News
Distributor-only CSRs and five plants are positioned to handle distributor orders
The $2.43 billion direct-selling giant of the forms industryMoore North America, Bannockburn, Ill.has launched a business unit geared to the independents and joined the DMIA. The new unit, called Latitudes, is based in Iowa City, Iowa.
According to Dick Dennis, vice president of the Resale Channels, Latitudes is completely independent of Moore's direct-selling divisions. Rather than reporting to a vice president of sales, Dennis reports to Patrick Brong, the president of Logistics & Operations for Moore. No stranger to the independent channel, Dennis previously served as vice president of sales for Vallis Form Service/Champion and, before that, as vice president of sales for Transkrit® for several years.
The venture will tap into the multi-billion dollar distributor segment of the market to increase volume for Moore's form manufacturing plants.
Latitudes has a three-pronged strategy
First, to operate in the independent marketplace via Latitudes, building a network of distributors.
Second, the licensing of Moore's 2,000-plus registered patents
Third, to develop reseller agreements involving Moore proprietary products in order to fill manufacturing capacity.
The distributor strategy is now operational. The other two parts will begin in the coming months.
As part of its plan, Moore applied for admission and was welcomed into DMIA. The company has begun taking part in DMIA Trade Marts and will exhibit at this year's InformServices Show.
Scott Miller, director of operations for Latitudes, explained that Iowa City is a central ordering point for Moore. Latitudes has six customer service representatives set up in a separate area to input distributor orders into Moore's system.
"Once in the system there is nothing to distinguish a distributor order from one of Moore's direct orders," said Miller. Standard cartons and labels are used for distributor jobsthere is nothing to identify Moore as the manufacturer.
Because Moore's customer service representatives have the ability to look at the schedules for every press in all of the company's five plants, jobs can be quoted and scheduled in a single phone call. All prepress is handled in Iowa City and sent electronically as PDF files to the plants, ensuring that jobs run at more than one location are prepared in the same way.
According to Dennis, Moore brings some unique products to the distributor marketplace. These include the company's patented SpeediSealer pressure-seal mailers, designed to be compatible with laser printers and able to run up to 18,000 pieces per hour; CleanTac repositionable labels; and Linerless labels, configured without the silicon liner found with traditional pressure-sensitive labels, eliminating liner waste and reducing costs.
"We think it will come down to a matter of Latitudes' products, price and service," said Dennis. "Hopefully, in a few months, distributors will think of us as another option in the independent marketplace."
Precept Reports Improved Third Quarter
Precept Business Services, Dallas, Texas, reported revenue from continuing operations of $36.7 million for its third quarter, compared to $35.1 million last year, and $106.8 million for the three quarters, compared to $103.9 million in 1999.
The net loss for the quarter was $210,000, compared to a loss of $3.5 million last year. For the nine-month period, the company showed a net profit of $345,000, compared to a loss of $3.1 million in 1999.
Precept attributes its losses to the sale of its Transportation Division. The company reports being approached by several prospective investors interested in acquiring the company's two divisions.
PrintXcel Increases Prices
Price increases averaging 4 percent on business document products including continuous forms, unit sets, mailers and cut sheets were recently announced by PrintXcel.
Charles Stickler, vice president of marketing, said, "Raw materials providers have implemented industry-wide price increases. Bond paper has reached its highest level in three years."
PrintXcel companies include APICO-Perfection, Discount Labels, IPC Graphics, Lancer Label, Poser and Denver Forms.
For more information, contact Charles Stickler at (334) 928-4022.
Workflow Separates iGetSmart's Assets
Workflow Management, Palm Beach, Fla., announced that it has formally transferred the assets of iGetSmart.com into its own company. Now a wholly-owned subsidiary, iGetSmart.com will be announcing a separate Board of Directors.
The move was made to position iGetSmart.com as a separate entity, apart from the rest of Workflow Management. Assets transferred include all technological property related to iGetSmart.com and of all the company's warehousing facilities.
Reynolds to Eliminate Its Document Services Business
Reynolds and Reynolds, Dayton, Ohio, has engaged Credit Suisse First Boston to sell or spin off its Information Solutions Group, the company's document services division, which had revenues of $730 million in 1999.
The company plans to focus on its automotive solutions business with a rapidly growing suite of information management, customer relationship management and e-business solutions.
ProForma Brings Juels' On Board
Multi-million-dollar promotional products distributor joins ProForma network
Juels' Corporate Images, a multi-million-dollar promotional products distributor that operates six offices in four U.S. states, has joined the ProForma network of independent distributors.
Cleveland-based ProForma, with more than 500 independent distributors and sales of more than $150 million in 1999, ranks as the industry's fastest-growing distribution network.
Michael P. Juels, founder and president of the Woodland Hills, California-based distributorship, said ProForma's broad product offeringwhich includes promotional products, commercial printing and business formswill help his company become a full-service marketing partner to its base of Fortune 500 accounts.
"We feel we have the right blend of large and small accounts, and we're ready to provide a total support package to our customers," Juels said. "We have all of the systems in place, and ProForma is helping us leverage our relationships for new sales in new product categories."
ProForma's financial support servicesincluding management of billing, payables financing and collectionsalso will help fuel the distributor's long-term growth, according to Juels.
"When you grow as rapidly as we have, it's important to have someone behind you from a financial standpoint so you can focus on what's most importantgrowing your business," he said.
Juels' Corporate Images, which operates satellite offices in Irvine, Calif.; Fairfield, Calif.; Tacoma, Wash.; Portland and Phoenix, is an ASI Multi-Million Roundtable winner and has received several PPAI Pyramid Awards. Founded in 1988, the company employs 15.
"Mike sees the value ProForma can bring to his organization," said Alan Chippindale, president of the ProForma Promotional Markets Group. "Our services apply to virtually any promotional products distributor who wants to maximize sales growth and business value. If the issue is e-commerce, cash-flow, greater productivity, cross-selling opportunities or simply freeing up more time to sell, ProForma can play a very important role in the distributor's success."
Chippindale added that ProForma will work with Juels in pursuing additional growth through mergers and acquisitions and in applying his knowledge, reputation and contacts in the continued growth of the ProForma network.
"Mike and his sales partners have a great client base, including several large customers who are interested in e-commerce solutions," said Chippindale. "We're excited about playing an important role in capturing these opportunities."
Ennis Sales and Net Income Increase
DeSoto, Texas-based Ennis announced in its annual report that net sales for 1999 reached $166.5 million, an increase of 10.3 percent over the previous year. Net earnings rose by $1 million to $15.1 million.
The company cites the acquisitions of American Forms and Adams McClure in November, 1999 and completion of the acquisition of Northstar Computer Forms in June, 2000, as reasons for expected annualized revenue of $245 million this year.
The company also announced that it is splitting into operating three groups
Forms Solutions Group for traditional products
Promotional Solutions Groupfor the Adams McClure companies and Ennis facilities with similar products.
Financial Solutions Group for the former Northstar companies.
Hot New Labels From Continental
Elgin, Illinois-based Continental DataLabel has released a marketing piece showcasing additions and modifications to its thermal-transfer labels.
The 4x6&Mac253; labels are now available with removable adhesive as well as PMS tints in green, blue, orange, pink and yellow for improved inventory control applications.
Perfs are available on a variety of different thermal-transfer label sizes and, to aid imprinting, labels can be wound-in onto rolls.
The brochure also highlights the sturdy, protective packaging used to ensure the product is intact when it gets to the end-user.
More information is available by calling (800) 947-8000, or logging onto www.datalabel.com.
Worldwide Printing to Reach $1 Trillion
I.T. Strategies, Boston, estimates that the worldwide market opportunity for printing will reach $1 trillion by the year 2004, up from $800 billion today.
The research firm attributes the increasing demand to the ability to digitally print on new types of products, including fabric, wood, carpeting and wallpaper, creating a new demand for customized products. In addition, the demand for just-in-time manufacturing increases the need for digital printing.
I.T. Strategies can be reached at (781) 826-0200.