TECHNOLOGY in Action:
Office Furniture Dealer Software Page 13
Critical Factors for Future Success Page 19
Preparing for the Recovery The Faithful Know It’s Coming... Page 24
Effective Dealer Technology Use is More About Attitude and Management Than Hardware and Software Simon De Groot Editor in Chief OFDealer There’s a good news, bad news aspect to this month’s cover story on dealer technology. The good news, as our story indicates, is that a wealth of technology options are available to dealers today to help them run their businesses more productively and reach out to customers and prospects more effectively. The bad news, unfortunately, is that too many dealers still view technology as little more than a necessary evil, a black
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hole of time and money that is always demanding more and rarely delivers on its promises. There may be a reason for that. If technology management at your dealership consists of just writing the checks, springing for an initial training session and then sitting back and waiting for good things to happen, then you don’t need to look too far for reasons if your technology investment fails to live up to expectations. Training, for example, should be an ongoing process that embraces virtually all dealer personnel, but for many companies, it’s limited to a small group of key operators who are responsible for somehow figuring out a way to spread what they learn throughout the organization.
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Upgrades and maintenance issues also get short-changed far too often. Technology has always been a moving target and the pace of change certainly hasn’t slowed down any in recent years. If you’re using software that’s three or four years old, you shouldn’t be too surprised if you find it generating results to match. The bottom line and our message this month: Technology is a pain to manage and it’s expensive. But any dealer who isn’t viewing technology as a vital business resource and actively seeking new opportunities to use it wherever possible is essentially gambling with his or her business. That’s not a smart thing to be doing today and it’s likely to become even more high-risk in the future.
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news New Owner, President & CEO for Elements IV Interiors, Ohio Dealer
At EBI, that translates into a greater emphasis on services such as reconfiguration work and move management.
Dayton, OH-based Elements IV Interiors has a new majority owner and top executive. Mark Williams, the company’s former chief operating officer and partner, has become the majority owner of Elements. His new title will include president and chief executive officer. Williams’ 22 years of contract furniture experience included working in both the manufacturer and dealer sector of the industry.
Also on the agenda: a comprehensive re-branding effort, currently underway, that will see introduction of a new logo and a new capabilities brochure for the dealership later this year.
Kim Duncan, the founding partner and former majority owner of the commercial furniture dealership, will remain an owner and work in an active role as the company’s executive vice president. Jack King, the former president and partner of Elements IV Interiors, has resigned as president and sold his ownership stock to Williams in order to pursue other interests.
“Seventy years is a long time and we’re certainly proud of our history and traditions,” Bob says. “But even though we still carry the same values, this is a market where you have to keep changing to survive and prosper and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Goodmans Interior Structures, Arizona Dealer, Sponsors Children’s Clothing Drive for Foster Families
As a result of the change in ownership, Elements IV Interiors will become a minority-owned business, as Williams is of Asian Indian descent. The dealership is working to become an 8(a) certified small business.
Seventy Years and Counting for Emmons Business Interiors, Wisconsin Dealer In Madison, WI, Bob Andersen and his team at Emmons Business Interiors (EBI) are getting ready to light a whole bunch of candles as they celebrate the dealership’s 70th anniversary this year. The dealership was initially founded as an office supply and furniture company back in 1940, and that mix continues today, with Emmons operating a multi-branch business with locations in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, while a separate business unit, Office Supplies 2U, has been carving out a growing supplies business since 2000. But while the dealership has plenty to take pride in from the past 70 years, Bob’s focus is very much on the future. While business has been on the upswing in recent months, he and his team have been moving aggressively to make sure they’re well positioned to make the most of better times when they finally come along. “We can’t afford to wait in the hope that lost volume will somehow come back,” he warns. “We have to be nimble and more willing than ever to go the extra mile to meet our customers’ needs.” MAY 2010
Some of the items collected by Goodmans Interior Structures for distribution to local area foster families. What do you call an organization that helps provide muchneeded clothing for local children in need? If you’re in Phoenix, Tucson or Albuquerque, the answer is surprising, to say the least. For the past year, Herman Miller dealer Goodmans Interior Structures has been working with a local non-profit on GoodTHREADS, a program that provides foster families with something that most of us take for granted—clothes for their children.
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The GoodTHREADS program is operated by volunteers from Goodmans and spearheaded by Goodmans’ account manager Michele Wright. “We’ve seen a real cutback in support for foster families because of budget cuts at the state and local level and I really felt we needed to do something about it,” explains Michele, a foster parent herself for the past seven years. The program she came up with, says Goodmans’ president, Adam Goodman, fits perfectly with the dealership’s own long standing commitment to community involvement and support of worthy causes. “The vision of Goodmans is to change our community,” explains Adam. “As a Goodmans’ employee and a foster parent, Michele Wright was inspired to leverage our company's assets to help struggling foster parents deal with the government's shrinking assistance.” Goodmans’ facility houses the drop box where clothing can be donated and employees help organize, fold and prepare the clothing for monthly exchange sessions at a local social services office. Over the past year, Michele estimates the program has provided clothing for over 800 children in need and it continues to grow. “Obviously clothing the children is amazing, however what I truly love is meeting and helping other foster parents,” she says. “I regularly get hugs from the other foster families. It literally makes my heart sing.”
contends. “We’re taking a holistic approach to serving the market and support of the environment is a major part of that approach.” For the past two years, a special sustainability committee, under the leadership of HR manager Jamie Koenig, has spearheaded the dealership’s own environmentally-friendly efforts. As a result, Environments reduced the carbon footprint of its own operations by 30% in just one year and has put in place an ambitious 15-year plan to bring further improvements going forward. And, of course, the dealership’s strong environmental credentials don’t hurt any in the marketplace, either. “We’re finding more and more RFPs that we respond to are putting greater emphasis on sustainability and looking for a strong green commitment from suppliers and contractors,” Chris says. “Public recognition of our own efforts represents a big plus, not only in terms of new business, but it also helps attract like-minded new talent to our dealership.” And believe it or not, Environments is actually hiring! “The re-branding that we’ve done over the past few years has really helped put us in front of more new opportunities and we’ve been very busy over the past few months,” Chris reports. “We may not be totally out of the woods, but we’re certainly cautiously optimistic about prospects for the rest of the year.”
BroussardGroup, Texas Dealer, Takes to the Streets in Support of Worthy Causes
Oregon Dealer Environments Makes Local Publication’s ‘Top 100 Green Companies’ List Congratulations are in order for Chris Corrado and his team at Portland, OR-based Knoll dealer Environments. Earlier this month, Environments was recognized by Oregon Business magazine as one of the state’s 100 best green companies to work for. Environments came in at Number 64 in the rankings, beating out several waste recycling companies, a pro-environment lobbying group and even the local Audubon Society chapter. Environments’ commitment to green practices and policies is part of a larger effort at the dealership, explains Chris. “Two years ago we embarked on a major re-branding initiative to establish ourselves as true consultants for our customers,” he says. “Our own commitment to protecting the environment is a key element of that re-branding. It’s not about who can sell the most and get it delivered the fastest in our industry anymore,” he
Members of Team Broussard get ready to strut their stuff at this year’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. At BroussardGroup in San Antonio, Bret Broussard, Sr. and his team have been racking up the miles in support of worthy causes as part of an ongoing commitment to giving back to their community. continued on page 6
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Most recently, some 25 Broussard team members and their families and friends took part in San Antonio’s 2010 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Breast cancer research is just one of several deserving causes the dealership supports, explains Bret. The Broussard team has also taken to the streets for fundraisers in support of the city’s Down Syndrome Association, ovarian cancer research and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, among others. “It’s not just about raising funds and awareness of these terrible diseases,” explains Bret. “For many of us in the dealership and also among our clients, it’s personal, and it also helps build a real sense of team spirit and unity among our people.”
First Allsteel Strategic Alliance Canadian Dealer Opens In Toronto Allsteel and three contract furnishings sales veterans in Toronto have teamed up to form that city’s first Allsteel strategic alliance dealer, Amovo Workplace Environments. Key executives at the new dealership are Peter Schwegler, general manager; Tim Baxter, vice president of design and workplace, and Shawn Reid, senior business development manager. Schwegler is the former president of the PS Agencies manufacturers rep firm, while Baxter and Reid come from a former Allsteel dealership. Collectively, they have nearly 70 years of experience in the contract furniture industry. “Allsteel has had a strong presence in Toronto for many years and recently we’ve seen dramatic growth,” said Allsteel president Jeff Lorenger. “Now, in joining together with Peter, Tim, Shawn and the new team, we’re able to continue to build on the business opportunities that this international capital and its surrounding regional market represent.”
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BIFMA Releases April Numbers, Trims Overall Industry Forecast for 2010 Earlier this month, the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) released its market statistics for April and again, the news was encouraging though in a somewhat muted fashion. BIFMA reported April orders increased 12%, representing the industry’s second consecutive month of year-over-year incoming order growth and the first double-digit percentage increase since June 2007.
Commercial Real Estate Vacancies to Peak Near Early 2011, Says Realtors Assn. Elsewhere on the research front, a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says commercial vacancy rates will continue to rise in most sectors and are not expected to level out until the end of this year or early 2011. Vacancy rates in the office sector are projected to increase from 16.9% in the first quarter of this year to 17.6% in the first quarter of 2011, but should ease later next year, NAR predicts.
However, while the order increase was encouraging, it is important to note that April appears to have been the low water mark for monthly orders and also represents the easiest comparison of the year in terms of the percentage decline, noted industry analyst Budd Bugatch of the Raymond James investment firm.
In 57 markets tracked by NAR researchers, net absorption of office space, which includes the leasing of new space coming on the market as well as space in existing properties, is forecast to be a negative 24.6 million square feet this year and then a positive 25.5 million in 2011.
April shipments’ decline of 2% represented a modest improvement over March (when shipments were off 7% compared to the same month last year).
Configura Releases CET Designer 2.4
“The April data largely corroborated our view that the contract office furniture industry is bottoming,” Bugatch said. “Orders have seemingly ‘turned the corner’ and industry backlog has improved sequentially for three consecutive months, suggesting shipments are likely to turn positive sooner rather than later.” But while Bugatch said the acceleration in April orders was “heartening,” he warned that the year-over-year increases may moderate in May, due to a somewhat tougher prior year comparison. BIFMA has also updated its forecast for this year and next and now expects 2010 orders and shipments to decline 2% and 5.1%, respectively.
Configura, makers of CET Designer, has released Version 2.4 of the program, which it says brings improved speed, performance and project-size capabilities. A full list of updates has been posted at www.configura.com. www.configura.com/cet/release-notes/pre-release- notes-version-24.
The new numbers represent a downward adjustment from the previous forecast (which had called for a 1.5% order decline and a 3.8% drop in shipments).
Systems furniture manufacturer AIS announced last month it has achieved CarbonNeutral certification.
On a more positive note, BIFMA significantly increased its 2011 forecast, calling for a 9.9% increase in orders (versus its previous forecast of a 6.8% increase), with shipment growth of 11.1% (up from its prior +7.0% forecast).
“I firmly believe we all have to take responsibility for our CO2 footprint,” commented Rob Lazarus, executive vice president of sales and marketing. “If we all join forces and take action, we can make a positive impact. By measuring and reducing our carbon
AIS Achieves CarbonNeutral Status
continued on page 9 MAY 2010
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INDUSTRY
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emissions to net zero through carbon offsetting, we are enabling innovative, clean and renewable energy technologies to develop.” To achieve CarbonNeutral status, AIS is working with The CarbonNeutral Company, one of the world’s leading providers of carbon reduction solutions. The program involved an independent assessment of the CO2 emissions produced from the manufacturing of AIS workstations in its Hudson, MA facilities. With this data, AIS was able to counter balance its emissions through carbon offsetting. This means that for every ton of CO2 that AIS produces, it pays to enable an equivalent amount of CO2 to be saved by an offset project somewhere else in the world.
United Stationers Opens New West Coast Rapid Replenishment Center for Alera Furniture
With the new Sacramento RRC now open, United’s Furniture Division can receive complete containers shipped from off-shore manufacturing locations directly to the West Coast, and from there to Sacramento for redistribution to all western facilities. The Sacramento RRC will supplement activities of United’s original RRC, which was established in Memphis in 2006. “Implementation of the Rapid Replenishment Center in Sacramento will make it easier than ever for dealers to market and sell the full range of Alera furniture,” said Jim Fahey, president of United’s Furniture Division. “Dealer sales efforts will be supported by an extra layer of safety stock that is available for quick replenishment.”
New Accreditation for National Office Furniture Training
United Stationers has opened a West Coast Rapid Replenishment Center (RRC) in Sacramento for its Alera furniture brand. The new RRC, which offers 60,000 sq. ft. of storage space, will serve as a repository for globally sourced Alera products and adds inventory capacity to serve local distribution centers based on market demand. As distribution centers experience demand spikes, inventory in the RRC can be shipped out rapidly to where it is needed, United said.
National Office Furniture announces accreditation by the Interior Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC) and Green Building Council Institute (GBCI) for its 1-hour (.1 credit) and 2-hour (.2 credit) level CEU training sessions. National has adopted the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer Association’s (BIFMA) level CEU training sessions into its own CEU program. continued on page 10
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Design professionals and LEED-APs now can earn credits towards their continuing education when attending either of these courses as both fulfill the Green Building Council Institute’s (GBCI) LEED Credential Maintenance requirements for CE credit.
Meanwhile, judging was taking place for the Designer Hat Contest in which designers came dressed in their most festive hand crafted creations.
“At National, we have a rich heritage and a strong, on-going commitment to sustainability. It’s evident in our products, facilities, people and culture. Additionally, part of this commitment is education, and we truly enjoy sharing ideas and information that empower people and communities to make smarter choices concerning the environment,” says Mendy Claridge, national product line manager, LEED-AP, Accredited level CEU faculty member.
GLOBAL Goes Off to the Races in Nation’s Capital At GLOBAL’s Washington DC showroom, it was ‘off to the races’ as derby season got underway with celebration of the upcoming The Kentucky Derby. An enthusiastic A&D crowd had the opportunity to place faux bets on numerous horses (named after predominant designers over the years) as horses galloped down the table top raceway to the finish line.
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Prizes for the top entries were awarded (Win, Place and Show, of course) with the grandest prize of an Apple iPad going to Karen Peterson, a designer from OPX. Hunt Clements, A&D representative for the Washington DC region, commented, “They were all so amazing — a truly fabulous showing of creativity by so many talented designers.”
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OFDA Awaits Appellate Court Ruling on Constitutionality of Florida’s Interior Design Law In late April, OFDA and several other organizations filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals (11th Circuit) in support of the Institute for Justice’s (IJ) appeal of the mixed decision of Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the Federal District Court in Tallahassee with respect to the constitutionality of Florida’s interior design law.
The amicus brief notes that “Florida’s interior design licensing act poses a grave threat to the ability of OFDA members to compete [legally] in the Florida market by preventing them from providing [interior design] services integral to the sale of office furniture products.”
This appeal is being carefully monitored, given its potential significance for the future progression and structure of interior design laws in other states.
This law requires that a state-licensed interior designer be involved in the preparation of space planning documents and other design services related to “interior nonstructural elements” of commercial buildings.
Judge Hinkle ruled that provisions of the law prohibiting advertising or representing oneself as an interior designer are unconstitutional (so-called “title” provisions), but dismissed the other four IJ challenges to the statute, all of which related principally to the “practice” provisions of the law. On April 19 the IJ filed an appeal of the ruling with respect to the law’s restrictions on the practice of commercial interior design. OFDA has been involved in this case on behalf of its members in Florida and in other states that have been injured by Florida’s law. The legal challenge has been conducted wholly on a pro-bono basis, given the significance of this case from a national standpoint to other constitutional challenges of laws that restrict the practice of various professions. The IJ’s federal court challenge of Florida’s law in District Court asserted that the statute was constitutionally deficient since it: n Regulates speech without a sufficient justification and thus violates the First Amendment; n Sweeps far too broadly, requiring a license to perform ordinary tasks that nobody could rationally believe should be subject to licensing and makes irrational distinctions; n Violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution; n Is impermissibly overbroad and vague, and n Violates the Commerce Clause and Privileges or Immunities Clause because any risk to the public from allowing an unlicensed person to practice nonresidential interior design is insufficient to justify the statute’s burden on interstate commerce and an individual’s right to pursue a livelihood. MAY 2010
Such elements include “fixtures”, typically including “special dividers” such as cubicles, store fixtures, fixed seating, library stacks, counters, etc. It also requires that a principal/officer of any firm practicing interior design must also be a state-licensed interior designer or architect. The OFDA brief argues that Florida’s stringent licensing requirements (education, testing and work experience) for interior designers are substantial and discriminate against interstate commerce since they place an unjustified, undue burden on out-of-state dealers, designers, specifiers and manufacturers and their representatives who only occasionally participate in office interior projects in Florida. Moreover, the state has not established that the law serves any legitimate state interest or that a nondiscriminatory alternative could not serve such an interest. For example, in 47 other states, less restrictive measures such as building codes and safety inspections are utilized to address any governmental health or safety concerns. While it is difficult to predict when the appellate court will rule on this matter, OFDA believes the ruling will likely be issued later this summer. Legislatures in other states—such as Pennsylvania—are moving forward with initiatives to impose their own “practice” laws, so the court’s ruling on this matter in Florida will be carefully and widely scrutinized when it occurs. Please address any questions on this matter to Chris Bates, OFDA president (cbates@ofdanet.org; Tel: 703-549-9040, ext. 100).
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TECHNOLOGY in Action: Office Furniture Dealer Software By Scott Cullen
When it comes to making decisions about technology, there is no single universal answer. It’s different strokes for different folks and personal preferences always come into play.
made the switch. Its ability to handle multiple locations was a huge plus, contends Michel.
The good news is that a wealth of software is available to office furniture dealers and, while tradeoffs and compromises are inevitable, so is the potential to bring significant productivity improvements and enhanced marketing power to your dealership.
“Some of the other software out there didn’t have the ability to do multiple locations from an accounting perspective or order tracking,” she explains. “Other than that it was time to get away from our old software. We needed something that was going to move, change and progress with us.”
For our June cover story, we went out to a number of dealers and asked them about some of their own technology choices and the factors that lay behind their decisions. Here’s what they had to say.
The one feature that stands out for Michel is the ability to track job costs and balance out inventory every month. Enhancements have been plentiful and Michel says Price Modern was the driver for some of those.
DDMS Adapts to the Dealer Price Modern with sales offices in Baltimore, Washington DC, and Raleigh, NC, is one satisfied DDMS user. The company has been using the DDMS Office Furniture Edition for three years now and as far as Tracy Michel, controller for Price Modern, is concerned, it’s a complete package and a huge improvement over their previous program. DDMS Office Furniture Edition helps Price Modern manage sales operations and automate order entry, purchasing, and accounting. But those aren’t the only reasons Price Modern
“For example, the system has a quote function, but the function of releasing a quote to an order was bare bones because nobody had really utilized the quote function before,” explains Michel. “We had them upgrade the quote release to order process to accommodate credit reviews and authorizations for orders.” Price Modern continues to work with DDMS to improve the system and Michel is looking forward to enhancements to the system. “Some of these we consider simple improvements that can have a big impact; some of them are more in depth and complicated, such as looking at ways to make commission calculations continued on page 14
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easier,” reveals Michel. “The challenge is everybody calculates commissions a little bit differently. Trying to make something that fits everybody is a daunting task.”
BSI has been using Khameleon for eight years and to date the program has helped the company manage more than 30,000 projects.
Michel says DDMS did a nice job with training from the start, but now it’s even better.
The primary reason they selected the program, explains Lori Kletzien, vice president, was the amount of information contained within the system, which has been helpful for managing BSI’s overall business.
“If anything their training process has improved,” she says. “Things we found we didn’t learn, we’ve gone back and said ‘You didn’t point this out to us and we learned it the hard way,’ so they went back and worked that into their training.” Overall, DDMS has been a flexible and adaptable technology provider, she adds. “We’re working with a company that’s changing with us and growing with us,” states Michel. “As times change and needs change it’s great to have a company that’s actively working to constantly improve their software.”
Animated Vision’s Visual Planner
This information helped BSI identify how much design work the company was not charging for on certain projects, for example, and provided essential data to fix that issue. The ability to track projects and the costs of those projects right down to the penny is another benefit. “We have several different divisions related to one project and with Khameleon we can track expenses and costs, enabling us to determine a project’s true costs,” explains Kletzien. “New associates can adapt very quickly to our processes. By streamlining our processes it has enabled us to keep our staff at a minimum and still satisfy our customers in a timely manner.”
The Orange Stationer, Inc. in Orange, TX has been using Visual Planner from Animated Vision for three years now and says it does exactly what it’s supposed to and then some.
Khameleon also facilitates cross training and collaboration. Each module can be accessed by anyone on the team working on that project, creating a staff with the ability to share responsibilities and divide labor more effectively.
The program allows sales reps to quickly and easily create 2D and 3D drawings as well as a detailed bill of materials, but the folks at Orange have a simpler view of what it does. “It helps sell furniture,” states Henry Seals, president.
“One person doesn't need to do everything on a project,” explains Kletzien. “It can be assigned to others, allowing us to complete projects more quickly.”
For Seals, the best thing about the program is its ease of use. First of all, it’s a web-based program that doesn’t require any software installation. Intuitive navigation and ‘drag and drop’ functionality means most anyone can get up to speed quickly on the program. Better yet, employees don’t need an AutoCAD or GIZA background. It transforms every office layout into a 3D view so clients can better visualize their designs. Also helpful are the program’s online collaboration capabilities, which allow The Orange Stationer’s sales reps to share designs online with customers. The program can even be embedded on The Orange Stationer’s web site as a way to collect qualified sales leads.
Khameleon For Building Service, Inc. (BSI) in Milwaukee, WI, Khameleon software represents an ideal program for keeping costs down and allowing them to do what they do best—provide customers with the best possible service.
Lastly, Kletzien gives high marks to the support BSI receives from Khameleon, which reduces downtime. “Although we have become very good at troubleshooting issues ourselves, it is reassuring to know there’s always someone to contact,” she points out.
Configura CET Designer When Business Office Systems, Inc. in Itasca, IL, needed a way to help their sales team and designers quickly learn manufacturers’ products so they can more effectively design and specify interiors for their customers, they turned to Configura CET Designer. The software offers a unique interface with photo-realistic design and rendering along with complete specifying and ordering capability. What’s also helpful is that parts and prices are automatically added in the background by the software during the design process, so that once the design has been completed, the sales rep or designer can quickly present the client with the true cost of the project. continued on page 15
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What made Configura CET Designer a good fit for Business Office Systems? “Ease of use,” states Pam McClelland, vice president of professional services for the dealership. “Configura allows us to do 3D color renderings very quickly. The program was so user friendly it took very little time for training. Results were seen almost immediately.” McClelland contends other products on the market require extensive training and constant use for users to become proficient. Not Configura CET Designer. Plus, she says, renderings using competitive programs are time consuming and costly to produce. Besides ease of use, McClelland finds that providing customers with a rendering helps them better visualize what they are getting and avoids miscommunication and mistakes. Configura CET Designer, McClelland says, also brings another dimension to managing furniture standards program. “We had one customer where the standards were well documented to help them visualize the look and image corporate wanted in each of its locations,” she explains. “However, there was one particular location with a staffing requirement that could not be met in the space using the regular furniture standards program.” Using CET Designer, Business Office Systems developed a variation to the standard, reducing the sizes to accommodate the personnel needed. The customer was reluctant to move forward with the variation, though, without a visual confirmation that the changes would still provide a consistent look and image compatible with the standards. “We produced a 3D rendering of the space showing them several view points,” says McClelland. “The modifications to the standard were approved and the order placed.”
Furniture Command Center Washington Workplace in Arlington, VA, has been using Furniture Command Center (FCC), a web-based application for the contract furnishing industry, for the past year. FCC is a custom application that allows furniture dealers to enter, track and change orders as needed. Quotes can be created from scratch or copied from existing quotes or orders and then e-mailed, printed or saved as PDF files. After a quote moves to purchase order status, the application automatically creates a customizable workflow process, ensuring orders are fulfilled smoothly. The program also offers built-in support functions such as CRM and status reporting, and integrates with accounting software.
For president John Murphy, one of the best things about FCC is that it’s a cloud-based system. “Users can access it from anywhere—home, car, or office,” he says. Also appealing is its customizable graphical interface and focus on profit. Plus it was easy to learn. “It’s real intuitive and real direct, and for anybody who has half a brain, it should take them no more than half an hour or 15 minutes to learn,” states Murphy. The program also does an excellent job of creating reports that Murphy says are easy to follow and “clear from an aesthetic point of view.” All 15 users at Washington Workplace love it, and Murphy says he couldn’t be happier that he made the switch.
Channel Dyanmix’s Matrix for Business Matrix for Business (MxB) from Channel Dynamix provides OfficeScapes in Denver with a functional reporting and analysis tool that runs on top of the company’s Hedberg Data System. The dashboard layer offers visual graphs and pivots that present high-level information while the analysis layer allows users to customize report views. It also has advanced filtering and sorting features. “The best feature of this product is the ability to pull information from our Hedberg system quickly, easily and cleanly,” says Jennifer Barnes, director of sales support. “Matrix for Business allows for information to be exported into Excel. Once data is in Excel we can manipulate the information easily and change the format to meet our needs.” Another feature Barnes likes is the program’s customized fields and measurements. “Those have been extremely helpful and are features we could not have found anywhere else,” she says. “We have several measurements that are tracked through Matrix for Business that allow us to slice and dice the data to see where we are having success or where we need to make improvements,” says Barnes. And for those times when a customer requests an order or quote in Excel, the data in Matrix allows Barnes to easily access this information. It’s been three years since OfficeScapes started using the program and Barnes still raves about the support she receives from Channel Dynamix. “They understand our needs and our business and are extremely easy to work with.” continued on page 16
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ICE Edge Business Solutions’ ICE As far as Christine Fleming, senior associate, DIRTT with G.L. Seaman & Company in Carrollton, TX, is concerned, ICE from ICE Edge Business Solutions Ltd. is nice. G.L. Seaman has been using ICE for the past four years. It was selected for its rendering capability along with the ability to provide pricing and make instant changes as needed. The program also allows the dealership to more closely interact with clients. “We can make changes to products, colors, and layouts with the client, and give them updated pricing on the spot,” says Fleming. Software updates are a fact of life and Fleming actually welcomes those and appreciates the timeliness of those updates. “When something in the software changes, they push out a new update via the Web immediately.” Fleming also likes the warnings and suggested fixes the program provides when users try to do something the product can’t do. “With other specifying systems, it’s up to you to know what will and will not work together, which creates mistakes. This feature allows a new designer to learn the specifications much faster.” Ultimately, ICE has made for a closer and warmer relationship with clients. “It’s allowed us to show our clients what they are getting down to the colors,” says Fleming. “It has cut down turnaround time because we can do renderings and pricing in house rather than sending it to the factory to price.”
RPC Software’s CORE Business System Deep in the heart of Texas, Houston to be precise, The OFIS uses RPC Software’s enterprise resource planning software, CORE Business System. According to Carol Hedrick, director of finance, the dealership was wowed by the software from the moment they saw their first demo. “The main selling point for us was the flexible and custom capabilities of RPC,” says Hedrick. “Another point of interest was instant updating and the ability to electronically upload orders with our major vendors.” Asked what she likes best about the software, Hedrick picks the workflow. In an economy that’s forced the company to downsize, CORE Business System has been a big help in filling the gap, allowing the dealership to remain productive with fewer people. Hedrick has also found RPC an easy vendor to work with and very responsive. “RPC’s willingness to listen to the needs of the dealer and to work with the dealer to accomplish their needs is outstanding,” she says. “The product is such a great tool and its flexibility has increased our time management tremendously.”
IQ Coordinator Dave Branch, president of Facilities Connection in El Paso, TX, was turned onto IQ Coordinator’s Professional Services Management software from The IQ Group 15 years ago.
Team-Design Office Images, Inc. in Rockville, MD, has been using TeamDesign business management software for the past 10 years. “The software efficiently handles both commercial orders and direct orders (those billed by the factories and dealer receives commission only),” says Deb Horrworth, principal of Office Images. “Once a proposal is entered into the system, everything is automatically generated and tracked from that initial information. Team-Design handles complete order processing and company accounting.”
IQ Coordinator’s Professional Services Management software helps Facilities Connection manage their employees, information, and relationships. They use it to manage sales leads and forecasting, projects, labor estimates, work orders, scheduling, time sheets, job costing, documents, and assets. From a project management standpoint it keeps track of all of Facilities Connection’s Gantt charts and all the data necessary per client site and rolls it into a master schedule.
Prior to implementing Team-Design, Office Images used different packages, such as proposal software and QuickBooks that didn’t communicate with each other.
“It has allowed us to manage the people part of our business, understand job costing, and track all job orders and project management,” says Branch.
“This required duplicate entry of data and increased the possibility of errors,” recalls Horrwath.
The program has become increasingly important for the dealership’s work with the federal government and Branch has even hired Sean Clouse of The IQ Group as one of Facilities Connection’s primary
Thanks to Team-Design software, Office Images can now function virtually error free. MAY 2010
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subcontractors to work with federal clients, most notably the Department of Defense.
dealership hasn’t delved into those capabilities yet. But Taylor says they might use that eventually.
“He participates as a subcontractor at least once a week and sometimes three times a week on calls for DOD projects that we’re working on,” reports Branch.
Prior to implementing AssetWIN, employees were creating their own lists and placing that information in spreadsheets. That was a time-consuming process, and automating that process has saved time and effort and reduced the potential for human error.
That extra help is essential because some of those projects are incredibly complex. Clouse is responsible for compiling all the information related to calls from U.S. Army installations all over the world. “He puts that in a structure within the software and that sorts it by priority and responsibility by date, installation, and person,” explains Branch. “Using the software, he can send the right stuff to the right people at the right time. It’s very, very sophisticated project management.”
Asset Systems Advanced Office Elements in Malvern, PA, has been working with AssetWIN from Asset Systems since 1999, because, explains Pat Taylor, vice president of asset management, “It did what we needed it to do.”
Taylor also gives high marks to the program’s report-producing capabilities. “You can sort and do reports in any number of modes to suit numerous situations,” she says. There’s no doubt in Taylor’s mind that this is the right system for Advanced Office Elements. Considering the dealership has been using it for 11 years, that’s a darn good track record.
Scott Cullen has been writing about the office products, office furniture, and office equipment industries since 1986. He has been working as an independent writer and editor since 1997, and is currently editorial director and managing editor of OfficeSolutions and OfficeDealer magazines as well as publisher and editorial director of the new ezine, Imaging Solutions Reseller.
“We were looking for a system that had barcode capability, would allow us to scan, and allow us to keep track of customer inventory databases,” recalls Taylor. “It had all the features we were looking for at the time.” The program is primarily used by Advanced Office Elements’ warehouse staff. “It’s definitely allowed us to do a better job of keeping track of our customer inventory by allowing us to scan in and scan out,” says Taylor. “The people in the warehouse do that and it keeps more accurate track of the client’s stock.” It hasn’t been an inordinately difficult system to learn. “We’ve trained numerous people on it since we’ve been using it and haven’t had any real issues,” says Taylor. As far as support, Taylor reports, Asset Systems provides excellent support whenever Advanced Office Elements needs it. There isn’t anything she would change about the system although there are some capabilities that Advanced Office Elements has yet to leverage. “Right now it suits our needs and allows us to do more things than we’re actually doing,” notes Taylor. For example, the program offers the option to attach pictures to every item and do workstation typicals, even though the MAY 2010
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Critical Factors for
Future Success By Bill Kuhn
Three decades ago, J.R. Daniel, a managing director of McKinsey & Company, first discussed critical success factors in management literature. He purported that in most industries at a given point in time, there are a very small number of factors—typically three to six—that determine success. The factors differ from industry to industry and change as business conditions change. They may also vary by geographic location based upon local market, economic and competitive conditions. They are not always the obvious ones. As an example, in the early 1980s, car dealers were failing at a rapid rate—thousands of them went out of business at the time. An extensive study was made by the auto manufacturers and trade associations to identify the critical success factors of automobile dealers. In spite of what dealers believed and were emphasizing, the sale of new cars and brand loyalty were not among the critical success factors identified. Three other factors were identified and proved to be the salvation for dealerships: the sale of used cars, the sale of parts and the quality of the dealer’s service department.
Past industry critical success factors Five years ago, as our industry was beginning to recover from the recession that began in the early part of this decade, I conducted a survey of what dealers believed were their critical success factors. The top four factors were 1) the ability to perform as a low-cost operator, 2) the ability to offer unique added-value, 3) a customer-driven culture, and 4) highly deliverable systems.
Bill Kuhn, principal of William E. Kuhn & Associates, is a noted industry consultant, writer, and speaker with over 35 years of industry experience. He consults with dealer principals and their management teams in areas of strategic planning, leadership and organizational development, marketing, financial management, valuation and merger/ acquisition. For more information, contact Bill by phone: 303-322-8233, fax: 303-331-9032, or e-mail: BillKuhn1@cs.com.
Other factors included staff competency, business mix, effective cost control, technological superiority and partnerships and alliances. In the boom period in the late 1990s, I surveyed dealers once again. At that time, success factors included a few of those already mentioned, but those most frequently cited were growth, market continued on page 20 MAY 2010
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power, process development from sales to post-installation, and embracing new technology (then often characterized as “up-to-date” data processing systems). You can see, over time, how things have changed.
n Your dealership has survived this recession, albeit struggled.
Earlier this year, I informally surveyed several dealers for a third time. When compared to five years ago, many of the same factors were mentioned, often along with the ability to be flexible and innovative. Unfortunately, I find that flexibility and innovation are more often talk than practice.
n Our industry will remain volatile, but, at some point in time in the relatively near future, there will be a return to at least modest growth.
You may feel some of these factors are applicable to your dealership today. If so, include them in the list of your organization’s critical factors. However, I suggest that you ask yourself if those are as relevant today as they once were, and consider the three factors that I believe are most relevant for the majority of furniture dealers in 2010. Remember, the list is typically three or four, six at most, for success at a given time.
Defining this given point in time - 2010 2010 is a critical point in time for the furniture industry, perhaps the most critical ever. Most believe our industry will have some better months, but those will be offset by months that are not as good—in other words, no consistent improvement trend until late 2010 or 2011. BIFMA currently forecasts a 5.1% decline in 2010 with a 11% increase in 2011. A word of caution: BIFMA has often had to lower its projections. Our industry has shrunk drastically. We are currently at the same volume level we experienced in 1992 and are down fully 41% from the high of 2000. It may be well into the next decade before we again reach the record high set in 2000. Intense pressure on industry gross margins is expected to continue for many years to come, leading to additional failures and further industry consolidation. Today’s critical success factors are not comparable to those of the 1990s or even 2005 to 2008, both time periods being one of consistent growth.
Today, it’s all about strategic change Evaluating current industry conditions as well as analyzing those dealers who are doing very well along with those who are not, I have identified three critical success factors that I believe are the most relevant for the majority of furniture dealers today. All three emphasize strategic change and are based on these assumptions: MAY 2010
n Your focus over the past two years has been on maintaining the business—cutting costs to maintain liquidity and some profitability in the face of lower revenue.
n My belief that most dealers will continue to focus on maintaining the business and not become sufficiently strategically positioned to take advantage of existing and future opportunities—which provides tremendous opportunity for those who do acknowledge and manage the critical factors of strategic change.
Critical Success Factor #1:
Operational effectiveness Having gone through two recessions in a ten-year period, most dealers have already cut costs and laid off staff, striving to be that low-cost operator in the customer’s mind and cutting people and expenses to the bare bones to survive and maintain some level of profitability. Striving for low-cost efficiency and employee productivity is not the same as operational effectiveness. Companies that only cut costs and curtail investment spending rarely thrive once a recession is over, because areas such as exceptional quality and customer responsiveness typically suffer, and momentum is lost. Retrenching is typically a look backwards, not forwards. As University of Colorado business professor Wayne Cascio says, “You can’t shrink your way into prosperity.” Michael Porter, the widely recognized guru on strategy and competitive thinking, stresses the importance of achieving operational effectiveness and becoming a low-cost operator with highly deliverable systems that utilize speed, timely response, quality and enhanced technology. Operational effectiveness is the sum of hundreds of activities. The key is looking at each activity, cutting out all unnecessary cost, reducing waste, and evaluating technological resources that can help to reduce costs. Operational effectiveness is the result of knowing where to cut —primarily anything that is not perceived as value to your customers—and knowing where to spend and make investments.
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Bottom line: Today’s customers select dealers based upon operational effectiveness. They demand low cost and expect highly deliverable systems. Proven operational effectiveness then determines future repeat business.
product/service and customer mix, investing in both existing and new customer business, having the financial and marketing expertise to know where and where not to spend money, and providing comprehensive training to develop a talented sales staff that can excel at generating business.
Critical Success Factor #2:
Strategic marketing positioning is a critical short-term and long-term critical success factor.
Strategic marketing positioning In addition to operational effectiveness, Porter emphasizes strategic positioning (unique added-value in a customer-driven culture), which he believes is absolutely essential to sustained competitive advantage.
Bottom line: If dealers—and manufacturers—have not developed strong customer relationships and cannot substantiate added value, customers will consider us a commodity industry, forcing margins to even lower levels.
Porter says it very clearly: “Strategy is about making choices and trade-offs; it’s about deliberately choosing to be different.”
Critical Success Factor #3:
I’ve added the word “marketing” to Porter’s words. I find that marketing superiority among furniture dealers determines much of dealer success today, especially for those whose focus is on the top lines—revenue and gross margin—not just the bottom line. It’s performing differently and better than your competition does. As you address your strategic marketing positioning, I would ask you to answer—validate—two questions. 1) Is your entire organization customer-driven? This means that your organization understands your customers’ needs and priorities; that your sales staff knows how to listen to customers, identify problems, and provide solutions and that your support staff understands its role in building and maintaining customer relationships. 2) Where do you add unique value compared to your competition?” And where do you not? Unique added-value is not merely a list of products and services. It includes distinctive service, customer relationship management, offering your customers the best solutions to their organizational needs. Pricing is a component of added-value. Without definable added -value, you become a commodity dealer, unable to establish price differentiation. With added-value, you can use pricing as a sales tool to clarify your advantages. As we all know, in today’s market, discounting is horrendous. Everyone wants bargains and the lowest price, and there may be jobs you should turn down. But positioning around price value, unbundling products and services and having a highly educated sales force and management team that understands customer priorities, where they will and won’t spend money and why they might switch dealers is the way to drive revenue dollars at realistic margins. Strategic marketing positioning encompasses many factors: spotting new opportunities that others miss, identifying the best MAY 2010
Organizational skill and agility Suffice it to say that in good times or bad, opportunities still arise and an organization that possesses speed, skill, flexibility and agility will survive and prosper. Size isn’t everything. Having skill and agility is, and this may be the most distinguishing critical factor for dealers today and tomorrow. Skill is essential. Having talent is one thing, but the ability to apply that talent is another. I strongly believe it takes a blend of experienced old-timers and the younger generations (Gen X and the millennials). I was amazed at a recent poll that showed that 76% of those surveyed did not feel the need to get younger people involved in the business. Organizational agility is a company’s ability to identify opportunities and close on them more quickly than the competition, to realign resources quickly to meet constantly changing conditions and opportunities. An agile dealership requires leaders with vision, a sense of urgency and a strategic mindset and managers who can execute. Bottom line: A dealer will be unable to achieve competitive advantage in the areas of operational effectiveness and strategic positioning without a talented and skilled staff at all levels within the organization (leaders, managers, and support staff), and unless the staff can react quickly to challenges and changing situations with speed, flexibility, and agility. Applying critical success factors means implementing a new and strategic approach to your organization. Managing this transition may be the toughest challenge you’ll face. But it can be accomplished, and those dealers who develop a strategic organization will be the leading dealers of the future.
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PROFILE Marathon Building Environments
Winning the Race for Profits By Alicia Ellis Marathon Building Environments is pulling ahead of the competition and on the track to success with a new name, a creative mix of office furniture and vertical market products, and a magical philosophy that combines freedom with responsibility. Started 23 years ago in Columbia, MO, by owner Greg Wolff, Marathon began as a Xerox dealership and transitioned away from copiers and printer and into office furniture more than nearly 12 years ago. Six years ago Frank Sovich joined the Marathon Office Interiors team as co-
owner and took the helm of the furniture division so that Wolff could pursue new market opportunities. Primarily a Steelcase dealer, Marathon has grown over the years to become a $6 million operation with 20 employees serving government, corporate, education and healthcare facilities throughout Missouri and beyond. With a 10,000 sq. ft. open showroom and office area opened six years ago, Marathon’s eclectic décor is reflective of
their core values and a cause statement that declares their goal “to provide a magical experience to our customers, our team, our community and our planet.” “People come into our office and showroom and see our brightly painted walls and modern artwork created by a priest in St. Louis, and they smile,” said Sovich, who claims proudly, “We live our cause statement and our core values to the best of our abilities.” For customers this cause statement means excellent follow up and networking through events, Facebook and continuous training, while for employees it means a happy place to work that encourages thinking outside the box and respect for all employees. “We celebrate birthdays every month, we have BBQ’s and make time for the staff to bond,” said Sovich. “Our team members know that they are held responsible for their actions and sales and with achieving those they also earn certain freedoms.” continued on page 23
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Sponsorship of local University of Missouri athletic events, getting involved with local charities and donating items from its pre-owned inventory to local non-for profit organizations represents only the beginning for Marathon’s staff when it comes to giving back to the community. “We ask that every one of our team members belong to at least one organization outside of work,” said Sovich, who also spoke proudly of Marathon’s commitment to environmentally friendly and sustainable products. “Not only are many of our products cradle-to-cradle certified and ‘green,’ but we also have a recycling program in our offices, use cloth hand towels, turn out lights when not in use and we even bought a Scion instead of a van.” Working in such a free thinking environment, it’s no wonder that Marathon has come up with some pretty progressive ideas that have led to significant new areas of development. The dealership’s commercial flooring division has grown over the past four
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years, thanks in part to Marathon’s relationship with Starnet, a commercial flooring buying group that provides leads, rebates and up front discounting. At the end of last year, Marathon took their offerings to the next level with the purchase of Pioneer Window Works, a 35-year old window treatment and awning provider. To reflect its broadening product mix, the dealership also changed its name to Marathon Building Environments. “This change helps to identify Marathon Building Environment as a business that is all encompassing when it comes to building solutions, both interior and exterior,” said Sovich. “We offer top-name office furniture, commercial floor coverings from Milliken and Shaw, window treatments and awnings and combine them with interior design and planning services that take an office space from ‘Now to Wow!’” “We’ve been working more and more with general contractors and flooring and awnings are always on their bid lists,” said Sovich. “This has allowed us to get in on the ground floor of a
number of projects that have led to the sale of office furniture.” And if you’re a furniture dealer like Marathon, with an increasingly broad offering of furniture-related products and services, getting yourself on the ground floor of any furniture project these days is a pretty nice place to be!
Preparing for the
Recovery The faithful know it’s coming… By Trish Brock It may not feel much like a recovery—more like three steps forward and two steps backward, but we will eventually pull out of the current stagnant economic climate and people and businesses will get on with their lives. But those lives as we knew them are changed and as businesses reposition themselves, reinvent and broaden their offering, they also must prepare for the recovery to come. As difficult as business is now, being caught flat footed and unprepared to manage an increase in demand could be even more detrimental to the long-term life of your dealership. Below are some areas to consider as we lurch towards better times:
Differentiate your business. Define your unique attributes. This is not a new strategy, but many dealers don’t understand what it means, appreciate its importance or know in any useful way how it can be done. Different is not being the same. It means being known for something that your competitors are not. It means having different conversations than your competitors are having. Everyone is selling furniture, space planning and installation. But what value do you bring beyond all that and why should customers choose you? For dealers, the answer is rarely about the product, but don’t tell your manufacturer that.
I spoke with one dealer recently who told me quite seriously that their differentiator was that they worked hard. Really? Does that mean no one else is working hard? Another dealer declared their differentiator to be their full product and service offering—soup to nuts so to speak. Again, I wondered if they had taken a look at the competition recently since many dealers can make the same claim.
Be clear about what your market thinks about your dealership. Few of us see ourselves as others see us, and that includes businesses. The market’s perception is your reality. Being open minded to hearing the good as well as the bad will give you a lot of information about how to better differentiate as well as make improvements moving forward. After all, getting better puts you in good position now and will help propel your efforts in the future.
Innovate. Webster’s defines it as, “to introduce new methods, change in the way of doing things.” We have all heard that we need to innovate, but when something new is suggested, how often is it really embraced and tried? continued on page 25
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Get out of the box. If something is done in nine steps, do you continue to challenge yourself on how to do it eight steps, and then seven? I have witnessed too often the introduction of new ideas, only to see them dismissed because no one else has tried them yet. Hard times call for fresh ideas and new solutions to new challenges. Hint: The first one out of the gate gets the head start and therefore becomes known for being the first and innovative. These are great attributes, will help you differentiate and will help develop stronger practices.
Don’t confuse “busy” with “productive.” Most people may feel like world champs at whack-a-mole these days, but stop for a moment and get some perspective. We all know we must work “smart” and now is the time to redefine what that means. It’s easy to get sucked into the daily crisis, but chances are good that many are repeat crises which suggests improved systems/procedures might mitigate some of the “busy” activity. Without tackling some of these issues, they will hamper your business when activity picks up and give “busy” a whole new meaning (and not in the good way).
Grow your people and keep them. Everyone wants more and better salespeople. But the reality is that many have left the industry and more continue to do so. And with them goes a lot of valuable experience. Product training is obviously necessary, but much of the sales training is built MAY 2010
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around the products instead of developing professional skills in areas such as communication, leadership development and presentations. Help your people develop their strengths, listen to their suggestions on how they can produce more and invest in their professional growth and development. Don’t tell them to sell more—show them how. Helping them grow will pay dividends for growing your business.
Equip your people. One dealer told me recently he would spend some money on marketing and sales materials when his people sold more. In the world of sports, that would like telling the football team they would be getting pads and helmets once they start winning some games. Yes, every dollar has to be scrutinized in this economy, but if you are committed to being in the game, you must have the right equipment. ”Suit up” your people.
Stop relying on your manufacturer. While every dealer believes their product to be the best—and there are some truly amazing products available these days—the reality is that many buyers see commercial furniture as a commodity items and take the view that all products are pretty much all equally good and can solve any problems. Trying to differentiate by product is what your manufacturer does. You need to differentiate by your services, your track record, your support, your professionalism, your ability to solve problems, your experienced people, etc. You must be known for your own unique attributes in your own community.
Let your sales people sell. In these times of cut backs and pressures to do more with less, the engine of your dealership is your salespeople and they need to be out selling. Take a look at time spent selling vs. time
Be visible. Have a good website, do interesting email blasts, host creative events, sponsor industry activities and give your people support materials. Your competitors are doing all these things, and if you aren’t, you can’t expect to be top of mind in your market. Thinking that “feet on the street” can accomplish the coverage that smart marketing will is exactly what your competition hopes you will think. Good marketing will enhance your sales efforts, make cold calls warmer, enhance your name recognition and give your people the help they need.
spent doing take offs and other administrative tasks. Consider also that the more successful a sales person is, the more encumbered they become with administrivia, with even less time to sell. Don’t penalize your best people by burdening them with non-revenue producing activities. Wouldn’t time be better spent by a salesperson networking for new business at an event rather than counting panels? Position them and your dealer to be on top of developments in the market. Take away as many obstacles as possible and let them do what they do best — sell.
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“Because we have always done it this way” doesn’t work with new economy challenges.
Have a positive attitude.
Now is the time to evaluate the efficiencies of your internal processes and ask yourself if “best practices” are really simply “common practices.”
We all know this and at times it begins to sound trite, but your clients and people need for you to be upbeat and optimistic. Put another way, being fearful, cynical or pessimistic will not instill confidence, and doesn’t inspire anyone to do anything besides become a “victim” and make excuses for why they can’t be successful.
Can steps be taken to shorten the number of “hand offs” from proposal through installation?
Model positive behavior and give the people around you the energy and inspiration to also be positive.
Do you track error rates and implement new methods in order to reduce them? Is it “shame and blame” when things go wrong, or does your dealer grow from past experiences?
There’s no going back and things will never be the same. We can choose to look longingly in the rear view mirror or we can jump feet first into the unknown and prepare for the next phase of business.
Learn. Read, explore new ideas and try different approaches. “Back to basics” and reinvigorating “block and tackle” tactics worked for another era. While some things may not have changed, the business climate, how people communicate and work places have changed dramatically. Applying road weary ideas to a new age and generation will not get you very far. You must be adapting and changing not only ways of doing business, but your attitude and perspectives as well, if you want to come out of this recession as a contender.
Being receptive to our changing environment and preparing for it with new approaches will put you in a good position to thrive as our economic climate improves. And it will! Trish Brock, Principal of Trish Brock & Associates, is a well-known industry consultant. Her cross-functional consulting group specializes in helping dealers solve identity, branding and sales support collateral challenges. She also conducts Perceptual Market Assessments and Culture Evaluations to better define market positioning and effective brand messaging. She can be reached at 720-277-3035 or at tbrock@trishbrockassoc.com.
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Last Building Offices from the Ground Up The latest buzzword to hit the office furniture industry is BIM. Short for Building Information Modeling, BIM is the future of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry and will most certainly have an effect on how the office furniture industry plans and executes corporate interior spaces. Three-dimensional, real-time, dynamic building modeling software to increase productivity in building design and construction, BIM covers geometry, spatial relationships, light analysis, geographic information, quantities and properties of building components like walls, HVAC, lighting, ceilings, floors, windows and more. In a nutshell, BIM software will allow architects to design a building—including just about all of its many components—from the ground up. Building owners will be able to see in 3D exactly what the building will look like, determine how many of each components the building will need and make real-time changes that will not only change the look of the structure but will account for those changes by altering all the interior systems associated with that change. According to Aubrey Cattell, head of products for Autodesk Content Network, a pioneer in BIM software and solutions, BIM creates an underlying database and model for a building based on exact specifications from parts and components manufacturers.
MAY 2010
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“If I move a door, BIM will understand how that door fits in the larger picture,” explained Cattell about Autodesk’s Revit BIM modeling software. “If I change one part, it will ripple down through the building’s system to account for and help to correct any component affected by the change. The idea is to test, analyze and validate before the first slab of concrete is poured.” “There is more demand for visualization on the owner level,” said David Banki, Autodesk’s director of business development, who stressed that for Autodesk Revit and the Autodesk Seek web service which currently indexes more than 35,000 product families, manufacturer participation is essential. “This pressure for 3D visualization is the catalyst that is moving the A&D community and thus, the office furniture dealership that offers design and spec services, to incorporate office interiors into the BIM model. Not only does BIM allow for move management, energy audits, and helps with LEED certifications, but space planning rounds out the entire model.” As BIM becomes more readily available and software providers integrate their products into BIM and more manufacturers participate by incorporating their specs, the easier it will be for office furniture dealers to get in on the ground floor of design and the greater the opportunity to act as a consultant and not just a furniture source, to architect, designers and other key players in the supply chain. OFDEALER
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