the system and the size ofthe company.

“They’re a good fit for us,” says Stowe.“We’re not really huge; they’re not reallyhuge.” Stowe gives IBA high marks for itsservice and support and says its Web

storefront meets the needs of Lorick’s cus-tomers.

“It’s all business to business and there’sno clutter as far as what my clients see,”says Stowe. “As far as what we present tothe clients, it’s very straightforward.”

Stowe also likes the simplicity of the sys-tem and its adaptability. For customerswho have specific report requests, IBA isextremely helpful in making sure Lorick’scustomers get what they want, he says.

“Our larger clients need special reportsand want them to look a certain way andIBA is very adaptable,” says Stowe. “If Ineed something for a customer, I call IBAand they do it. They’re calm and collectedand they get back to us in a reasonableamount of time.”

Ultimately, it’s the simplicity of the site thatStowe feels gives Lorick an advantageagainst his more well-heeled competitorsfrom the Big Box world.

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“It’s no secret we’re out here fighting the superstores every day,”he says. “When you go to their web sites they purposely want todirect you in other directions. Our clients want to get on the website, go to the products they want, place an order and get out. Thatwhat happns with our web site. It’s simple, neat and effective.”

MBS Dev www.mbsdev.com

SmartXpress in Palatine, Illinois, is a relatively new dealership.The company opened its doors in April 2009 and with the help ofMBS Dev has been watching its online business grow ever since.

SmartXpress selected MBS Dev primarily for its Internet capabil-ities, reports Steve Schwarz, one of the principals in the company.

Unlike other systems that the company evaluated, MBS Dev al-lowed the dealership to link its Internet site and back-end officetogether in real time, notes Schwarz.

“Very often those systems handshake and talk to one another, butthere’s delays in uploading and downloading information and theability to communicate in real time offers SmartXpress some realadvantages,” says Schwarz.

“From a customer service standpoint, it’s a real plus, because wecan get a real time view of everything’s that’s happening on the

Internet and be able to respond effectively to customer questionsor inquiries,” he says.

Schwarz also likes the way the MBS Dev system allows you toadd a walk-on customer.

“So many independent dealers, for example, don’t subscribe towalk-on customers,” notes Schwarz. “By that I mean somebodywho wants to get on your site, engage, set up an account via theInternet and then start shopping. Most independent dealer sitesrequire you to have the account established on the back end firstand then you can open it up to the customer.”

He also likes the system’s strengths when it comes to handlingcoupons. “This was important to us from a promotional stand-point,” says Schwartz. “The system allows us to provide cus-tomers with coupon codes for discounts either by line item or byorder.”

The ability to customize the landing page was another plus forSmartXpress. “We can completely customize our landing page tolook however we want it to look,” says Schwarz.

“We also co-brand our sites with customers and do it ourselveswithout technical support. It’s been an excellent system to usfrom a start-up standpoint,” he states.

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Red Cheetahwww.redcheetah.com

Midwest Office Supply in Springfield, Illinois, starting using RedCheetah in October of last year, so the company is still feeling itsway around the system. Still, Jeff DeMarco, a partner with Mid-west, is feeling good about how the technology has improved thelook and feel of its web site.

Midwest Office Supply made the transition to Red Cheetah lastfall based on the strength of its e-commerce platform. What De-Marco likes most about that is its ease of use and speed.

“We believe e-commerce should be intuitive, the customer shouldbe able to log in, there shouldn’t have to be a tutorial, and theyshould never have to pick up the phone and ask, ‘What do I donext?’” explains DeMarco. “If you’re customer-centric you haveto think of their best interests, which is why we selected RedCheetah.”

Customers seem to like it and Midwest has won back some e-commerce accounts that, although they didn’t leave Midwest,had stopped using their previous ordering platform because itwas too slow.

“We told them to give this a try and we have some of those back,”states DeMarco. “The latest metric I pulled showed our e-com-merce lines entered is about the same as it’s always been. We’vebeen getting favorable responses from customers.”

When we spoke with DeMarco he was on his way to a Red Chee-tah user meeting and looking forward to hearing about enhance-ments to the system.

sales-iwww.sales-i.com

Firmin’s Office City with locations in Texarcana, Mt. Pleasant, andCarthage, Texas, has been using sales-i for the past threemonths. It’s still early, but president Chuck Firmin says that thebiggest benefit to date has been the ability to target specific cus-tomers with specific promotions.

Every week Firmin’s Office City promotes a different product cat-egory. For example, one week they may target customers buyingsupplies who aren’t buying janitorial. Customers within that nichereceive a sales-i alert and Firmin’s sales people follow up.

The first sales-i alerts, sent out in early December, went to buyersamong the dealership’s top 1,000 customers who hadn’t pur-chased their 2010 calendars. The result: the dealership had arecord-breaking December in that category.

Firmin’s has seven sales people and three customer service repsusing sales-i on a daily basis. As might be expected some veteransales reps didn’t immediately see the opportunity or understand

reasons for the change to a new system, but after a couple ofmonths they’re seeing the light.

“We’ve really had better results through sales-i,” says Firmin.

A recent promotion targeted accounts who had never ordered ad-vertising specialties from Firmin’s before. The promotion had juststarted when we spoke, so Firmin was in no position to gauge itssuccess, but if past promotions are any indicator he’s expectingsolid results. Those alerts are also a great way to educate cus-tomers.

“There were a lot of people who didn’t know, for example, thatwe did janitorial,” explains Firmin. “They were telling us, ‘I wouldhave been buying that a long time ago if I’d known it. It breaksyour heart to hear that.’”

It wasn’t all that challenging getting up to speed on sales-i. Withina couple of weeks Firmin was creating alerts and he says thatnow it’s “a piece of cake.” He mostly uses sales-i’s default alerts,but since Firmin’s sells printing, and machines in addition to officesupplies, the company has created custom alerts for those cate-gories too.

“We did four alerts in December and just did our second alert inJanuary and for every one we’ve done, we’ve had incredible re-sults,” states Firmin. “We just did one to our top accounts whohaven’t bought storage boxes and had record-breaking sales instorage boxes right after we did the sales-i alert.”

“We have an alert-a-week scheduled for all of 2010 and next we’llbe looking at all the other things it can do,” concludes Firmin.

SSI www.ssiinc.ca

Current Office Solutions in Bryan, Ohio, converted to SSI in Octo-ber 2008, mostly because the price was right. But there was a lotmore to it than just a competitive price.

“We can completely customize the system for how we want touse it,” says Nicki Cogswell, accounting manager. She also likesthat anytime Current Office Solutions requires specific function-ality, SSI will get it done.

“There’s been at least three modifications done just for our com-pany in the past year,” says Cogswell. “When we need something,they listen to our concerns and bend over backwards to meetthem.”

Cogswell also says the sales analysis provided by SSI is helpfulfor growing revenues. “It’s allowed us to analyze our sales andour customers and increase our margins by looking at what cus-tomers are buying,” says Cogswell. “We’ve seen a big increasein our margins because we’ve been able to analyze [buying pat-terns] so much better now.”

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One of the new enhancements that works well at Current OfficeSolutions is GC Contracts.

“It’s a more detailed contract assignment tool for assigning pric-ing structure to customers,” explains Cogswell. “That’s somethingthat was very important to us. When we first started it was moregeneric and all your customers were either Level 1, 2 or 3. Nowwe’re able to assign pricing structures to our customers in a moresophisticated manner and that increases our margins quite a bit.”

Thaleruswww.thalerus.com

Collins Office Supply in Charleston, South Carolina, began usingThalerus’ Vendere Aim and Vibe in February 2008. One of the pri-mary factors for selecting the system was its status as a hostedsolution.

“We’re a small company with 13 employees and I’m the IT de-partment and I don’t know anything,” laughs Ray Dickinson, gen-eral manager at Collins Office Supply.

Dickinson says the change has made life a whole lot easier at thedealership.

“We get numerous calls a day from customers wanting a copy of

an invoice,” he cites as one example. “Back then, we’d have tofind it, make a copy, fax it or scan it and e-mail it. Now it’s likethree clicks and we can have the invoice e-mailed to the ac-count.”

“With our old system, once the month was closed, it was closed,”notes Dickinson “You couldn’t go back to that period of time anddo anything. Now if I want to go back and see what our sales per-son’s commission was in May of last year, I can set the parame-ters from May 1 to May 30 and boom, that’s the same report I gotback last May and I love that.”

Dickinson also gives kudos to the e-commerce side of the sys-tem. “It’s very easy to find something, it’s not scrolling page topage,” says Dickinson. “You can type in a very long descriptionof something…if you want a white binder that’s one inch and aD-ring on it, put that in and it brings up five or six different itemsto select from. Customers like that part of it.”

He also likes the system’s ease of use. Collins’ supplies sales repsusually can sit down with a customer and get them up and order-ing in a matter of minutes,” he reports.

Scott Cullen has been writing about the office products, office fur-

niture, and office equipment industries since 1986.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 38

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The Thalerus Group supports a work-smart environment with

• Flexible, robust ERP business management solution

• Scalable webstore that’s easy to use and capability-rich

• Automated time-saving order fulfillment

• Marketing tools to strengthen and reward customer loyalty

• GSA Advantage and DoD EMALL dealer configurable

• Online promotional capabilities that support aggressive

sales strategies

“We landed a very large account�we could not have done it without Thalerus’ Vendere webstore. Our new customer loves it.” Ray Dickinson, Collins Office Supply

4300 Commerce Ct., Suite 200, Lisle, IL 60532 � 630.955.9990 � www.thalerus.com

�������������� ������ ���������������������

Work Smart Think

Thalerus

What Core Competence Is andIsn’t

A dealer often mistakenly associates corecompetencies with the laundry list ofdealer strengths, thinking back to the tra-ditional SWOT planning tool (Strengths,Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats).

Dealers have erroneously included corecompetencies such as a well-defined vi-sion, experienced personnel, a productivesales force, strong product lines, customerrelationships or financial stability. However,a specific strength or discrete skill doesnot by itself constitute a core competency.

By Hamel and Prahalad’s definition, a corecompetence is a bundle of skills and tech-nologies that enables a company to pro-vide a particular (unique) benefit tocustomers.

An example of a core competence couldbe unparalleled delivery systems. Thiscompetence would be based upon adealer’s ability to inform and communicatewith customers in real time; a highly com-petent, experienced and well trained staff;

accurate, complete and timely deliveries;the integration of varied skills and tech-nologies, and indicators that measurequick, efficient and on-time performance.

Another core competence might be fiercecustomer loyalty to dealer brand (the“dealer mystique”). This competencewould require an integration of specific el-ements such as company-wide trainingand understanding of customer needs andpriorities, value propositions, consultativeselling, partnering, CRM (customer rela-tionship management), and marketing andcommunicating your brand and differenti-ated value.

In our consulting engagements, otherclient examples of core competencieshave included unprecedented fast cycletime, customer intimacy and mindshare,technological leadership and innovation,unique product and service selection thatclosely mirrors specific customer needs,strong alliances within all levels of the dis-tribution chain, unique value-added solu-tions for every major customer and a

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 39

YourCompetitiveEdgeBy Bill Kuhn

continued on page 40

CORE COMPETENCE:

culture that embraces change and tech-nology.

Each of these competencies is built uponthe integration of several discrete skillsand technologies.

The above competencies do not consti-tute a checklist. Core competencies differamong dealers, just as the internal corpo-rate culture is different for every organiza-tion. Every dealership is unique, with itsown set of competencies.

A dealer should have at least one out-standing core competence. Unfortunately,many dealers have none—which, ofcourse, is only manageable if that’s thecase for your competition!

An Approach for Developing Your Core Competence

Where do you start?

n Bring your key players together todiscuss and explore the corecompetencies that may exist in yourdealership.

n Devote the time necessary toprobe deeply, question andchallenge whether any competencymentioned by the group really existswithin your dealership and/or fallsunder the true definition of a corecompetence.

According to Hamel and Prahalad, thereare three tests for a core competence:

1. Customer value. A corecompetence must make adisproportionate contribution tocustomer-perceived value. Hameland Prahalad caution that one ofthe biggest pitfalls in attempting toidentify a core competence is infailing to apply the test ofcustomer-perceived value.

2. Competitor differentiation. Toqualify as a core competence, acapability must be competitivelyunique and difficult forcompetitors to imitate.

3. Extendability. A core competencemust have extendability; acompetence cannot be a corecompetence if there is no way ofimagining an array of newproducts or services resulting fromthe competence.

In helping to determine the core compe-tencies that your dealership may have, askyour team to respond to the followingquestions:

n What does our dealership do thatis unique?

n What is most valuable to our cus-tomers?

n If we can only have one core com-petence, what should it be?

Core Competencies Must Be Ongoing

Once you’ve identified and developedyour dealership’s core competencies, suc-cess will also be based upon identifyingthose competencies that will be needed inthe future to build and protect your market.

Ask yourself:

Are there skills that we don’t currently pos-sess whose absence could undermine thecompetencies we do have? The latest is-sues both of INDEPENDENT DEALER andOFDealer, our sister publication on the of-fice furniture side of the industry(www.ofdealer.com), have emphasized theimportance of improving the talent in yourdealership using training and education.

How can we improve our market positionby better leveraging our existing corecompetencies? For office products deal-ers, this is particularly relevant consideringthe opportunities for capturing marketshare I discussed in my January 2010 col-umn, “The Year of the Possible Big BoxImplosion—It’s Time for a Pre-emptiveStrike.”

What do we know that can be transferredto new opportunities? What new productsor services could we create by deploying

or recombining our current core compe-tencies? In office products, successfuldealers have added entire new productslines such as jan/san, break room prod-ucts, coffee and water services, promo-tional materials and green products. Infurniture, added services have proved tobe a lifeline for many dealers. Going a stepfurther, as sales of cubicles decline, whatproduct lines will be taking their place?

Anticipating the markets of the future,what new competencies should we add?Which ones will be needed to build andprotect our market? For furniture and of-fice products dealers, this is particularlyrelevant thinking about markets such ashealthcare, government and education.

Have we distinguished between our corecompetencies and less critical skills andfunctions that can be outsourced? Thereis a limit to how much a dealer can under-take. No one dealer can be or performeverything. Focus on your core competen-cies and identify which less critical skillsand functions—ones that require toomuch investment in time, money, and ex-pertise—might possibly be outsourced.

The core competencies of an organizationare the roots of competitive strength andthe gateway to future opportunities. Theylie at the very heart of the strategic thinkingprocess. Have you taken the steps neces-sary to develop your competitive edge?

Bill Kuhn, principal of William E. Kuhn & Associ-

ates, is a noted industry consultant, writer, and

speaker with over 35 years of industry experi-

ence. He consults with dealer principals and their

management teams in areas of strategic plan-

ning, leadership and organizational development,

marketing, financial management, valuation and

merger/acquisition. For more information, con-

tact Bill by phone 303-322-8233, fax 303-331-

9032, or e-mail: BillKuhn1@cs.com.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 40

KUHN: continued from page 39

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 41

Generating Leads with Your Web Site

By Jason Kirby

Do you know how many people visit your web site in a month? Do youknow how they found you? Do you know what they are doing on yourweb site?

If you can answer these questions, then you make up the estimated 20%of NOPA members that are using Google Analytics. If you are among theother 80% who do not currently use Google Analytics, you are deprivingyourself of valuable information about your customers.

Analytical data is just the tip of the iceberg. Social Media Marketing andSearch Engine Marketing are two of the top buzzwords in the onlineworld today. But before you can even begin to think about spending adime on initiatives in those areas, you need to make sure your most im-portant online asset—your web site—is ready and optimized to maximizethe return on your marketing investment.

Most independent dealers sell primarily at the local level and do little ifany business online with customers outside their primary trading area.

With that in mind, it is essential to make sure your web site is set up tocapture information from your visitors quickly and easily and ultimatelyturn them into leads on which your sales people can act. In order to lever-age your web site properly, you need the following:

Contact forms. Providing easy to find contact forms (Figure 1) is ab-solutely essential if you are looking to turn your web site in a lead gen-eration machine. If you pay a web designer to update your site, it is worthpaying the fee to have them create a form on your web site—preferablylocated on every page.

n TIP: The only information you really need to capture is the visitor’sname, e-mail address and phone number. Initially, just focus onthose three pieces of information on the contact form because ask-ing for more may deter a visitor from filling out the form.

Phone number on every page. People these days do not want to clickthrough dozens of tough to navigate pages if they can get the answerthey are looking for immediately by simply calling your phone number.Therefore, make sure your phone number is easy to find on every singlepage (Figure 2).

n TIP: Place your phone number either in the top corner of the pageor inside your logo. Most people look for phone numbers in thesetwo locations.

Credibility Builders. With so many online scams, it is vital that you havesome credibility builders on your web site to make your visitors feel atease. A perfect example would be the logos of some of your past clientsor even better would be the Better Business Bureau logo (Figure 3).

n TIP: Put some credibility builders on the homepage.

Value Offering. Give visitors a reason to contact you. The reason can beas simple as offering a discount in return for submitting a contact form.You could even provide them a free quote or consultation when they con-tact you.

n TIP: Make the value offering visible on every page and preferablynear the contact form or phone number (Figure 4)

Google Analytics. If you aren’t currently using Google Analytics, clickhere www.google.com/analytics/sign_up.html and follow the instructionsto sign up. Start tracking the data now.

n TIP: Don’t worry about interpreting the data until you have accu-mulated 2-3 months worth.

By implementing the changes discussed above, you will convert moreof those prospects into genuine leads and helping to truly maximize thepotential of your web site.

Now it is on you to contact your web master or find someone else youknow can make these changes and make them fast. And always choosequality over cost when it comes to the brand of your company.

Jason Kirby is director of the office furniture marketing program at eBoost

Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy that has generated in excess of 20,000

leads for its clients in the office furniture Industry over the past four years. To learn

more about eBoost Consulting and its office furniture marketing programs, visit

www.OfficeFurnitureMarketing.com or -mail Jason at Jason@eboostconsulting.com.

What would have happened if the two majorwholesalers had decided to focus only onserving the big box channel during the last20 years?

They would certainly have suffered, but in-dependent dealers like you and my old com-pany probably would have died.

Don’t worry, I’m not being paid by SPRichards, United Stationers or any otherwholesaler to write this column, so I hopeyou will judge the content on its own merits.

My point is simple: Doesn’t it make sense,every once in a while, to take a little time toconsider who our real friends are?

I am aware that wholesalers make money byselling to our channel and that they attemptto improve their profitability over time. Is thatbad?

Look at the investments they make in mar-keting, infrastructure and sales support. Ihope the wholesalers will continue to beprofitable, because we need their supportnow and in the future.

Speaking from my own personal experi-ence, I know the dealership I owned and ranback in the day could never have grownquickly enough to become an acquisitiontarget without the private label offerings thatthe wholesalers provided.

They also made me competitive enoughagainst the big boxes to retain customers ata good margin and acquire new customerswhere price wasn’t the only issue. A goodpartner deserves to be profitable, don’tthey?

Notice that I used the word “partner” in thelast paragraph. Life is too short to workclosely with anyone you can’t trust or whodoesn’t provide expertise and resourcesthat help your business grow.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 42

continued on page 43

yourLOVEWholesaler

By Tom Buxton

If any of your current suppliers—includingyour wholesalers—provide poor represen-tation, lacks marketing support or stillworse, is someone you really don’t trust—find an alternative. It’s that simple.

But if they are doing a good job in thoseareas, don’t change partners just becauseof a few lower prices or an upfront pay-ment.

Speaking as a consultant who has seenover 100 dealer profit and loss statementsin the past few years, I am convinced thatneither wholesaler is going to lower yourcost of goods so significantly that it willsave your business if it is already strug-gling.

There is no free lunch. Haven’t you made the same point to yourown best customers when they are en-ticed by “prebate” offers from larger com-petitors?

If you believe, as I do, that prebates arenot in your customers’ best interests andwill be recaptured by price increases overtime, shouldn’t you be equally concernedwhen you are promised up front money toswitch your wholesale allegiance?

Also, many folks use price comparisonsoftware to select their lowest purchasingcost. How do you feel when your cus-tomers do that to you?

Do you know what will happen if this prac-tice continues? Prices will go up, not downand other benefits that you can gain frompartnering with your wholesaler will disap-pear.

Isn’t it time we implemented “the GoldenRule” with our wholesalers and reviewpricing during account reviews rather thanevery day? Isn’t that what we think ourcustomers should do for us?

I realize many of you may feel I may have“crossed the line” by suggesting a partner-ship where you prefer an adversarial rela-

tionship.

We will just have to agree to disagree, be-cause S.P. Richards, United Stationers andnewer vendors like Image Star, Synnexand Supplies Network have leveled theplaying field for independent dealers, bothlarge and small.

Today’s independents compete betteragainst the likes of Office Depot, Office-Max and Staples than any time in the past20 years and I, for one, am grateful forthat. How about thanking your partner to-morrow? You can always go back to beat-ing them up the next day!

Tom Buxton is founder and CEO of InterBizGroup,

a consulting firm that works with independent

office products dealers to help increase sales and

profitability, For more information, visit

ww.interbizgroup.com.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 43

BUXTON: continued from page 42

Time toPractice

Your Vowels!

By John Chappelear

Well, here we are, the first quarter of 2010 is behind us.How did you do? My father used to say: “If you can’tsell something, at least learn something.” I hope thatthis flat economy has been an opportunity for us to learnmore about our abilities, our strengths, our businessesand the depth of our personal relationships. I think 2009was a test, and since you’re still here…..clearly youpassed!

In my sales and productivity workshops, I have a pledgeI make all attendees take together right at the beginning.I have them pledge: I will not whine about the economy.It’s not about the economy. It’s never about the econ-omy! I have them recite it three times! Then I remindthem that the only thing poor performers do well is makegood excuses.

The real issue is how easy is it for you to maintain yourenergy, emotional balance and reduce your stress?When you can do that, your success is assured.

I recently met a sales manager whose team faced a ter-rible year in 2009, but yet they were able to grow marketshare by focusing on the sales program we call TheVowels Approach.

Watch your Attitude, Energy/Effort, Intensity/Integrity,Outlook, and Uniqueness to give you and your teamthe chance to succeed every day.

These should be the benchmarks we use to monitor ourbehavior constantly, so they become an integral part ofour lives, both personally and professionally. But it takesa plan. Here’s one that works.

Attitude is “the emotional capacity for effective perform-ance.” It’s not about what happens to you, it’s aboutyour reaction to what happens to you. Most people de-cide by the time they get out of the shower what kind ofday they are going to have. The plaque in my masterbath says simply “Each Day is a Gift—That’s Why it’sCalled the Present.” Start with that attitude, and yourday will be fantastic!

Energy and Effort, are critical. Energy “is the fundamen-tal substance of everything in the universe.” Wow! If youdon’t focus your energy, nothing happens! Combine thatwith effort—“the use of mental or physical effort to dosomething”—and a powerful and necessary combo forsuccess is formed!

Intensity is “extreme in degree, strength or size.” It’s thegas pedal in your car. You have to push down or easeoff depending on the curves ahead. Learn how andwhen to be intense—you can’t do it all day long!

Integrity is a “steadfast adherence to a strict moral orethical code.” It’s your ethical road map and shapeshow others see you and judge you.

Outlook is “a habitual mental state that determines howyou interpret and respond to situations.” This is yourmental picture of the future and the part of your attitudeyou share. Do those around you think you have a greatoutlook? They’d better, or your personal and profes-sional relationships will suffer!

Uniqueness is “standing alone; radically distinctive,without equal.” Can you say that you are without equal?No one has your distinct set of values, experiences, cre-ativity, desires, hopes, dreams and passions. Can youcommunicate your uniqueness? It’s the one and onlytrue advantage you have over your competition!

When I get sales people and owners to think in terms oftheir vowels, I see dramatic changes almost immedi-ately. Lifelong learning is the key to an active mind andan active mind puts you ahead of the competition andkeeps you there!

A former independent office products dealer, John Chappelear is

an author, executive coach, and trainer whose company, Changing

the Focus, LLC, helps develop more positive, powerful, and

balanced individuals and more productive, creative, and profitable

organizations. For more information on how John can help you and

your organization, or to sign up for our free newsletter, visit

www.changingthefocus.com or send an e-mail to:

john@changingthefocus.com.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 45

aeiou

If you’ve ever been to an air show, you might well haveseen an Extra EA-300 whizzing by. It’s just 1,400 lbs.of welded aluminum, fiberglass and fabric but itcomes with a 300 hp engine and is the vehicle ofchoice for many aerial acrobats.

Case in point: Bill Vendramin, general manager ofKramer & Leonard. Bill joined the Chesterton, Indiana-based dealership in 2004 and has played a key role inhelping to grow sales from some $13 million a yearback when he started to over $20 million today.

His path to office products was not exactly a straightline. But as someone with a strong technical back-ground—Bill holds a degree in aeronautics and astro-nautics from Purdue University—he says he verymuch appreciates the dealership’s own use of tech-nology, a product mix that included computer prod-ucts, networking services and high end businessmachines and a business model that’s based on su-perior service and problem solving for customers,rather than just low price.

But even as office products have become an increas-

ingly important part of Bill’s life, he hasn’t totallyturned his back on the aviation world.

Bill’s father was a mechanic in the Air Force, hisbrother is a pilot too and Bill himself first took to theair at the ripe old age of 17.

And as if all the ups and downs of the office productsworld weren’t enough, there’s nothing Bill likes betterthan to get behind the controls of one of those Extra-300s.

“It’s like a rollercoaster on steroids,” he says. “Onlyyou’re about 5,000 ft. above the ground, moving at upto 200 mph and having to make your own decisionsabout where you’re going and how, instead of relyingon a track that’s already laid down!”

Most independents, of course, think nothing of goingthrough whatever hoops it might take for their cus-tomers. But for Bill Vendramin, going through hoopsdoesn’t stop there. He’s just as adept at negotiatingthose hoops 5,000 ft up in the air as he is at groundlevel. Dramamine, anyone?

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 46

The Other Side of Bill VendraminGM, Kramer & Leonard

Going Through Hoops on the Ground and in the Air

There’s good reason why promotional productsare a nearly $16 billion industry.

Look around anyone’s office and you’re almostcertain to spot a few logoed items—everythingfrom the Obama bobblehead and drink koozie tothe almighty logoed pen or imprinted T-shirt.

In fact, it’s so easy to start a promotional prod-ucts business that 5,000 companies joined theindustry in 2009 alone, despite a record reces-sion. Even with 10% unemployment, nearly twiceas many new distributorships started in 2009than in 2007. And for 2010, projections call for6,000 new distributorships.

Promotional products or advertising specialtiesinclude anything imprinted with a logo or adver-tising message and are given to customers aspremiums, prizes, commemorative products orother incentives. They are powerful one-to-onemarketing tools that businesses continue to relyon, due to their low cost and high impact.

Here’s why promotional products work:

Instant recall: 8 out of 10 businessprofessionals remember the advertiserof a promotional product they havereceived.

It’s all business: Most respondents toASI’s 2008 advertising impressionssurvey (62%) say they have donebusiness with the advertiser afterreceiving a promotional product.

Growing industry: Spending onbranded products was 83% greater thanradio advertising, 73% greater thanInternet ads and five times higher thanoutdoor ads in 2008.

According to ASI’s Counselor magazine, 95% ofall businesses buy promotional products, includ-ing (in order of market share): financial, manufac-turing, health/medical/hospitals, consumerproducts, education/schools/universities, and as-sociations/clubs/civic groups.

Many small businesses—including independentoffice product dealers who are TriMega oris.group members—are adding promotionalproducts to boost sales and strengthen customerrelationships.

The advertising specialties business has a lowbarrier to entry—it costs less than a cell phonebill to get up and running—and they’re an easyaddition to your current services.

Since you already have a relationship with yourcustomers, it’s more comfortable for them to pur-chase an additional service—like promotionalproducts—from you rather than from a less famil-iar source.

Let’s say you’re ready to enter the ad specialtybusiness. Just how do you do it?

In part, through the simple, turnkey tools andservices offered via membership in the Advertis-ing Specialty Institute (ASI).

New technologies make sourcing products andpromoting capabilities simple. ASI offers its rev-olutionary service, ESP, the most comprehensiveonline database that allows you to find andsource every promotional product in the industryfrom 3,500+ ASI suppliers.

With ESP, you can create marketing programs,develop customer presentations, design virtualsamples, generate purchase orders, manageyour clients’ projects and find new ideas.

More than 32,000 distributor salespeople, includ-ing 100% of Counselor magazine’s Top 40 dis-tributors, already use ESP to manage theirbusinesses and increase sales and profit mar-gins.

ASI also hosts free educational webinars and fivetradeshows a year in major markets across thenation, bringing together the industry’s top sup-pliers and leading distributors.

In addition, ASI hosts the Advantages Road-shows, a traveling trade show visiting over 70cities across North America each year. And, thereare plenty of free education sessions at all theshows.

Once you join the promotional products industry,how do you get started? Start with the clients/contacts you already know. Let them know youare now offering this new service. Set up a pro-motional products sample display and order mar-keting catalogs featuring thousands of imprinteditems. Actively promote your web site every-where. The average order is about $1,000 andpromotional product customers typically buythree times per year.

What are you waiting for? Contact ASI today atMajorAccounts@asicentral.com and let themknow that you learned about this great new opportunity to grow your business through INDEPENDENT DEALER. ASI offers significantlydiscounted package for TriMega and is.groupmembers so be sure to mention your member-ship in these organizations.

MARCH 2010 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 47

T H E L A S T W O R D

Promotional Products Net Nearly $16 Billion in Sales

Jarod HockASI

Director/Distribuor Sales