Outsourcing Has Its Privileges

Offer services that close the gap and raise the bar.

A major portion of the business forms industry has turned into an outsourcing industry," someone told me during a phone interview the other day. "It's undeniable that [manufacturers and distributors] are so much more valuable because of the services, not just the documents, they provide."

That person was Alan Olivero, president of Matrix Imaging Solutions, Niagra Falls, N.Y.—a supplier specializing in electronic data transfer and document processing, largely serving end-users with bill, invoicing and other statement needs.

His point is more than valid. Over the course of a few years, the story behind the product discussed through BFL&S has been, in essence, that those simply selling and drop-shipping the basic business forms don't cut it in the forms industry today. Rather, it's the progressive visionaries willing to move with the times toward a new type of forms industry who do. They're the ones offering services that increase the value of a form ten-fold, the ones who can see what an end-user needs to be more cost-effective and time-efficient.

Raising the Bar

And that is where outsourcing comes in. "Offering outsource services is beneficial to all parties involved," said Betty Jo Wood, marketing manager, Matrix. "End-users want to be able to focus on their own business and relinquish burdensome responsibilities that come with ordering forms and the information on them. Forms distributors want increased sales opportunities."

She added that some of the main reasons end-users choose to outsource are because they want to reduce and control operating costs, improve cash flow and efficiency and gain access to the latest technology without expending capital and IT resources.

Wood also noted that distributors, on the other hand, will realize a guaranteed monthly income, increased sales opportunities, protection of existing business and the ability to provide a real value for the customer by offering outsource services.