Print Solutions Magazine, February 2005 -- Manufacturing: Expand Your Sales by Expanding Your Distributors' Sales

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Table of Contents

IN BRIEF

Manufacturers need to show distributors all document services they offer to help distributors expand their sales.

Expand Your Sales by Expanding Your Distributors’ Sales

BY DENNIS MCGARRY, CDC

Some call it up-selling. Some call it partnering. Some call it just plain smart: Savvy manufacturers are paying close attention to the work submitted by distributors and partnering with those distributors to assist in increased sales.

The process works like this: The manufacturer takes notice of jobs coming through the plant. A high percentage of work that a plant processes is ripe for up-selling post-processing services such as variable imaging, imprinting, folding, inserting, mailing and more. For some forms and documents, it’s obvious. For others, it takes a simple interview with the distributor to determine if the manufacturer can help to up-sell other services.

Manufacturers know all of the services they offer, but most of their customers don’t. As a manufacturer, you need to show your distributor customers what additional document services you offer, and also offer resources to help make the sale. True partnering occurs when manufacturers use their resources to help expand distributors’ sales.

Partnering with key distributors is the answer to developing an overall management strategy for success. Partnering with key distributors assists in quickly increasing the volume of work in your plant. Some manufacturers have perfected these arrangements and often co-sell with the distributor, filling in with resources the distributor lacks.

Follow these six steps to enjoy partnering success:

Step 1: Monitor Distributor Orders

Study the work coming to your plant, and identify documents that obviously require post-processing functions you could provide. Also, look for areas of improvement in the documents you produce. At the same time, take inventory of your plant’s core strengths that might be valuable to a potential distributor partner. Here are some common post-processing areas:

• Document fulfillment

• Laser/variable imaging

• Inventory management

• Kit/package assembly

• Folding

• Inserting

• IT issues/database management

• Digital art/asset management

• Mailing

Specifically, define the processes that the distributor (with your combined resources) could offer the end user to simplify workflow or solve a problem.

Step 2: Educate Yourself

Learn about the distributor you’re considering as a partner. Pre-researched partnering arrangements create win-win results for those who participate. Ask yourself these questions: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the distributors we are considering? What effect would such strengths or weaknesses have on our business? Be sure that the companies’ cultures complement each other and that the people who will make the alliance prosper can cooperate. This is especially true if the distributor is going to use manufacturer resources and you’ll visit customers together.

Step 3: Select Distributors for Partnerships

Selection is critical. Select the distributors, documents and workflows you can support. On the distributor side, a customer-oriented culture and attitude are critical to the success of the partnering alliance. On the product side, you must be able to support the new process and keep the customer happy. Once you choose, you must provide support to this distributor and customer. If you can’t support the workflow, you jeopardize the customer’s relationship with the distributor. Also keep these points in mind:

• Target specific documents and processes you know you can improve. If you can’t give it 100 percent, don’t gamble with the distributor’s customer.

• Be certain the focus of the improvement is strategic to the customer’s goals. A disparity of focus could be unhealthy and put your alliance at risk.

• Embrace long-term thinking. Partnering is rarely a quick fix; it should be a sound, long-term business strategy.

Once you have the right distributor in mind, ask for a face-to-face meeting. Explain that you’ve been watching the work that moves through the plant and that you are confident about offering more to solve this customer’s needs. Explore the possibilities with the distributor.

Step 4: Organize

Now it’s time to put it all together. Make sure your internal team is ready to take on the additional workload. Schedule meetings with department heads to ensure that everyone knows their roles and responsibilities. Make certain your team understands the rules and what is important to the client and distributor.

Access is crucial. Emphasize mutual understanding through the ability to access each other’s staff. This could even include talking to the end user to solve problems on the spot. Create a convenient communication system, especially for decision-makers. Plan procedures to maintain productive relationships and open communication between key people in the partnering companies. Make sure all levels of both organizations share the partnering attitude. Stress strong information systems, and share information constantly.

Phasing in services could be a preferred strategy, as this method allows the distributor and manufacturer to “get acquainted.” It can result in milestones to reach or the need to reassess the partnership before moving on to another level in the relationship with the end user.

Look to the future and plan for a long-term relationship. Encourage strategies that sustain the relationship and ultimately keep the customer.

Step 5: Spell Out the Terms

The agreement can be as simple as a handshake, but alliances work best when the agreement is written in contract form. This is especially helpful to establish clarity six months or two years later.

In addition, your charter should spell out conflict-resolution processes between the distributor and manufacturer. Eventually there will be a need for mechanisms to handle issues such as price increases and shipments. Preparing ahead of time allows disagreements to be resolved in a timely and amiable fashion.

Develop an agreement on what your goals are and make sure they are measurable. Have a formal mechanism for manufacturers and distributors to identify goals, milestones and turning points crucial to the success of the relationship. Devise some form of evaluation that will measure how well plans have been implemented. Spell out the details—who is doing what—and include pricing structures for the new services you will offer.

Step 6: Regular Review

Regularly review your up-selling efforts with the distributor. Sit down with your partner and evaluate whether the relationship should be upgraded, maintained or downgraded. To improve your business and the quality of the agreement, share information regularly. Discuss opportunities for improvement and ways to enhance performance.

Inherent in the process, partnering has benefits and pitfalls. What should you do to keep flare-ups from leading to the end of a relationship? Meet with people as soon as possible. You’ll find that if you get the right people to talk through a problem, almost 100 percent of the time you’ll be able to work it out. The positives usually outweigh the negatives if you’re careful and methodical in the search for a partner and in devising the arrangement.

Meshing with Customers is Critical

It has been said that the printing plant of the future will be an information factory, which long ago moved away from selling commodity printed products. The information factory will be intertwined with the end user client, handling information and documentation needs from the most basic to the most complex.

The savviest printers today know that meshing with the customer is critical for repeat business. It’s a win/win—the customer’s problems are solved, and the manufacturer/distributor partnership prospers.

Up-selling your company’s services strengthens your position with clients and the distributor’s client. The key to the process is choosing the right combination of partners and services and securing a solid foundation for growth.

Contributing Editor Dennis McGarry, CDC, is vice president of manufacturer and technical programs at DMIA. Email him your comments at dmcgarry@PSDA.org.

Quote

“True partnering occurs when manufacturers use their resources to help expand distributors’ sales.”

NEWS

Darwill, Hillside, Ill., installed a third ROLAND 700 press. The 41-inch, 6-color press has in-line coating and UV capabilities. The company wants to offer point-of-sale products and non-secure cards. It also purchased the PECOM system to network all three ROLAND presses. Call (708) 449-7770 or (708) 449-7820 (fax).

Visit www.darwill.com.

Nipson America Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill., announced its high-speed digital presses featuring MICReady™ offer a fast and cost-effective method of integrating Check 21-compliant printing into various print operations. The MICReady system allows printers to integrate MICR print into standard digital printing without the need to change to an expensive toner or adjust equipment, according to the company. Call (847) 357-9210 or (847) 357-9206 (fax).

Visit www.nipson.com.

Franklin Press, Baton Rouge, La., installed the Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG) DirectPress 5634 DI System. It enhances image quality and offers short run, high-quality, 4-color printing, according to the company. The system also supports 16-micron spot diameters for FM stochastic screening and prints in high line AM and hybrid screening. Call (225) 387-0504 or (225) 344-5024 (fax).

Visit www.franklin-press.com.

Therm-O-Boss, Escondido, Calif., introduced scented powders for thermography and stamped images. The thermography powders are scented and infused with colors. The scents include peach, apple, cherry, pine, chocolate, baby powder and hot cinnamon. The company also offers powders that don’t melt in laser printers and copiers. Call (760) 480-0062 or (760) 480-0054 (fax).

Visit www.thermoboss.com.

Kyocera Mita America Inc., Fairfield, N.J., completed the first phase of redesigning its web site. Users can access information on business and information technology more easily. The redesign is part of the company’s effort to align the needs of its customers’ IT administrators with their overall business strategies. Call (973) 882-4480.

Visit www.kyoceramita.com.

Lyson Ink, Elk Grove Village, Ill., introduced a bulk-feed ink delivery system with pigment and dye-based ink sets for the Epson Stylus Pro 4000 desktop ink jet printer. The ink sets help users save costs, speed up workflow processing, and eliminate the time and hassle involved with changing cartridges, according to the company. Additionally, Lyson announced an agreement with Xaar Plc, Cambridge, U.K., to market its GF 362 and GF 372 grand-format inks, which are certified as XAAR XJ128-compatible in Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Call (847) 690-1067 or (847) 690-1067 (fax).

Visit www.lysonusa.com.

Superior Printing Ink Co. Inc., New York City, held a groundbreaking ceremony for a future varnish manufacturing plant at its Hamden, Conn., facility. The 12,000-square-foot plant will be operational in the summer and will increase the company’s automation level to manufacture lithographic printing ink, and will help improve quality and lower costs, according to the company. Call (212) 741-3600 or (212) 633-8283 (fax).

Visit www.superiorink.com.

IKON Office Solutions, Valley Forge, Pa., formed a strategic relationship with distributed document capture and workflow middleware technology company Notable Solutions Inc., Rockville, Md. IKON Office Solutions will integrate Notable Solutions AutoStore™ framework with its document management solutions. AutoStore allows users to capture hard copy and electronic documents through devices such as digital copiers, wireless machines and desktops. The documents then are processed through image and document transformations such as OCR, bar code reading and forms recognition. The transformed documents are routed to business applications, databases and email systems. Call (866) ASK-IKON.

Visit www.ikon.com.

Zebra Technologies Corp., Vernon Hills, Ill., introduced Zebra R110Xi and R170Xi UHF EPC multi-protocol printers. The printers can be upgraded easily to include future protocols, including RFID. They contain ThingMagic’s Mercury4e RFID reader module, which can read and encode any EPC tag, according to the company. Call (800) 423-0442 or (847) 913-8766 (fax).

Visit www.rfid.zebra.com.

Colonial Press International, Miami, installed a BravoPlus saddle stitching system from Muller Martini Corp., Hauppage, N.Y. The automated, mid-range stitcher produces 13,000 copies per hour and offers a range of feeder, control and automation options, according to Muller Martini. Call (305) 633-1581.

Screen (USA), Rolling Meadows, Ill., introduced the Trueflow 3.0 PDF workflow management system. The latest version allows users to move from a PDF and PostScript workflow into a JDF-based environment. Featuring JDF-based job tickets, the system allows 2-way communication and direct connectivity with MIS systems, according to the company. Its output-ready functions include preflighting, overprinting, auto-trapping, impositioning and output in multiple formats. Call (847) 870-7400 or (847) 870-0149 (fax).

Visit www.screenusa.com.

ACOM Solutions Inc., Long Beach, Calif., enhanced its EZPayManager/400 v.6.2.00 and EZeDocs/400 solutions that help protect company funds and document files against fraud and theft. EZPayManager/400 generates MICR laser checks and ACH direct-deposit statements. EZeDocs/400 enables companies to replace preprinted paper forms with electronic form templates and print finished documents at the point of use. New security features enable users to tailor security plans to their needs, according to the company. Call (800) 699-5758 or (562) 492-9131 (fax).

Visit www.acom.com.

ROLAND 700 press installed at Darwill.

	Go to next page Table of Contents

IN BRIEF Manufacturers need to show distributors all document services they offer to help distributors expand their sales. Expand Your Sales by Expanding Your Distributors’ Sales BY DENNIS MCGARRY, CDC Some call it up-selling. Some call it partnering. Some call it just plain smart: Savvy manufacturers are paying close attention to the work submitted by distributors and partnering with those distributors to assist in increased sales. The process works like this: The manufacturer takes notice of jobs coming through the plant. A high percentage of work that a plant processes is ripe for up-selling post-processing services such as variable imaging, imprinting, folding, inserting, mailing and more. For some forms and documents, it’s obvious. For others, it takes a simple interview with the distributor to determine if the manufacturer can help to up-sell other services. Manufacturers know all of the services they offer, but most of their customers don’t. As a manufacturer, you need to show your distributor customers what additional document services you offer, and also offer resources to help make the sale. True partnering occurs when manufacturers use their resources to help expand distributors’ sales. Partnering with key distributors is the answer to developing an overall management strategy for success. Partnering with key distributors assists in quickly increasing the volume of work in your plant. Some manufacturers have perfected these arrangements and often co-sell with the distributor, filling in with resources the distributor lacks. Follow these six steps to enjoy partnering success: Step 1: Monitor Distributor Orders Study the work coming to your plant, and identify documents that obviously require post-processing functions you could provide. Also, look for areas of improvement in the documents you produce. At the same time, take inventory of your plant’s core strengths that might be valuable to a potential distributor partner. Here are some common post-processing areas: • Document fulfillment • Laser/variable imaging • Inventory management • Kit/package assembly • Folding • Inserting • IT issues/database management • Digital art/asset management • Mailing Specifically, define the processes that the distributor (with your combined resources) could offer the end user to simplify workflow or solve a problem. Step 2: Educate Yourself Learn about the distributor you’re considering as a partner. Pre-researched partnering arrangements create win-win results for those who participate. Ask yourself these questions: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the distributors we are considering? What effect would such strengths or weaknesses have on our business? Be sure that the companies’ cultures complement each other and that the people who will make the alliance prosper can cooperate. This is especially true if the distributor is going to use manufacturer resources and you’ll visit customers together. Step 3: Select Distributors for Partnerships Selection is critical. Select the distributors, documents and workflows you can support. On the distributor side, a customer-oriented culture and attitude are critical to the success of the partnering alliance. On the product side, you must be able to support the new process and keep the customer happy. Once you choose, you must provide support to this distributor and customer. If you can’t support the workflow, you jeopardize the customer’s relationship with the distributor. Also keep these points in mind: • Target specific documents and processes you know you can improve. If you can’t give it 100 percent, don’t gamble with the distributor’s customer. • Be certain the focus of the improvement is strategic to the customer’s goals. A disparity of focus could be unhealthy and put your alliance at risk. • Embrace long-term thinking. Partnering is rarely a quick fix; it should be a sound, long-term business strategy. Once you have the right distributor in mind, ask for a face-to-face meeting. Explain that you’ve been watching the work that moves through the plant and that you are confident about offering more to solve this customer’s needs. Explore the possibilities with the distributor. Step 4: Organize Now it’s time to put it all together. Make sure your internal team is ready to take on the additional workload. Schedule meetings with department heads to ensure that everyone knows their roles and responsibilities. Make certain your team understands the rules and what is important to the client and distributor. Access is crucial. Emphasize mutual understanding through the ability to access each other’s staff. This could even include talking to the end user to solve problems on the spot. Create a convenient communication system, especially for decision-makers. Plan procedures to maintain productive relationships and open communication between key people in the partnering companies. Make sure all levels of both organizations share the partnering attitude. Stress strong information systems, and share information constantly. Phasing in services could be a preferred strategy, as this method allows the distributor and manufacturer to “get acquainted.” It can result in milestones to reach or the need to reassess the partnership before moving on to another level in the relationship with the end user. Look to the future and plan for a long-term relationship. Encourage strategies that sustain the relationship and ultimately keep the customer. Step 5: Spell Out the Terms The agreement can be as simple as a handshake, but alliances work best when the agreement is written in contract form. This is especially helpful to establish clarity six months or two years later. In addition, your charter should spell out conflict-resolution processes between the distributor and manufacturer. Eventually there will be a need for mechanisms to handle issues such as price increases and shipments. Preparing ahead of time allows disagreements to be resolved in a timely and amiable fashion. Develop an agreement on what your goals are and make sure they are measurable. Have a formal mechanism for manufacturers and distributors to identify goals, milestones and turning points crucial to the success of the relationship. Devise some form of evaluation that will measure how well plans have been implemented. Spell out the details—who is doing what—and include pricing structures for the new services you will offer. Step 6: Regular Review Regularly review your up-selling efforts with the distributor. Sit down with your partner and evaluate whether the relationship should be upgraded, maintained or downgraded. To improve your business and the quality of the agreement, share information regularly. Discuss opportunities for improvement and ways to enhance performance. Inherent in the process, partnering has benefits and pitfalls. What should you do to keep flare-ups from leading to the end of a relationship? Meet with people as soon as possible. You’ll find that if you get the right people to talk through a problem, almost 100 percent of the time you’ll be able to work it out. The positives usually outweigh the negatives if you’re careful and methodical in the search for a partner and in devising the arrangement. Meshing with Customers is Critical It has been said that the printing plant of the future will be an information factory, which long ago moved away from selling commodity printed products. The information factory will be intertwined with the end user client, handling information and documentation needs from the most basic to the most complex. The savviest printers today know that meshing with the customer is critical for repeat business. It’s a win/win—the customer’s problems are solved, and the manufacturer/distributor partnership prospers. Up-selling your company’s services strengthens your position with clients and the distributor’s client. The key to the process is choosing the right combination of partners and services and securing a solid foundation for growth. Contributing Editor Dennis McGarry, CDC, is vice president of manufacturer and technical programs at DMIA. Email him your comments at dmcgarry@PSDA.org. Quote “True partnering occurs when manufacturers use their resources to help expand distributors’ sales.”

NEWS Darwill, Hillside, Ill., installed a third ROLAND 700 press. The 41-inch, 6-color press has in-line coating and UV capabilities. The company wants to offer point-of-sale products and non-secure cards. It also purchased the PECOM system to network all three ROLAND presses. Call (708) 449-7770 or (708) 449-7820 (fax). Visit www.darwill.com. Nipson America Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill., announced its high-speed digital presses featuring MICReady™ offer a fast and cost-effective method of integrating Check 21-compliant printing into various print operations. The MICReady system allows printers to integrate MICR print into standard digital printing without the need to change to an expensive toner or adjust equipment, according to the company. Call (847) 357-9210 or (847) 357-9206 (fax). Visit www.nipson.com. Franklin Press, Baton Rouge, La., installed the Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG) DirectPress 5634 DI System. It enhances image quality and offers short run, high-quality, 4-color printing, according to the company. The system also supports 16-micron spot diameters for FM stochastic screening and prints in high line AM and hybrid screening. Call (225) 387-0504 or (225) 344-5024 (fax). Visit www.franklin-press.com. Therm-O-Boss, Escondido, Calif., introduced scented powders for thermography and stamped images. The thermography powders are scented and infused with colors. The scents include peach, apple, cherry, pine, chocolate, baby powder and hot cinnamon. The company also offers powders that don’t melt in laser printers and copiers. Call (760) 480-0062 or (760) 480-0054 (fax). Visit www.thermoboss.com. Kyocera Mita America Inc., Fairfield, N.J., completed the first phase of redesigning its web site. Users can access information on business and information technology more easily. The redesign is part of the company’s effort to align the needs of its customers’ IT administrators with their overall business strategies. Call (973) 882-4480. Visit www.kyoceramita.com. Lyson Ink, Elk Grove Village, Ill., introduced a bulk-feed ink delivery system with pigment and dye-based ink sets for the Epson Stylus Pro 4000 desktop ink jet printer. The ink sets help users save costs, speed up workflow processing, and eliminate the time and hassle involved with changing cartridges, according to the company. Additionally, Lyson announced an agreement with Xaar Plc, Cambridge, U.K., to market its GF 362 and GF 372 grand-format inks, which are certified as XAAR XJ128-compatible in Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Call (847) 690-1067 or (847) 690-1067 (fax). Visit www.lysonusa.com. Superior Printing Ink Co. Inc., New York City, held a groundbreaking ceremony for a future varnish manufacturing plant at its Hamden, Conn., facility. The 12,000-square-foot plant will be operational in the summer and will increase the company’s automation level to manufacture lithographic printing ink, and will help improve quality and lower costs, according to the company. Call (212) 741-3600 or (212) 633-8283 (fax). Visit www.superiorink.com. IKON Office Solutions, Valley Forge, Pa., formed a strategic relationship with distributed document capture and workflow middleware technology company Notable Solutions Inc., Rockville, Md. IKON Office Solutions will integrate Notable Solutions AutoStore™ framework with its document management solutions. AutoStore allows users to capture hard copy and electronic documents through devices such as digital copiers, wireless machines and desktops. The documents then are processed through image and document transformations such as OCR, bar code reading and forms recognition. The transformed documents are routed to business applications, databases and email systems. Call (866) ASK-IKON. Visit www.ikon.com. Zebra Technologies Corp., Vernon Hills, Ill., introduced Zebra R110Xi and R170Xi UHF EPC multi-protocol printers. The printers can be upgraded easily to include future protocols, including RFID. They contain ThingMagic’s Mercury4e RFID reader module, which can read and encode any EPC tag, according to the company. Call (800) 423-0442 or (847) 913-8766 (fax). Visit www.rfid.zebra.com. Colonial Press International, Miami, installed a BravoPlus saddle stitching system from Muller Martini Corp., Hauppage, N.Y. The automated, mid-range stitcher produces 13,000 copies per hour and offers a range of feeder, control and automation options, according to Muller Martini. Call (305) 633-1581. Screen (USA), Rolling Meadows, Ill., introduced the Trueflow 3.0 PDF workflow management system. The latest version allows users to move from a PDF and PostScript workflow into a JDF-based environment. Featuring JDF-based job tickets, the system allows 2-way communication and direct connectivity with MIS systems, according to the company. Its output-ready functions include preflighting, overprinting, auto-trapping, impositioning and output in multiple formats. Call (847) 870-7400 or (847) 870-0149 (fax). Visit www.screenusa.com. ACOM Solutions Inc., Long Beach, Calif., enhanced its EZPayManager/400 v.6.2.00 and EZeDocs/400 solutions that help protect company funds and document files against fraud and theft. EZPayManager/400 generates MICR laser checks and ACH direct-deposit statements. EZeDocs/400 enables companies to replace preprinted paper forms with electronic form templates and print finished documents at the point of use. New security features enable users to tailor security plans to their needs, according to the company. Call (800) 699-5758 or (562) 492-9131 (fax). Visit www.acom.com.


		ROLAND 700 press installed at Darwill.