One Friday afternoon, however, Visio's phone rang. "They called and said, 'In two hours, we need a quote for 1.5 million envelopes," he says. Visio's staff generated pricing and met with the medical group's management materials department. They learned that the group's staff had trouble running the envelopes through the inserter, and efforts to solve the problem had been fruitless. According to the hospital, "Relizon was making visits and saying, 'Gosh, sorry. Maybe it will get better,'" Visio says.
Visio promised to find the medical group an envelope manufacturer that would provide the technical support they wanted. He invited Brian Dahl, a sales representative at Western States Envelope, Butler, Wis., to give a joint presentation. Before the meeting, Dahl studied the insertion equipment's technical specifications, identified the problem and developed a solution. He proposed using a custom envelope with a narrower throat, designed to feed more easily into the inserter. Dahl's knowledge of the equipment rivaled its supplier's local technicians, and the medical group's staff was so impressed that they agreed to sample runs.
Sales representatives at Springfield, Mo.-based Executive Data Control tried to win business from a large medical group, but they were turned away. "They kept saying, 'We're with Novation and you're not in that group,'" says Steve Visio, vice president and chief operating officer. Because of its affiliation with Novation--the largest national health care group purchasing organization based on purchasing volume--the medical group bought its envelopes from The Relizon Company, Dayton, Ohio. The envelopes were fed through a Neopost inserter and used to ship statements to the group's customers.
A large medical group turned to Steve Visio, vice president and COO of Springfield, Mo.-based distributorship Executive Data Control, to supply envelopes that would work in its Neopost insertion machine. Visio and Butler, Wis.-based manufacturer Western States Envelope provided #10 envelopes with custom throats, designed to feed easily into the inserter.
Medical Group Dumps Relizon for Distributor
"They called and said, 'In two hours,
we need a quote for 1.5 million envelopes.'"
Steve Visio, Vice President and COO
Executive Data Control, Springfield, Mo.
Western States Envelope provided a #10 envelope with a custom throat by using a die designed for the inserting equipment. "They made it so the throat was very friendly to the fingers of this machine. They had to glue it in a particular way, all the way up," Visio says. The samples successfully passed the tests, and the hospital awarded Visio the account--on one condition. "The hospital said, 'We know this envelope company is a little more expensive, but we want [Dahl]," Visio says. As part of his contract, Visio is required to notify the medical group if he switches vendors. Not that he's likely to do that: "We really are partners. It's just a perfect thing," he says.
Western manufactures and ships the envelopes to Executive Data Control, and provides technical support to the hospital. Executive Data Control warehouses and delivers the envelopes on an as-needed basis for the hospital. He estimates that the medical group will use approximately 150,000 envelopes per month.
--Andrew Brown
Brand your manufacturer. Steve Visio, vice president and COO of Springfield, Mo.-based distributorship Executive Data Control, won business from a medical group because he invited his manufacturer to the sales presentation.
Define responsibilities. One reason Executive Data Control and Western States Envelope partner so well is because they have defined roles. Western makes the envelopes and promises to make sure they work with the end users' equipment. Executive Data Control warehouses the envelopes for the group and delivers them as needed.
Get the real story. If an end user considers changing distributors, it's likely because of a specific reason. Ask pointed questions such as "Why are you looking to switch?" to find out the end user's specific problems. Then, address those problems with superior solutions.
