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CONTENTS Volume 13 No. 8
FEATURE ARTICLES 10
16
Focus on Financing Selecting the right equipment lease provider
COURTS & CAPITOLS Put it in Writing Use formal maintenance & support agreements
24
by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine
by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel
The topic of third-party equipment leasing companies sometimes leads to expressions of praise, concern and advice. It also leads to a number of questions. What are the traits of the ideal leasing company? What policies and procedures need to be considered? Who owns the customer? Comments from representatives of four of the industry’s leasing companies, along with the results of a recent Office Technology survey, serve to address these and other pertinent questions.
Why should you have a written agreement? Because it clearly establishes the rights and liabilities of the parties involved. The dealer who does not have a written maintenance and support agreement as part of his transactional documents operates with significant risk. “Lucky” is neither smart nor prudent.
PRINCIPAL ISSUES Managing Customer Loyalty Apply continuous process improvement & increase sales
25
Staying Focused Should you expand beyond your core business?
by Bob Cicerone and Chris Tatham ETC Institute
Management practices are seldom subjected to process improvement. This is most likely to be true in small- to mid-size businesses. However, it is just as important to improve the process of management within your company as it is to improve the processes used to create products and deliver services.
by Tom Callinan Strategy Development
Are you thinking of adding products or services to your portfolio, such as office products, scanning services, content management software or furniture? Such markets are completely logical options for some copier dealerships at some point in time. However, some of them should never be explored by the vast majority of dealers. Before you venture into any other market, you should answer a few questions about your current business.
20
Selling Your Business Here’s a foundation from which to work
28
by Arnie Valenzuela FIMA 4 Consulting Group LLC
Selling a business is just as complicated as the game of golf, if not more complicated. It can elicit many emotions, including excitement, relief, doubt, insecurity, fear and stress. Here is a look at some simple guidelines that will serve as a foundation to work from as you consider selling your business.
Inventory Management The key lies in real-time record keeping by Jim Kahrs Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc.
Properly managing your inventory is critical to maintaining a strong profit margin. Every item that is lost or written off as obsolete comes right off the bottom line. That’s pure profit out of your pocket. The key to minimizing these losses is in the details of managing your inventory properly. Problems come about when inventory procedures are not in place or when they are not followed properly when they are in place. 4 | www.of ficetechnologymag.com | Februar y 2007
DEPARTMENTS 6
Executive Director’s Page
8
BTA President’s Message
30
Advertiser Index
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE
What are the Most Important Traits?
W
hat do you believe are the most important traits in a third-party leasing company? While working on the cover story for this issue of Office Technology, I asked the question of BTA dealers via an e-mail survey. More than 100 dealers completed the survey, with 86 of them responding to the question. Following is a sampling of their responses: “Honesty, being forthright with leasing terms and realistic buyout/upgrade figures at the end of a lease.” “They act as partners and understand their place in the transaction.” “A partnership attitude and understanding that the dealer is their customer.” “Communication with the dealer. If a customer is unhappy, we need to know it ... so we can fix it. That way, the lease company gets to fulfill its lease without complications and, more than likely, will get the new lease afterward. Being flexible at leaseend options with the dealer and the customer can result in repeat business.” “Correct billing, as requested. Prior notification of lease expiration/auto renewal. Online meter entry. Have one service rep who can handle all requests.” “Support on both the front end and back end of the lease. Good communication. Consistent program and options at the end of the lease. Flexibility with upgrades. Flexibility with programs. Simple paperwork.” “Knowing who the customer belongs to. Reasonable approval rates. Timely funding. Creative financing options. Online capabilities.” 6 | www.of ficetechnologymag.com | Februar y 2007
“USA-based customer service.” “Great customer service (to us, the dealer). Professional treatment of our customer. Being able to reach a qualified person when you call. Quick credit decisions. Reasonable rates. A willingness to give us the first opportunity to buy the equipment at the end of the term in lieu of selling to a wholesaler.” “Fairness, honesty and integrity.” The survey also asked dealers to share their comments on the topic of leasing companies in general. For a look at some of these comments, plus additional responses to the question regarding important traits, see an extended version of this column on the BTA Web site at www.bta.org. Incidentally, the search for the ideal leasing company has led many dealers to Greater Bay Capital (www.gbbk.com). Several years ago, in its own search for a leasing company to recommend to dealers, BTA selected Greater Bay as an affinity partner. Today, the company offers better rates to BTA member dealers than it does to non-members. Among the key benefits the company offers BTA members: A lower, one-time documentation fee charged to the dealer’s customers. A notification period in the BTA lease contract that is only 60 days, as opposed to “not less than 120 days before the end of the lease and no more than 180 days” — the wording in the non-member dealer contract. BTA dealer members have the first right of refusal to buy a piece of equipment back at the end of the lease term. If you are interested in learning more about Greater Bay, contact Kathy Curtin or Helene Waldman at (866) GBC-BTA1. — Brent Hoskins
Executive Director/BTA Editor/Office Technology Brent Hoskins brent@bta.org (816) 303-4040 Associate Editor Elizabeth Marvel elizabeth@bta.org (816) 303-4060 Contributing Writers Tom Callinan, Strategy Development www.strategydevelopment.org Bob Cicerone & Chris Tatham, ETC Institute www.etcinstitute.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Jim Kahrs, Property Plus Management Consulting Inc. www.prosperityplus.com Arnie Valenzuela, FIMA4 Consulting Group LLC arniev@comcast.net
®
Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688 Valerie Briseno Membership Marketing Manager valerie@bta.org Cathy Kenton Membership Sales Representative cathy@bta.org Gary Hedberg Accounting Manager gary@bta.org Mary Hopkins Accounting Clerk mary@bta.org ©2007 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material. However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.
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©2007 Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. Electronic Imaging Division. All rights reserved.
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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ®
We Hope to See You at ITEX in Las Vegas
I
f you have not done so already, I encourage you to register today for ITEX 2007, scheduled for March 21-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Hosted by imageSource magazine, the show will feature approximately 250 exhibiting companies and 100 hours of education. As a Business Technology Association (BTA) member, you will receive a discount off the registration fee. Instead of $99 for pre-registration, it is only $79. Just use the promo code GBTA17 when you register at www.itexshow.com. BTA will have a significant presence at this year’s ITEX show. Following is an overview of our planned activities: BTA will have two exhibit spaces at the show. You will be able to find BTA on the trade show floor in booth number 244. Drop by and learn the latest about the association and its many member benefits. The association will also have a membership information kiosk in the show registration area. BTA is sponsoring six of the many ITEX education sessions at the show. The BTAsponsored sessions include: Service 101: Making Sure Break/Fix Systems are Optimized; Promoting Your Business: Building Market Awareness; Solution Selling: A New Sales Compensation Model; Developing the Right Product Portfolio — From MFPs to Prints to Color to Application Software Solutions; Digital Color: Exceptional Opportunities for Future Growth; and Contracting in a Solutions World. BTA will present its annual Channel’s Choice awards during an evening banquet March 21 at the Aladdin Hotel. Each year, 8 | www.of ficetechnologymag.com | Februar y 2007
BTA presents awards to those suppliers that have distinguished themselves above all others in key performance categories. The winners are selected based on the balloting of office technology dealers who are asked to rate their primary and secondary suppliers on a variety of factors within each category. BTA will be presenting awards in the categories of product line, marketing distribution and corporate support. In addition, a Superior Performance Award will be presented to the overall primary product line supplier. Likewise, an Outstanding Performance Award will be presented to the overall secondary product line supplier. (The banquet will also feature the imageSource Perfect Image Award presentations). BTA Southeast and BTA will host a member appreciation breakfast on March 22 at the Convention Center. The event will provide a networking opportunity for BTA members. The agenda includes a presentation by BTA General Counsel Bob Goldberg, “Distribution: Leveling the Playing Field.” Bob will focus on the need for dealers to develop a strategy that de-emphasizes the name on the product, but instead promotes the name, knowledge and service associated with the name on the dealership door. Bob will also discuss the dealer’s legal rights in regard to unfair competition by suppliers. In addition, during the breakfast, BTA will present its prestigious “Dealer of the Year” awards to three dealerships that have achieved excellence in business. BTA will schedule private, one-on-one meetings with Bob Goldberg for members seeking a legal consultation. If you would like to meet with Bob, e-mail brent@bta.org. We hope to see you in Las Vegas. — Dan Hayes
2006-2007 Board of Directors President Dan Hayes Purcell’s Business Products 222 E. 1st St. Campbellsville, KY 42718 dan@purcells.com President-Elect Shannon Oliver 25 Wheaton Circle Greensboro, NC 27406 soliver@triad.rr.com Vice President Ronelle Ingram Steven Enterprises Inc. 17952 Sky Park Circle Ste. E Irvine, CA 92614 ronellei@msn.com BTA East Thomas Chin Accolade Technologies LLC 604 Hampshire Road Mamaroneck, NY 10543 tchin@accotech.com BTA Mid-America Mike Blake Corporate Business Systems LLC 2018 S. Stoughton Road Madison, WI 53716 mblake@corpbussystems.com BTA Southeast Bill James WJS Enterprises Inc. 3315 Ridgelake Drive P.O. Box 6620 Metairie, LA 70009 bjames@wjsenterprises.com BTA West Rock Janecek Burtronics Business Systems Inc. 216 S. Arrowhead Ave. P.O. Box 1170 San Bernardino, CA 92408 rjanecek@burtronics.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkle Newman & Rosenberg Ltd. 222 S. Riverside Plaza Ste. 2100 Chicago, IL 60606 robert.goldberg@sfnr.com
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Focus on Financing Selecting the right equipment lease provider by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
T
he topic of third-party equipment leasing companies sometimes leads to expressions of praise, concern and advice. Consider this recent comment from a BTA member dealer: “There are very good, honest leasing companies in our industry and just as many or more with questionable business practices. It has never been more important to choose your partner carefully.” The dealer is among 110 dealers who responded to a recent Office Technology magazine survey on the topic of leasing. Many offer praise for their leasing partners. One dealer writes, for example, that the “Customer for Life” principles of his leasing partner, GreatAmerica Leasing Corp., are “truly a model for the industry.” Other dealers use phrases like “dreadful to work with” and “absolute dishonesty” in describing certain leasing companies. One dealer figuratively states: “I am tired of being hit in the head with the butt end of the rifle. I am aligning our dealership at the present with a leasing company that shares my pain and will always recognize that the vendor (dealer) should be the lead entity with our mutual customer.” Are the majority of dealers responding to the survey disappointed with their leasing company partners? The answer is “no.” In fact, 48 percent of those responding to a question regarding their current, primary leasing partner indicate the relationship is “excellent,” while another 42 percent indicate the relationship is “acceptable.” Only 7 percent indicate the relationship they have with their leasing company “needs improvement” while 3 percent indicate they are presently seeking a new leasing company due to a poor relationship. 10 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
Whether relationships with leasing companies are excellent or poor, collectively, the companies are dominant players in the office technology industry. Eighty-seven percent of the survey respondents indicate that more than 40 percent of their total unit placements are leased devices, including 37 percent reporting that more than 80 percent of their product placements are under lease. “What we see in data coming from some of the industry analysts is that the U.S. copier market is estimated to be between $8 billion to $8.5 billion on an annual basis,” says Mark Merkel, president of Wells Fargo Financial Leasing. “Of that, $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion is financed in some form or fashion. So, about 80 percent of the market is financed through leasing, cost per copy or rental programs.” The dominance of the leasing option among office technology dealers is understandable. “They recognize that it’s probably the best way to put a product out there, because they (copiers, MFPs, etc.) are not the kinds of assets that appreciate at all,” says David Pohlman, senior vice president and general manager of the Office Equipment Division of GreatAmerica Leasing Corp. “When customers buy these products, they are essentially buying products that are going to be used up over time. So, you want to pay for them as they are providing a benefit to you.” Given the reliance on leasing companies, where does the dealer who is seeking a new leasing partner look? One option, of course, is to seek input from other dealers. The survey results provide some guidance. Respondents were asked: “If an industry friend/fellow dealer asked you to recommend a
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ership. “Our value proposithird-party leasing company, “... The dealers are our tion is and will always be which company would you customers ... When we that the dealers are our recommend first?” Eighty-six write a lease for a customers and we will aldealers offered a recommenways protect their cusdation. The top eight were: company, if they ever call tomer base,” she says. U.S. Bank (US Bancorp), us for a buyout or for “When we write a lease for GreatAmerica, De Lage anything in particular, we a company, if they ever call Landen, CIT Financial, Key say ‘thank you very much’ us for a buyout or for anyLeasing, Greater Bay Capital, and then we immediately call the dealer.” thing in particular, we say GE Capital and Wells Fargo. — Kathy Curtin ‘thank you very much,’ and Rather than simply going Greater Bay Capital then we immediately call on the recommendation of the dealer.” others, one needs to take a While it is easy for the leasing company to acknowledge closer look at the issue. That is, what are some of the traits of the ideal leasing company? What questions need to be that the dealer owns the customer, the real proof lies in the asked? What policies and procedures need to be consid- actions of the leasing company, says Mark Schmitt, senior ered? In recent years, one of the key complaints regarding vice president of Greater Bay Bancorp. “The dealer should leasing companies involves the question: “Who owns the ask, ‘Do you send offers directly to customers to finance customer?” It remains a concern. Respondents to the survey products through you?’” he explains. “At Greater Bay, the were asked: “Do you believe your third-party leasing answer is ‘no.’ We never call the dealer’s customers. We company partner acts as if it ‘owns the customer’ once one never send brochures soliciting them with ‘the next time of your customers signs a lease?” Thirty-seven percent of the you are getting something, call us.’” Bad experiences with leasing companies circumventing respondents answered “yes.” Related to the issue of customer ownership, the survey the dealer by seeking ownership of the customer (lessee) are asks: “Does the third-party leasing company notify you of sometimes facilitated through lengthy automatic lease any lease termination, early payoff or upgrade request?” renewals. The survey asks: “What is your third-party leasing Seventeen percent of respondents indicate they get no company partner’s automatic renewal provision listed in its such notifications. Also related is the survey question: contract?” The largest number of respondents to the ques“Have you experienced difficulties in the last six months tion — 48 percent — indicate that their primary leasing when upgrading a customer during a lease term or at the company partner has a month-to-month automatic end of a lease term?” Half of the respondents indicate they renewal. However, 33 percent indicate that the renewal is annual. The remaining respondents selected either “I don’t have experienced difficulties. Executives from the first and second leasing companies know” (10 percent) or “quarterly” (9 percent). Several survey respondents share comments specifically on the list of those recommended by dealers are quick to respond to the question of customer ownership. From Dave expressing concern with automatic lease renewals. One Verkinderen, general manager of U.S. Bank Office Equip- dealer states: “End-of-lease terms should be consistent from ment Finance Services: “Our motto is ‘Your Customer, Our leasing company to leasing company and clearly underResponsibility.’ We don’t come to work every day thinking standable to everyone involved with the lease transaction.” we’re a leasing company. At the end of the day, we’re really a Another dealer states: “I’m amazed how deceptive many billing and collecting company. Your lessee is yours and leasing companies are when surprising customers with you’ve given us the opportunity to service it for a period of automatic renewals.” Yet another simply states: “We need time.” From GreatAmerica’s Pohlman: “It’s always the clearer lease-end terms.” Fortunately, month-to-month renewals are becoming dealer’s customer. We are simply given the privilege to service them. At the heart of it, the dealer is our customer more common among leasing companies. “Our standard approach is that we would, on the last invoice, notify the and the lessee is our customer’s customer.” Kathy Curtin, program manager for Greater Bay Capital, lessee that it is their last scheduled payment and that the offers a similar response to the question of customer own- transition will go into renewal, but it goes on purely a 12 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
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the survey respondents’ month-to-month basis,” “We believe every dealer comments on the topic: says Pohlman. “There is no should have an agreement “Low rates seem to 12-month lock. Anything with his or her leasing come with stringent autothat has the GreatAmerica matic renewal policies. Are name on it is always month partner that clearly spells the leasing companies allies to month.” out how the relationship or enemies of the dealer?” The survey results reveal works. ‘What are the fees? “There is no free lunch. additional concerns beyond What are the buyouts? You cannot have the lowest those related to automatic How do trade-ups work?...’” rate up front and expect to renewals. Also among the — Mark Merkel control the back end.” questions and responses: Wells Fargo Financial Leasing “It is my opinion that “Do you always know too many leasing companies the true residual amount on all fair market value leases at the time the lease is signed?” are offering low rates, but making their profits with fees, interim rent and lock-in renewals.” 58 percent of the survey respondents answered “no.” Merkel advises dealers to consider a simple equation. “If you answered the previous question with ‘yes,’ for each asset leased, do you have an agreement documenting “Dealers ask me, ‘How can one company offer a rate that is that you can buy the asset for that amount?” 41 percent of so much lower than another company?’” he says. “When you present a balance sheet of how a financial company works, the survey respondents answered “no.” The results of these two questions and others point to they all look exactly the same. You have interest income and some important advice to any dealer seeking a new leasing other income, and you have interest expense and other partner — get all of the details up front and in writing. “We expense. That’s the only equation there is. So, if one of the believe every dealer should have an agreement with his or leasing companies is taking less interest income, where is her leasing partner that clearly spells out how the relation- the other income coming from? That’s the question dealers ship works,” advises Merkel. “‘What are the fees? What are need to be asking.” Pohlman agrees. “My primary advice to a dealer would be the buyouts? How do trade-ups work? What happens if the to look at the economics of what the source is offering you relationship ends?’” Verkinderen offers a similar comment. When U.S. Bank and just simply do the math,” he says. “If the sum of the paybegins working with a dealer, “we tell them, ‘let’s make sure ments that they are going to receive back doesn’t even cover we contract how we are going to work together,’” he says. what they are paying you, be concerned. Because, clearly, “‘Let’s not leave anything open-ended. Let’s talk about all other things are going to have to happen in order for that the different ways that we’re going to interact and let’s con- leasing company to get a return.” Facing the problem of some leasing companies soliciting tract and make sure that we understand.’” The dealer who strives to thoroughly understand the business directly from dealers’ customers, charging extra fees practices, policies and procedures of a new leasing company and utilizing annual automatic renewals, what do the dealers will also likely uncover additional, welcome benefits. Com- see as the important traits of the ideal leasing company? The ments shared by Curtin provide some examples. “If the survey asks the question. One respondent succinctly states dealer wants to build in a cost of, say, $50 a month for the ideal scenario: “We would like for it to be a positive expeservice on a $150-per-month lease so that the customer only rience for our customer. Leasing should be a value-add for the sees one bill for $200, we automatically strip out the $50 and customer, not a ‘gotcha’ every chance the [leasing company] send it to the dealer every month at no charge,” she explains. gets. Correct billing, timely communication, “Another benefit would be that Greater Bay rebates clearly-stated terms and any hint of a partunearned interest on early buyouts as opposed to changing nership would be fantastic.” Brent Hoskins, executive director the sum of the payments plus the residual.” of the Business Technology Association Finally, any discussion on the pros and cons of office and editor of Office Technology, technology equipment leasing companies must also can be reached at brent@bta.org. include the problems arising from “low-ball” rates. Among 14 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
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Staying Focused Should you expand beyond your core business? by: Tom Callinan, Strategy Development
A
re you thinking of adding products or services to your portfolio? Office products, large format printers, facilities management, scanning services, copy services, content management software, furniture — I could continue with the list of what I see traditional copier dealers adding to their offerings. The reasoning is usually a diversification strategy aimed at increasing revenue or profit. It almost seems like a plausible strategy since you can rationalize that all of the offerings are directed at the same business customer. What is difficult to rationalize is how these decisions strain a company’s resources, both management resources and capital resources. Some of these adjacent markets are completely logical options for some copier dealerships at some point in time. However, some of them should never be explored by the vast majority of dealers. Before you venture into any other market, you should answer a few questions, including: How am I doing in my core business? What is my overall market share? How far outside of my core business is the market I am considering? What is the best use of my capital? First, what is your core business? You can answer that question by examining the skills and knowledge of your employees. In the copier industry, some of the skills that define our core are knowledge of leasing, buyouts, copier features, aftermarket costs, total cost of operation, cycle billing, dispatch, onsite service, parts logistics and dozens of other well-developed processes supported by employee skill and knowledge. If you have 3 percent of the copier market share in your marketing geography, I would focus on making market share gains by staying close to your core rather than moving into an adjacent business. Simply put, focus your management resources and capital on gaining more copier (MFP) customers — it is the business you know. This does not mean you should not make investments outside of your area of competence. If your company’s strength is in selling to the 16 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
office segment, continue to drive additional market share gains in this segment but explore making investments in major accounts or GEM sales professionals. Once you have major accounts and GEM accounts tackled, expand into production color and production black-and-white products. Sure, production devices are copier/printers just like you are already selling, but they require a different sales approach with a focus on applications and software, and they will require a higher level of technical support, both pre- and post-sale. You now have the office segment covered, as well as major accounts and GEM accounts, and you are supplying your customers with their black-and-white copiers, B2C products, production color and production black-andwhite, including their CRD and data center output devices. Your market share is approaching 10 percent and you want to expand with the idea of adding either a print management offering or opening an office in a city 40 miles away. Now you have it — your core offering is on solid footing, you have expanded into some adjacent markets and you are
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Why did over 200 independent ofďŹ ce equipment dealers award Muratec “Outstanding Performance Secondary Product Line?â€?
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business but I hope that does not earn exploring two options that are one addiYou are not adding any me a label. A well-run dealership will tional adjacency away. As long as you produce returns in the mid to high teens have the management and capital employee type you — that is a solid business model. Neverresources, regardless of which of these do not already have theless, I believe there is great opportutwo options you choose, you have the in your organization nity in print management, wide format, competency to execute the decision you and you possess ... many software enablers — like variable have made. skills and knowledge data printing — and, in certain dealerWhy do I think these two moves are required for success. ships, even facilities management. I just one adjacency away from your core do not believe that moving into adjacent business? To open the office 40 miles outside of your current geographic marketing area, you have businesses is a substitute for good management or focus to to add market knowledge, bring your logistic capabilities up gaining market share. I ran a $31 million professional services one notch, and — assuming it is your first remote office — business, a $55 million offsite FM business, and a $200 million develop your management skills so you can handle remote on-site FM business. I am not giving this advice because I lack employees. You are not adding any employee type you do knowledge or comfort in these other market spaces. So, how do you protect your customer base against larger not already have in your organization and you possess all of the industry skills and knowledge required for success. To players that offer your products along with other products sell print management, you get to use the operational, or services your customers might use? Partner with strong logistic and service skills you have developed in the copier local companies that are not a threat to your core business. industry. You can utilize the same sales force, and the Take the owner of a company that supplies engineering leasing and aftermarket aspects will be the same. You need firms, including wide format printers, out to lunch. Reach to develop product knowledge and market knowledge — not out to the owner of a VAR that specializes in content mana new employee type. It is somewhat subjective, but I con- agement and workflow and develop an alliance with him or sider the additional requirements minimal to an immediate her. Work out how you will engage one another; talk about the total sales process — from first meeting through any adjacency to your core business. When are you getting outside of your core business? The analysis to installation and training — so there are not any first sign is that you have to hire people that have a com- surprises. Discuss how you will approach billing the cuspletely new skill set (outsourced or employees). For tomer and getting each other paid. Talk about combined example, you are hiring designers and installers for furni- leasing. What will ongoing support look like? This is not an ture sales, or production personnel for scanning or copying. article on strategic alliances, but you get the idea. Get successful in the copier industry and by all means Another sign is that you are investing in different assets. For example, high-speed scanners, dedicated servers or new expand into adjacencies as fast as is logical — building comsoftware. Another indication is that you need to hire a spe- petence and market share in each area as you travel outside cialized sales force: an “experienced” manager to launch the your core. Being a marginal player in multiple businesses product, and completely different sales professionals to sell will only drain your resources and produce much smaller returns. You are taking all of the risks of entrepreneurship the product to your own customers. The less transferable the current skills, the farther outside so you deserve to earn a nice profit. Staying close to your your current core you are getting. For example, training a core will help you achieve your profit goal while providing competent copier rep who is technology savvy, organized the cash required when you are ready to expand. Tom Callinan is the managing principal of Strategy and good at research to sell major accounts or production Development, a management consulting and advanced sales requires some additional training, but much of his or her training firm. From 1998 to 2005, he was an current product and tools knowledge will transfer. Training executive with IKON Office Solutions. this same rep to sell furniture or FM will require significant Prior to that he was the founder and CEO additional training and little to no transfer of his current of Copyfax Inc. He can be reached at product and tools knowledge. callinan@strategdevelopment.org. You may be wondering at this point if I am just some outVisit www.strategydevelopment.org. dated “copier guy.” I do believe the copier industry is a great 18 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
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Piecing Ideas Together.
The BPCA was founded in 1963 with the vision of forming a best practices organization that unites leaders of independently-owned office equipment dealers. The concept is quite simple - bring the leaders of these companies together so that they can share ideas, learn from each other, and take their businesses to the next level. Our members will attest that it’s well worth the investment by making each of them better leaders and bringing more value to their dealerships. Feel like there’s something missing from your organization? Let BPCA bring together all the pieces of the puzzle.
“Better Dealers Through Learning and Idea Exchange.”
If you’d like more information about our organization and how to join, please send us an email or give us a call. Phone: 800.897.0250 Email: info@businessproductscouncil.org Website: www.businessproductscouncil.org Membership Director BPCA c/o BTA 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145
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Inventory Management The key lies in real-time record keeping by: Jim Kahrs, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc.
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his time of year, many dealers are spending time with their accountants getting their IRS tax returns ready. When it has been a good year, the discussion quickly turns to finding ways to reduce the tax burden. One common strategy for achieving this is writing off inventory. I am often amazed at the enthusiasm and excitement that some dealers display when they realize they can reduce their taxes by writing off $50,000 of inventory. Can you imagine having the same reactions with other parts of your business? “Luckily we can write off the $50,000 we had in the money market account since the bank went belly up.” Sounds a little crazy doesn’t it? Properly managing your inventory is critical to maintaining a strong profit margin. Every item that is lost or written off as obsolete comes right off the bottom line. That’s pure profit out of your pocket. The key to minimizing these losses is in the details of managing your inventory properly. Problems come about when inventory procedures are not in place or when they are not followed properly when they are in place. Whether you use one of the software systems designed for the office systems industry or a more generalized package, it is critical that you keep the system fully updated at all times. If an inventory item physically moves, it must be reflected in the system. For the balance of this article, I will outline the general concepts for you to understand and some common mistakes to avoid. The first thing to understand is that the physical movement of any inventory item, whether it is equipment, accessories, supplies or parts, must be reflected in your computer system as close to real time as possible. You want to be able to look in the system and see exactly where every piece of 20 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
inventory is right now. The further you get from real time with computer entry delays, the bigger your problems will be. The immediate result is a staff that does not trust the inventory counts in the system and thus does not use them. Imagine if you tried to make financial decisions with a checking account balance that was three days or three weeks old. If the deposits that have come in and the checks that were written are not in the checkbook, you would literally have no idea how much money there is. The same thing happens with inventory entry delays. In addition, your system tracks inventory purchases step by step through the process. If earlier steps in the process are not completed on a timely basis, later steps cannot be completed properly. For example, if a purchase order is not entered in the system at the time the order is placed with the vendor, then the product cannot be properly received when it arrives. Steps to Follow in Sequence Create a purchase order in your system for any product that has been ordered. Receive the incoming product in your system against the purchase order. Accounts payable posts the vendor invoice to the purchase order when it is received and pays the invoice when it is due. Inventory movement: Equipment — If inventory is moved to a demo room, to another office, to a customer for demo or billing or to any other location, it must be either transferred to the new location or billed to a customer immediately.
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Supplies — Any time supplies are the product often shows up and cannot Any time supplies are taken from the shelf, they must be either be properly received in because there is billed to a customer or transferred to no purchase order to receive the product taken from the shelf, the location they are going to. This against. The problem is often comthey must be either applies to any and all supply movement, pounded by a need to get the product to a billed to a customer including supplies taken for set up, customer so it is immediately taken from or transferred ... service issues, etc. the warehouse without being billed or This applies to any and Parts — Any time parts are taken from transferred. Since it was never received in, all supply movement ... the shelf they must be transferred to the it cannot be billed or transferred. technician they are going to. Typically Problem two comes when the inthis is done when the parts are pulled and put aside for pick voice arrives. If no purchase order was entered and/or the up. When a technician installs a part in a customer- or product was not received in, the vendor invoice cannot be company-owned machine, the part must be listed on the ser- posted and paid. This creates the need for forced payments vice ticket and entered when closing the call. This bills the or other work-arounds, which leads to all sorts of part to the customer or against their maintenance contract. accounting and vendor credit issues. When a purchase order is not entered and/or the Typical Problem Areas to Avoid product is not received, it cannot be billed. This creates The first problem occurs when product is ordered and a issues that lead people to get creative. I’ve seen dealers purchase order is not entered in your system. In this scenario, create new machines and put in the serial numbers just to
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get an invoice out. Unfortunately, this of the inventory is correct, but both physSupplies that get used wreaks havoc because the original purical counts are wrong. Now multiply this chase order still needs to be processed, by hundreds of parts for each technician. in the office or in demo received and paid. Now you have got Supplies that get used in the office machines often do duplicate entries and an inventory mess, or in demo machines often do not get not get transferred not to mention cost of goods issues transferred or billed out and throw off or billed out and throw from the creation and billing of the inventory counts and value. This also off the inventory phantom machines with incorrect costs. happens with new equipment setups. counts and value. Failure to properly transfer parts can Exchanges of defective supplies be a problem for your inventory, as it often get forgotten. In an effort to help throws off inventory quantities. For example, Part A is taken the customer, the swap is done outside the system. The from the shelf and given to Technician One without doing the proper way to handle this is to bill the customer for any transfer in the system. At the time, the warehouse only had one replacement supply item that is shipped or delivered and and the tech did not have any. Now the main warehouse still then issue a credit when the defective item is returned. The shows one even though it is not there and Technician One’s invoice does not have to be mailed to the customer since the inventory still shows zero. The tech now installs Part A in a cus- credit will offset it, but at least you will have a proper paper tomer machine and closes out the call. The final result is that trail showing what happened. If the defective part does not the warehouse still shows one Part A that is not there and the come back, the invoice will age and hit the accounts receivtechnician inventory shows minus one. The overall dollar value able radar. Machine/accessory exchanges should be handled the same way as supply exchanges. Bill the new machine or accessory that is shipped and credit the one that is returned after it makes it back to the office. There are probably hundreds of variations of these problems that cause inventory inconsistencies. Once again, the key is to make sure that you keep the computer system in real time. Do not allow data entry backlogs. One final note — you should do regular physical inventory counts and fully reconcile them when you need to. They allow you to identify the procedural breakdowns that create inventory issues. How to properly conduct a physical count would be a topic for an entire article on its own. If you are not sure how to do one, you can always check with your software vendor or call us for some advice. Though you may lose an easy write-off, understanding and streamlining your procedures while avoiding the common inventory problem areas can and will add to your year-end profitability. Once you get things rolling in this area, the next thing to tackle is properly setting aside money throughout the year to pay the taxes due on all of the profits you will make. Jim Kahrs is the founder and president of Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc. PPMC works with office technology companies in building revenue and profitability. Kahrs can be reached at rkahrs@prosperityplus.com or (631) 3827762. Visit www.prosperityplus.com. 22 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
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COURTS & CAPITOLS
Put it in Writing Use formal maintenance & support agreements by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association
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ecently, while meeting with several well-established dealers, the question arose as to whether formal written maintenance and support agreements were necessary. One dealer confessed that all his company does annually is send out invoices for maintenance and support. There are no terms or conditions for the services being performed. The dealer boasted, “We have never had a problem.” All eyes slowly shifted to me and finally I was asked: “Well?” For years I’ve paid premiums for life insurance and fastened my seat belt when driving or riding in a vehicle. Fortunately, there has not been a payout on my life insurance policy, nor have I been in a serious car accident. Regardless, I will continue to pay premiums and click my seat belt. Selling maintenance and support without a written agreement is exposing your business to claims and damages that could easily be avoided. The dealer who does not have written maintenance agreements has been very lucky. Unfortunately, that luck can change with just one claim. Why should you have a written agreement? Because it clearly establishes the rights and liabilities of the parties involved. We live in a litigious society and the absence of protections could be a costly mistake. My first question to the dealer was about his hours and days of service. They were the same as our business hours — and if we are open for business, we are available for service. With many businesses operating seven days a week, this may present a problem. The customer, who is unable to have its equipment repaired on Saturday when the dealership is closed, may experience two days of damages. The dealer has nothing to establish hours or days of service, off-hour service rates, or limitations on damages. Equipment is often damaged because of extraneous events like fire, flood, electrical surge or even simple negligence. 24 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
Without a written agreement, the dealer would be required to maintain the equipment in all situations. There would be no agreement to rely on if the customer sought uncovered repairs. This is also true for the improper use of supplies or damages resulting from a third party’s attempted repairs. The greatest concerns, however, are the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for purpose and use. These warranties are part of the Uniform Commercial Code and become part of every sale of goods. “Warranty of merchantability” requires that goods be of a grade and quality expected for the type of product it is. Thus, if the product has a defect, or if it fails to perform properly, it may be considered “not merchantable” and rescission of the sale — plus damages — could be sought. As a vendor of specialized systems, you are an authority regarding the products you sell. When you qualify a customer and recommend a solution, you are saying that your solution is proper for the customer’s purposes and use. This process creates another implied warranty. Again, if the customer becomes unhappy, he may claim a breach of the implied warranty of fitness for purpose and use. Without contractual language that eliminates these implied warranties, you have no protection against these claims. The dealer who does not have a written maintenance and support agreement as part of his transactional documents operates with significant risk. “Lucky” is neither smart nor prudent. One successful claim can wipe out the rewards from years of hard work. Use and update your transactional documents and don’t forget to fasten your seatbelt. Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association. He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com.
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PRINCIPAL ISSUES
Managing Customer Loyalty Apply continuous process improvement & increase sales by: Bob Cicerone and Chris Tatham, ETC Institute
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anagement practices are seldom subjected to process improvement. This is most likely to be true in small- to mid-size companies. The management practices established early in the life of a company often continue with little change as the company grows in size and complexity. However, it is just as important to improve the process of management within your company as it is to improve the processes used to create products and deliver services. Some of the benefits of applying process improvement to management practices include: increased sales; improved cash flow and enhanced profits; reduced cost of re-selling to lost or at-risk accounts; better business decisions because more complete information is available about the market’s evolving expectations; conditions that jeopardize efforts to increase sales and profitability can be found and eliminated; strengthened competitive position; increased number of loyal customers; and less time spent reacting to fires created by upset customers. This article describes six steps of an effective process improvement method that reveals where opportunities exist to improve management practices that control customer loyalty. This method is based on a comprehensive model of the factors that influence customer loyalty. According to the model, customer loyalty and disloyalty result from customers’ experiences at six critical points of contact with a supplier. Management practices determine customers’ experiences at these six points of contact. The equation below describes this.
The process for managing customer loyalty consists of thirteen factors grouped into three sets. The first set consists of
seven factors that control the job performance of individual employees. These include expectations (the standards that customers use to evaluate products, services and their interactions with a supplier’s personnel); feedback (data showing how well customers’ expectations have been met); consequences (what happens to employees when customers’ expectations are met — and when they are not met); abilities (skills required for job performance to meet customer expectations); resources (tools, procedures and materials required to perform as customers expect); capacity (physical capabilities required to perform as customers expect); and preferences (willing to perform as expected under the physical and social conditions that exist at the job site, for the rewards that are available when performance meets or exceeds expectations, and for the available compensation and fringe benefits). The second set of factors controls the output of work processes. These factors are the number, sequence and difficulty of steps to perform a task, how well the job performance of internal suppliers meets the requirements of their internal customers and how closely the specifications for the output of a w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7 | 25
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work process meet the requirements of the affect customer loyalty. Customer loyalty internal and external users of that output. Follow these six steps to determine if The third set of factors controls the job any opportunities exist to strengthen your is either under-managed performance of every employee. These company’s management practices that or entirely unmanaged include a performance appraisal process impact customer loyalty. when a management that holds all employees accountable for Step 1: Select positions in your company team lacks information meeting the expectations of their internal that have a significant impact on cusabout opportunities and/or external customers, compensation tomer loyalty. to strengthen ... loyalty. practices that recognize employees whose Step 2: Answer these questions as they job performance consistently meets the apply to the employees in the positions requirements of their internal and external customers and a you selected in Step 1: mission statement that explicitly dedicates a company to sat Do these employees know, in detail, those features your isfying its customers. core products and/or services must have in order for Customer loyalty is either under-managed or entirely prospects and customers to buy from you instead of from one unmanaged when a management team lacks information of your competitors? about opportunities to strengthen customer loyalty to the Do these employees know the standards their work unit company. Management practices that inadvertently result in must achieve in order to consistently meet the requirements employees working in ways that upset customers or make it of prospects, external customers and internal customers? difficult for other employees to serve customers can negatively Do these employees know, in specific detail, how prospects and customers expect to be treated by your company’s employees? Do these employees have current information about how closely your core products and/or services meet customer expectations? Does their work unit’s performance meet the requirements of internal customers? When the job performance of these employees consistently meets the requirements of their external and internal customers, are these employees regularly given non-financial recognition such as appreciation, praise and thanks? When these employees consistently annoy or upset their external or internal customers, do their managers deal effectively with this? Do the current procedures for selecting people for this position show whether candidates have all the skills and knowledge needed to meet the requirements of the external and internal customers of this position? Do these employees always have the equipment, materials, supplies, work space, procedures and tools in the quantity and quality needed to consistently meet the requirements of their external and internal customers? Are the work procedures used by these employees regularly reviewed to determine if their outcomes would improve by eliminating unnecessary steps, combining steps, changing the sequence of steps, simplifying the steps or eliminating boring repetition? Does the performance appraisal/review process clearly and explicitly hold these employees accountable for how well their individual job performance meets the requirements of 26 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
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their external and/or internal customers? loyal customers and enhancing internal Applying process Step 3: Answer the questions in Step 2 communication and teamwork. These are as they apply to the positions that manage weaknesses that previously might have improvement ... will the positions you selected in Step 1. been unknown. By eliminating them, you uncover weaknesses Step 4: For each ‘No’ answer in Steps 2 will be better able to meet and exceed your that threaten your and 3, identify how the current situation market’s expectations. The critical result company’s success could hurt your company’s efforts to will be accelerated growth in your cusin attracting first-time attract first-time buyers, convert first-time tomer base and sales. Other benefits of buyers ... buyers into customers, retain existing cusapplying process improvement to mantomers and increase the value of purchases agement practices include: strengthened by existing customers. competitive position; fewer fires created by upset customers; Step 5: Review your answers to Step 4; if the negative conse- and fewer resources spent acquiring new customers to replace quences identified in Step 4 are unacceptable, revise your those who have switched to another supplier. company’s management practices as appropriate. Bob Cicerone is director of customer loyalty services and Chris Step 6: Continually work on fine-tuning your company’s Tatham is chief operating officer of ETC Institute in Olathe, management practices that control customer loyalty by Kansas. The firm’s market research services provide repeating Steps 1–5 each and every year. information that helps organizations to make better decisions. Applying process improvement methodology to manageThey can be reached at (913) 829-1215 and by e-mail at ment practices will uncover weaknesses that threaten your rcicerone@etcinstitute.com and ctatham@etcinstitute.com. company’s success in attracting first-time buyers, creating Visit etcinstitute.com.
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PRINCIPAL ISSUES
Selling Your Business Here’s a foundation from which to work by: Arnie Valenzuela, FIMA 4 Consulting Group LLC
I
t was a sunny but cold autumn day and I was golfing with one of my best clients. My golf game was atrocious as I had just completed my tenth straight hole of horrible golf. As I stepped up to the par-four eleventh hole, I decided to stop thinking and just swing. I did not awaken from my golf stupor to figure out that my problem was I was making the game too complicated with focus on grip, tempo, head position, etc.; actually, I saw how wide open the fairway was and decided just to give it an easy swing. Guess what? That swing — and seven more tee shots just like it — yielded me one of my best nine holes. I made it simple and kept to the basics and focused on one thing, relaxing. Selling a business is just as complicated as the game of golf, if not more complicated. Many people leave a seminar on this topic with a 5-inch binder in hand and are afraid to engage in the activity due to the fear of missing something. No matter the subject, complexity breeds confusion and constricts natural flow. The subject of selling your business can elicit many emotions including excitement, relief, doubt, insecurity, fear and stress. The objective of this article is to provide you with simple guidelines that will serve as a foundation to work from as you consider selling your business. One of my favorite technologies is the GPS system on a golf cart. In a split second, you get a complete lay of the land, how far away you are from the hole, distance to hazards and distance over hazards. Consider a GPS bringing an unseen hazard into your shot planning. Today’s market for selling a business is analogous to the golf course and there are a few hazards (market trends) you should seriously consider as you plan for your future. The first is the impact of baby boomers on the market. Of the estimated 11 million businesses in the United States, 95 percent are private, 95 percent generate less than $5 million, collectively they generate more than 65 percent of our GNP and they employ more than 61 percent of our workforce. Baby boomers represent 30 to 35 percent of our population and dominate nearly every demographic pattern of spending and 28 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7
investing that is tracked. What this phenomena means is that the market for selling your business will be entirely different over the next 10 years and you need to prepare well in advance for it. Simple economic truths of supply and demand are impossible to ignore. Plainly stated: There will be more businesses for sale than ever before and this could create a glut that will most likely manifest itself in lower prices regardless of historical valuations from the past five and 10 years. An example of this is real estate. Today, the market is falling due to a flood of homes on the market. The result is ominous. A recent BusinessWeek.com article states: “Housing starts will see double-digit depreciation, the sharpest decline since 1991, the worst year for housing starts on record. While new home sales will be down for the year, existing home sales will also be flat.” As your virtual caddy, I suggest the following simple sixpoint strategy to get around this evaluation hazard. These six points will allow you to relax and take an easy swing and not get stuck in the complexity of a 5-inch, three-ring binder. The Feel of the Club: The Empathy View — Operate with empathy. You must always remember — as a recent AxiomValuation.com article states — that the “value of your business is based on his (the buyer’s) future expectations of the business performance and the history is context. He is buying the assets of your business so he can hopefully get a better return than you.” This does not mean that past performance should not be a major selling point. It means the method you employed to obtain that performance is more important. Can it be repeated and improved upon in a scalable, predictable manner? The buyer needs to see a go-to market strategy that can be repeated consistently so his (or her) future expectations of return will be delivered. Swing Naturally: Don’t Over Think It — Just like I could not figure out why I had 10 poor tee shots, I once had a client who could not figure out why his past two years of sales had declined in the midst of a hot market for their product. My
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segmentation (client, channel, product, order size, order volume) review brought to light the cause. The client’s past success had come from large, complex manufacturing clients within two industries. Instead of relaxing and finding any new needs of his best customers, he decided to complicate things and create a new market. His company shifted its focus, eroding its position in the market. Before the shift occurred, the company generated its revenue from a small group of companies and orders. The shift caused 60 percent of revenues to come from 5 percent of the customer’s base, but the company had to deploy 80 percent of its resources to secure the remaining 40 percent at lower profits. Swing Statistics: The Segmentation View — I recall a time in 2006 when Tiger Woods was standing over a putt of three feet. The commentator rattled off a statistic that easily predicted the outcome of his putt. Woods had never missed a putt of that length during a final round in his entire career. Imagine his level of confidence and predictability as he stood calmly over the putt. Great golfers keep track of every statistic (percent of drives in fairway, number of putts, length of putt, type of grass) in order to assist them in predicting outcomes. Before you entertain a buyer’s offer, conduct due diligence on your company. It may reveal similar data. I suggest hiring an outside consultant to perform this analysis as you may or may not want employees to have access to such valuable data. Just like swing statistics, you should have segmentation visibility in the following areas: revenue, profit, product, distribution, region and sales force. Determine which 20 percent represents your 80 percent and then stack rank the results. Swing Analysis: How Far Do You Hit the Ball? — The first step to discovering your predictability will aid you in positioning your company in a unique way. Look at customers for similarities, such as: size of company, public/private, revenues, stage (start up, mature) of life, SIC/NAIC, geography and common need. The similarities in my client’s 20 percent included an 86 percent repeat order for five consecutive years with only a 7 percent turnover. A solid go-to-market strategy also includes a complete understanding of how each product is performing over several years to reveal the market’s acceptance of its value over multiple business cycles. Consider reviewing performance much like an investment portfolio is viewed. How did the product perform in up, flat and down markets? Remember that my client obtained 80 percent of his profits from only 5 percent of his customers. More than 50 percent of revenues were from one product line — the one that was being replaced by the shift. Better you than them discovering this. Your Short Game: How Accurate Are You? — The most
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BTA Can Help. Scholarships for use at colleges or accredited vocational trade schools are available to the sons and daughters of BTA retail dealer and reseller members and the sons and daughters of their full-time employees. Scholarship recipients are chosen by an impartial and independent evaluator. Completed applications must be received at BTA by May 1. To obtain a scholarship application form, contact Mary Hopkins at mary@bta.org or (816) 303-4031 or write to: BTA Scholarship Foundation, 12411 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO 64145. ®
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critical of all sets of data is the profit. This 2 to 3 years old, 25-50 employees, $5-10 The market you will is what a buyer will base his investment on million in sales, two SIC codes in 10 ZIP — the small pool that creates 80 percent of codes) that generate 60 percent of your total be selling in is crowded the projected profit — the cash flow. What profits, you are now in the position to sell and harshly competitive. do these customers buy, when do they buy that company at a premium to the investor The boomer phenomena and why do they buy? The answers will who can be assured your predictable systems will create a situation provide your most treasured possession, will out-perform his risk. where many companies proven buying disciplines of your most As the old axiom states: “Drive for show are listed but never sold. profitable customers. and putt for dough.” A golfer does not get on Who are your best salespeople and what tour without first attending Qualifying methods do they employ to create your most profitable sales? School and proving he can consistently make the cut on the PGA Before you offer to sell, document the key sales methods, trim tour. He cannot do it with a one dimensional game, and neither the unproductive sales force and then deploy the methods to all can you. Sure, he can drive the ball a mile, but can he putt? As you customers and measure the results. This will provide comfort to prepare your company for sale, don’t get caught in the trap of the buyer that his investment has proven tactics to produce selling your company based only on the results. Show the buyer high-profit transactions with validated disciplines. your balanced game by showing him how you did it, why you did Go On Tour: Offer for Sale — The market you will be selling it and where you did it. Be more prepared than they are; do the in is crowded and harshly competitive. The boomer phenomena diligence and reap the reward of a high valuation to the buyer of will create a situation where many companies are listed but never your choice. sold. You have to market the one trait that makes your asset so Arnie Valenzuela is a consultant, speaker and attractive — so attractive that it cannot be compared to the trainer with FIMA 4 Consulting Group LLC. His others. Discovering these secrets about your success will be that career in the office technology industry spans 23 edge you will need and give you more control over who you will or years. He has served at Print Inc., Ricoh Corp., won’t sell to. If you have 100 accounts that produce 80 percent of IKON Office Solutions and several leading dealeryour sales from companies with very defined characteristics (i.e. , ships. He can be reached at arniev@comcast.net.
ADVERTISER INDEX 22 • Ames Supply Company
13 • FMAudit LLC
9 • MKG Imaging Solutions Inc.
(800) 323-3856 / (630) 964-2440 / www.amessupply.com
(573) 632-2461 / www.fmaudit.com
(800) 881-7545 / (905) 564-9218 / www.mkg.org
19 • Business Products Council Association
32 • Great America Leasing Corp.
17 • Muratec America Inc.
(800) 897-0250 / www.businessproductscouncil.org
(800) 234-8787 / www.greatamerica.com
(469) 429-3481 / www.muratec.com
29 • BTA Scholarships
26 • Hunter Barth Advertising Inc.
31 • Panasonic Digital Document Company
(816) 303-4031 / www.bta.org
(949) 631-9900 / www.hunterbarth.com
(800) 742-8086 / www.panasonic.com/office
21 • docSTAR
23 • Imaging Industry.com
5 • Print Audit
(800) 367-5906 / www.docstar.com
(800) 621-0623 / www.imagingindustry.com
(877) 412-8348 / (403) 685-4932 / www.printaudit.com
15 • DocuWare Corp.
2, 3 • ITEX ’07
7 • Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc.
(888) 565-5907 / www.docuware.com
(800) 989-6077 / www.itexshow.com
(949) 462-6165 / www.copiers.toshiba.com
27 • Duplo U.S.A. Corp.
11 • Kyocera Mita America Inc.
(800) 255-1933 / (949) 752-8222 / www.duplousa.com
(800) 222-6482 / www.kyoceramita.com
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