Distributor News

WorkflowOne, Dayton, Ohio, announced the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) and Counselor Magazine have ranked the company 13th among the largest suppliers of promotional products—a dramatic jump from the 26th position held in 2007. This recognition is based on WorkflowOne’s promotional products revenue of $90 million in 2007—a 50 percent increase over 2006 sales of $60 million. The company cites revenue growth based on its consultative sales approach, while delivering integrated promotional product marketing and brand campaigns to its growing client base. “We’ve seen significant demand for promotional products from many of our larger corporate accounts and nonprofit clients, who use these tools to build

We are all working harder these days, both on and off the clock. Not only has company downsizing resulted in office-workload supersizing, but trends toward automation have us pumping our own gas, processing our own banking transactions, checking ourselves in at the airport and checking our groceries out at the market. Unlike pumps, ATMs, kiosks and scanners, people occasionally need a little motivation and inspiration to keep running at optimum level. Sometimes, a simple pat on the back is all that’s needed to encourage someone to go the extra mile or two. A big, fat bonus check also does wonders for sagging spirits. But,

Dayton, Ohio-based WorkflowOne has signed a strategic sourcing partnership agreement with Global Sourcing Solutions (GSSI), Orange County, Calif., to provide international sourcing and support for WorkflowOne. The agreement gives WorkflowOne access to GSSI’s global network of suppliers while providing GSSI with exposure to WorkflowOne’s extensive sales organization. GSSI is a privately held international sourcing company that has vast experience working with offshore suppliers, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.  GSSI will work closely with WorkflowOne’s strategic sourcing group to identify and respond to opportunities developed by the company’s sales force. By working together with GSSI, WorkflowOne will recommend appropriate offshore suppliers and

It’s no secret some of the toughest competition distributors face today comes from the big box stores selling printing, stock forms and supplies, coupled with online ordering convenience. What may not be so well-known, however, are the competitors’ strategic plans for future growth. Below are highlights from an April interview conducted by Cary Sherburne, senior editor of graphic-arts community website WhatTheyThink.com., with FedEx Kinko’s acting CEO Brian Philips. Philips offered insights into the enterprise’s current priorities and objectives going forward, which are summarized here. • Our dual objectives are to drive profitable core copy/print growth and profitable shipping volume growth. We feel we

There’s a vast difference between knowing a change is necessary and knowing the necessary steps to make a desired change. Just ask industry veteran Dave DeWitt—no relation—who set out to bolster his Detroit-based distributorship, ACE, against the slings and arrows of a harsh economy. In and of itself, ACE lacked sufficient resources to remain successful in a fiercely competitive marketplace facing an uncertain future. November 2006 was an especially bad sales month for ACE and the writing, said DeWitt, was clearly on the wall. “I have a right-hand person, but she couldn’t anticipate what [was] going to happen and how we should react,

Chicago-based InnerWorkings has signed an enterprise agreement with Group O, one of the largest Hispanic-owned service providers in the nation. Headquartered in Milan, Ill., Group O provides third party logistics and business process outsourcing solutions in marketing, packaging and supply chain. As part of the agreement, InnerWorkings will begin providing several of Group O’s Fortune 500 clients with integrated print procurement and management solutions. This partnership will include comprehensive sourcing and category management activities. “InnerWorkings is pleased to be a partner of one of the world’s most prestigious service providers,” said Steven E. Zuccarini, CEO. “We share Group O’s commitment to improving

Midlothian, Texas-based Ennis is excited to announce the establishment of the Ennis National Sales Team. The sales team brings together experienced sales managers who are directly responsible for all Ennis capabilities and plants within a geographic region. In addition to geographic responsibilities, the Ennis National Sales Team will provide distributors an opportunity to leverage the national manufacturing footprint of Ennis. Ennis area sales managers will serve as a single source for distributors to work with all manufacturing facilities. The team members have combined industry experience of nearly 120 years, and include: • Carrie Hoesli, southwest area sales manager, carrie_hoesli@ennis.com,

Cincinnati-based Prograde—a provider of print management, integrated marketing, fulfillment and e-commerce solutions—was recently awarded the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) chain-of-custody (COC) certification by Scientific Certification Systems, Emeryville, Calif. The certification is valid through Dec. 2012, and is the first of Prograde’s several planned initiatives to support sustainability and green printing efforts in the marketplace. “We are relatively early on in the process,” said Dave Carlin, vice president and chief sales officer. “We started looking into FSC certification in October and made the decision to go ahead with the process in late November. It wasn’t a case of a large client telling us we needed

Considering the days when business success could be sustained with a mimeograph machine and a good calculator, it’s obvious industry professionals have been broadening their horizons and expanding product lines for quite some time to serve customers. What’s newsworthy, as this year’s State of the Industry report bears out, is the amazing diversity and creativity with which today’s manufacturers and distributors are going about business. Naturally, profound market shifts also impact the national association representing the independent supply channel. The Oct. 2007 decision to rebrand DMIA—the appellation introduced in 1996 when document management challenges dominated—as psda (Print Services Distribution Association) reaffirms the power

Besides having strong professional relationship-building skills and in-depth product knowledge, effective salespeople also seem to be proficient multitaskers. Take Rose Shorma, for example. On the day she graciously took time to speak with Print Professional for this story, the vice president of marketing for American Solutions for Business (ASB), Glenwood, Minn., was in Las Vegas attending the PPAI Show, which took place Jan. 14-18 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Cradling a cell phone as she made her way from the registration area to the show floor, Shorma simultaneously looked up booth numbers, greeted industry colleagues, fielded questions from ASB associates she encountered