Distributor News

Glenwood, Minnesota-based American Solutions for Business (ASB) has long been a supporter of worthy causes throughout its community and beyond. To coordinate it’s fund-raising, ASB has formed the American Stewardship Committee, comprised of up to 12 volunteers who organize and plan the various fund-raising events throughout the year. “For awhile, it seemed that the bulk of our efforts took place in December, a time when families are taxed to the maximum as far as time, money and stress,” said Faith Anderson, committee member. “So, we took a look at our areas of focus and decided to spread the fund-raising efforts throughout the year.”

Corporate culture in 2007 can be summed up with a few signature words and phrases: downsizing, outsourcing and maximizing while minimizing. Of course, the printing industry has been experiencing these changes firsthand for years. To retain a competitive edge as companies across the board are swapped and sold, distributor networks are angling for successful approaches on an increasingly uneven playing field, aiming to maximize client satisfaction, quality control, and most importantly, profits. At the same time, corporations seek to efficiently expand market presence with branding, marketing and promotional campaigns in creative, standout ways—translating into new and challenging printing jobs and an increasing demand for

1 WorkflowOne Headquarters: Dayton, Ohio Commercial Print Sales $(000): 204,000 Total Sales $(000): 1,200,000 2 Webb/Mason Headquarters: Hunt Valley, Md. Commercial Print Sales $(000): 44,296 Total Sales $(000): 75,078 3 American Solutions for Business Headquarters: Glenwood, Minn. Commercial Print Sales $(000): 34,714 Total Sales $(000): 249,022 4 The Shamrock Companies Headquarters: Westlake, Ohio Commercial Print Sales $(000): 23,375 Total Sales $(000): 77,917 5 Merrill Corporation Headquarters: Monroe, Wash. Commercial Print Sales $(000): 16,400 Total Sales

1 WorkflowOne Headquarters: Dayton, Ohio Forms Sales $(000): 456,000 Total Sales $(000): 1,200,000 2 American Solutions for Business Headquarters: Glenwood, Minn. Forms Sales $(000): 42,807 Total Sales $(000): 249,022 3 Data Supplies, Headquarters: Duluth, Ga. Forms Sales $(000): 27,808 Total Sales $(000): 77,244 4 GBS Headquarters: North Canton, Ohio Forms Sales $(000): 19,566 Total Sales $(000): 85,071 5 Merrill Corporation Headquarters: Monroe, Wash. Forms Sales $(000): 16,400 Total Sales $(000): 82,000 6 Fiserv Direct Source

1 WorkflowOne Headquarters: Dayton, Ohio Annual Sales $(000): 1,200,000 Principal Officer(s): Greg Mosher, Chairman; Mike Zawalski, President, CEO Locations: 140 2 Proforma Headquarters: Cleveland Annual Sales $(000): 293,933 Principal Officer(s): Greg Muzzillo, Founder, Co-CEO; Vera Muzzillo, Co-CEO Locations: 600 3 American Solutions for Business Headquarters: Glenwood, Minn. Annual Sales $(000): 249,022 Principal Officer(s): Larry Zavadil, President, CEO Locations: 455 4 InnerWorkings Headquarters: Chicago Annual Sales $(000): 160,515 Principal Officer(s): Steven E. Zuccarini, CEO

1. Branding Synergy WorkflowOne, Dayton, Ohio, can best be described as a print management and business process outsourcing facilitator, bundling value-added services into solutions and wrapping them up as custom products. The company’s services are invaluable for helping customers with decentralized operations maintain brand integrity, particularly during periods of rapid growth. Labor Finders International—a staffing service filling approximately 16,000 jobs per day within the manufacturing, construction, distribution and hospitality industries—recently selected WorkflowOne to develop an e-commerce strategy. The site will provide more than $1 million worth of branded materials annually, including sales collateral, stationery, advertising specialties, office apparel and a variety of safety

Once again, The usual suspects manage to retain their hold on the coveted spots in Print Professional’s Top 100 Distributor listing. (Although, a new entry this year is Chicago-based InnerWorkings, placing fourth with annual sales of more than $160 million). Major changes, however, are occurring within the individual companies themselves—a definite factor in their success. An intriguing development at Cleveland-based Proforma involving a partnership with R.R. Donnelly just may shake things up next year. Others, in their quest to help customers grow, are engaging in innovative print management programs and cutting-edge branding strategies and fulfillment services, while exploring technology tools to improve their own

Cleveland, Ohio-based Proforma held its 20th Annual Convention and Family Reunion July 29 through August 1, at the Adams Mark Hotel in Dallas. More than 700 attendees benefited from educational sessions, seminars and networking opportunities at the four-day event. This year’s convention—where owners were challenged to ‘Think BIG’ about their business goals and dreams—was Proforma’s best attended to date. During two days of PLP (Preferred Limited Partners) vendor and new product showcases, franchise owners had the chance to talk face-to-face with vendors who demonstrated products and services. In addition, the third annual Women’s Interactive Panel featured six of Proforma’s female owners discussing the benefits and

Blazer construction presents a few pitfalls absent from the manufacturing of items such as shirts or sweat suits. Since blazers are relatively expensive items—and end-users highly value emblems and logos—logo placement requires proper knowledge, communication and attention. Donald Singer, president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Executive Apparel, advised attending to the following manufacturing details: • General logo placement. The logo is usually placed below the upper left-hand pocket, and should be carefully angled to ensure the best presentation when worn. If the job is not going to be performed by a quality embroiderer, or if doubts arise about placement, ask about the logo or emblem presentation.

Several new and unique product lines were on exhibit July 22 to 25 during Indianapolis-based International Business Solutions Alliance’s (IBSA) annual sales conference and trade show, held at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis. More than 150 affiliates learned how innovative products such as the Bootie Butler—an automatic shoe cover dispenser exclusive to IBSA—the Cardio Quick Patch, the patent-pending Alert-Ware wristband and surgical skin markers can increase sales. IBSA affiliates were also updated on the organization’s successful and cost-effective marketing services program, which provides printing and creative content development, including website design, particularly to smaller healthcare practices that find advertising agencies’ fees cost prohibitive.