SOI Forms: A Passing 
Grade

"The state of the forms industry today is vibrant—for the survivors. Quotes are up, orders are increasing, lead time shrinks, pricing is very competitive and pressure is great both internally and externally. Customers demand more. Credit risks are at an all-time high. And greatest of all, leadership is tested," he observed. "For those who have managed 'lean,' the recession is a bump in the road and it is business as usual. The plan is a) Be customer responsive, b) Be customer responsive and c) You guessed it, be customer responsive."

The volume is up from previous years at Golden Business Forms. Similar to Russell, Fleming said the remaining survivors will be pressured to adjust to the market. This can be accomplished if company executives enlist the ideas and synergy from their staff. Fleming stressed that positive returns will be experienced for both employee fulfillment and company success, which he described as a "win-win" situation.

He continued, "Ultimately, leadership in the organization will be severely tested to guide the organization, as a team, to succeed."

And Golden Business Forms is passing the test so far. Fleming said his company's reputation is "easy to do business with" and he credits his experienced staff for creating and maintaining that customer perception. He re-emphasized, "To earn that title, one must follow through … finish the job."

Finally, in today's market, pricing will be even more essential to stay one step ahead of the competition. "For those novice distributors [who] are on the edge—there are hundreds of customers looking for a better price [and] you may be the one they are looking for. Are you up to the challenge?" Fleming asked.

In the end, to be the best, one must excel at everything. This means being "a better communicator, a better organizer, a better operator, a better salesperson, a better shipper, a better estimator, a better listener, a better leader and a quicker decision maker," Fleming said.