American Solutions for Business

American Solutions for Business (ASB), an employee-owned company based in Glenwood, Minn., was recognized by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) for promotional sales volumes exceeding ten million dollars during the past year. The designation places ASB at the highest level on ASI's Multimillion-Dollar Roundtable, made up of more than 1,200 distributors who have achieved levels of sales ranging from $2 million and up. In the November 2004 issue of BFL&S magazine, ASB was ranked as the No. 2 promotional products distributor, reporting $55.1 million in sales. Recently, the company was endorsed by Novation (the largest health-care GPO) as a primary vendor to provide key

Sales revenue exceeded $2.5 billion for the 2004 BFL&S Top 100 Distributors. The total of BFL&S' Top 100 Distributors revenue was $2.78 billion—18 percent higher than last year's $2.35 billion. The $430 million increase in revenue was led by the largest distributors, with the top five companies increasing sales by $129 million. But, increases can be found throughout the entire Top 100 list. IBSA (International Business Solutions Alliance) took the lead this year by increasing its number of affiliated distributorships from 61 last year to more than 100. Among the top five, Proforma, American Solutions for Business and Global DocuGraphix all reported healthy revenue increases, while

Here's how the Top 5 Distributors view their success. IBSA Targets Its Growth With a second year almost under its belt, International Business Solutions Alliance (IBSA) has grown from 61 to 119 distributor affiliates, reported $337.1 million in sales for the last fiscal year completed, and netted the No. 1 spot on the BFL&S Top 100 Distributors list. "IBSA was designed to be a team effort, not a top-down corporate structure," said Paul Keith, president and CEO. "Whatever success we have at IBSA, it will come first to our suppliers and affiliates. Our job is to help them get what they want, and only

With the procurement of the rights to do business with Novation, American Solutions for Business (see page 8) and IBSA (along with direct seller Relizon) have tapped into a national account that purchases more than $1 billion in documents per year. Although initial expectations are conservative, the impact over the next few years will be immense. American and IBSA, along with other distributors that land similar deals, will grow much larger—not only from the Novation business, but also because they will attract additional distributors to join their ranks. At $1.6 billion, the Top 10 Distributors already control more than 60 percent of the Top 100

"Celebrate Victories" was the theme for the 2004 Summer Conference held by American Solutions for Business (ASB), Glenwood, Minn. More than 330 sales associates from across the United States attend the four-day event at Cragun's Resort near Brainerd, Minn. In addition to seminars and workshops, 210 vendors participated in a vendor show on the last day of the conference. At the awards banquet, Founder and President Larry Zavadil named sales representative Jim Klempka of Sioux Falls, S.D. as this year's recipient of the President's Award. The honor is given each year to an individual who shows dedication to the ideals and principles of ASB, and

American Solutions for Business (ASB), headquartered in Glenwood, Minn., revealed enhancements to the company's Web site, www.americanbus.com, at its annual summer conference. Changes to the site will make it easier for visitors to find information. The new format divides the site into four sections, including Customer Solutions, Vendor Partnerships, American Team and Career Opportunities. Visitors to each section are greeted by short video messages from President Larry Zavadil, Chief Operating Officer Craig McLain, Vice President and Sales Associate, Rose Virnig, or the Director of Vendor Relations, Wayne Martin. The new home page also features a link to the company's ACES application, where customers with

American Solutions for Business (ASB), Glenwood, Minn., an employee-owned company, recently announced a tentative agreement with Novation, Irving, Texas, to become an endorsed supplier for the company's network of more than 45,000 health care facilities nationwide.   If awarded the contract, ASB's team of nearly 800 sales associates and support staff will be endorsed to supply Novation facilities with business-related products such as print, promotional products, packaging, office/janitorial supplies and electronic solutions. Novation is a group purchasing organization that helps set the standards for lowering health care supply costs. As a supply chain management company, it represents the purchasing interests of more

iIf you are a typical distributor, your business has branched out over the past few years into multiple product lines. You may have been so busy getting started in new areas that you may have missed some of the new things happening in the printed products arena. So, this might be a good year to attend DMIA's annual Print Solutions Conference and Expo in Chicago. It's a good idea to stay informed on topics such as variable data, integrated products, direct mail and new security requirements for checks. In addition to reading our magazine, what the show can provide is face time with the people

With the recent completion of its winter sales convention, American Solutions for Business, Glenwood, Minn., is now planning its summer convention, slated for Aug. 25-29 at Cragun's Resort in Brainerd, Minn. If the winter conference is any indication, meeting coordinators can expect a large number of attendees from the ranks of the company's sales force and its preferred vendor network. More than 160 vendors and approximately 325 salespeople from across the U.S. converged on Minneapolis' Marriott City Center in February. Said president Larry Zavadil, "Because of our decentralized structure, I believe it's important that we take the opportunity to come together, share knowledge, enrich

This past December, American Solutions for Business, Glenwood, Minn., experienced its largest billing month in 23 years. Compared to the same fiscal period in 2003, the employee-owned company witnessed an increase in revenue of close to 18 percent. In addition, year-to-date net earnings for a six-month period ending in December 2003 were up 114 percent compared to the same period in 2002. "This type of performance will have a significant impact on our ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) share price," said Craig McLain, CEO. "We look for great things at year-end if we can keep the momentum through June."