WorkflowOne

The union of WorkflowOne and Relizon forges a formidable link in the ever-evolving supply chain WELL, 2005 CERTAINLY went out with a bang for Greenwhich, Connecticut-based WorkflowOne, and the new year is off to a fantastic start. On Nov. 30, Greg Mosher, chairman and CEO of parent company Workflow Management, as well as WorkflowOne, and Rodney Hedeen, president and CEO of Relizon, Dayton, Ohio, officially sealed the deal on WorkflowOne's acquisition of the largest major direct competitor to the independent distribution channel. Surely, the co-mingling of these two dichotomous sales cultures will have monumental ramifications for the industry. Or not. After all,

Despite changes in the make-up of the Top 100, distributors posted strong numbers for 2005 THE BIG CHANGE in BFL&S' Top 100 Distributor rankings this year is the absence of International Business Solutions Alliance (IBSA), which skews the results significantly. Because IBSA is an affiliation of distributors, rather than a single distributor entity with completely central billing, BFL&S decided that placing it in the rankings would be inappropriate. Make no mistake—with $447 million in total sales and almost 2,000 total employees at 283 locations—IBSA is having a huge impact on the distributor marketplace. Now under new management, expect to see IBSA grow

Change is constant and inevitable. The independent segment of the printed products industry has undergone tremendous change over the past several years, and 2005 is no different. We have reached a point where the distinction between supplier and distributor is fading. In many instances they function as separate arms of the same entity with the differences between them lost on the customer. Multi-source options may be used as a selling point by distributors, but all that it really means to the customer is that prices remain competitive. The largest of the distributors—IBSA, WorkflowOne, Proforma and American—now command so much press time that they are essentially

A challenging marketplace motivates and inspires this years' top three distributorships WorkflowOne's Five Keys to Success LED BY PRESIDENT Dave Holland—a 25-year industry veteran from the ranks of the major directs—Norfolk, Virginia-based WorkflowOne (formerly Workflow Solutions) has captured the top spot in BFL&S' distributor ranking this year. Holland attributes the company's success to a five-point strategic plan that WorkflowOne's management team developed after a thorough review of operations. "The first area we focused on is sales growth and retention, with a special emphasis on promotional items, commercial printing and print on demand. We have set up buying groups, both off shore and

In what has to be one of the largest acquisitions in our industry to date, Workflow Management, parent company of distributor WorkflowOne, has purchased Relizon. When the deal is completed, the new company will have more than $1 billion in sales, 5,000 employees and 12,000 clients. The combination of one of the largest distributors with a mega-direct will create a juggernaut that blasts through current classifications, thus creating many questions. Will Relizon keep its direct sales force? Will WorkflowOne continue to buy forms products from independent suppliers? Will it meld into a combination where WorkflowOne salespeople can use Relizon as an option? Would that make Relizon

Greenwich, Connecticut-based Workflow Management, parent company of WorkflowOne, one of North America's largest providers of printing and promotional products, recently annouced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Dayton, Ohio-based The Relizon Company, a North American supplier of business process solutions for document outsourcing, billing and marketing. Upon the completion of the acquisition, WorkflowOne and The Relizon Company will be worth more than $1 billion in the North American document management solution market, with significantly increased client-focused capabilities. In addition, more than 5,000 employees and 25,000 combined clients from both companies will benefit from a broader portfolio of products and services. "The