Distributors find ample opportunity in the transportation industry
By Jamie Heckelman
When Greg Marks, a senior account manager with Phoenix-based Intraform, approached the forms department of one of the country's largest publicly-traded transportation companies a year and a half ago, he encountered flat-out rejection.
"They said they would never give their forms and label business to a distributor," Marks recalled, explaining that the company, Swift Transportation, had been purchasing all of its forms and labels from a major direct. "We said, Yes you will.' And today, we have a great relationship."
In fact, Marks firmly believes that the transportation industry offers great opportunities for forms distributors. "If I were in a geographic area that had transportation companies, I'd be aggressively pursuing their business," he advised. "It's a great business opportunity, whether you are selling strictly paper-based products or systems solutions."
Intraform was able to lure Swift's forms business away from the direct when its print management contract could not accommodate the trucking company's online needs. "Swift had a good handle on what it wanted, but we had to work with them to make it happen," Marks explained. Under the new systemwhich has been up and running for a few monthsIntraform prints 95 percent of the product Swift needs.
How did they do this? Intraform set up a web-based tool specifically for Swift where the company e-mails warehouse releases to the distributor on a semi-monthly basis. (Additional requests are also accommodated.)
Swift, also headquartered in Phoenix, has approximately 65 locations across the country. These remote locations send their product requests to corporate headquarters, which in turn e-mails the entire order to Intraform. Intraform then forwards the release to its warehouses in Phoenix and Alabama. From there, the product is shipped.
"It's the same as if you were shopping online for shoes," Marks said, explaining the ease and simplicity of the system.
According to Marks, 99 percent of Swift's orders are placed over the Internet. One such product is Swift's Trip Pack, which encompasses a number of different forms depending on the particular job involved. These forms may include a bill of lading, record of how the driver was paid and documentation on how Swift invoices the client and receipts for gas, meals, etc.
After the driver fills out the forms, the Trip Pack is then placed inside a Trip Envelopewhich Intraform also suppliesand is mailed to Swift's offices in Ohio where all the information is scanned in for payment.
Essentially, this new system created a reverse effectSwift increased the volume and costs of their forms purchases. "Our volume went up when they went digital," Marks said. "And the hard costs for their forms went up as well. But Swift's soft costs went down significantly in terms of the manpower needed to process the forms."
As in other markets, price and customer service play significant roles in securing national accounts. "That is the thumbnail for any person selling across the country," said Bob Lowy, CFC, a sales representative for Better Business Forms in Baltimore. "In terms of a national market, reliability and dependability make the difference."
Lowy provides specific, software-compatible forms to moving and storage accounts in 40 states. He recognizes this market's peculiar needs as an industry with poor cash flow.
"Sixty percent to 70 percent of their annual business volume and earnings fall between Memorial Day and Labor Day," he explained. "Then they live hand-to-mouth over the winter. Therefore, you make good money over the summer, but you have to watch receivables and the amount of credit you give."
For the most part, the moving and storage niche does not present a traditional invoice. Rather it is made up of a collection of unbundled items. Form types include storage contracts, estimates, scale weight tickets, roll labels for identifying goods and fuel meter tickets.
Legal and insurance paperwork involved in moving and storage transactions, however, is moving toward standardization. In addition, any service provided for the government or the military requires billing on specific, government mandated forms.
Additionally, like many other markets, the industry is consolidating, and many businesses are moving into records management. Consequently, these two markets are now allied and offer additional sales opportunities for forms distributors.