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Company On The Move Profile: Data Tech Inc
Wholesalers, Data Tech Offers OEM Cartridges Direct
By Jamie Hamilton
While Data Tech Inc. has offered customers Lexmark and HP OEM imaging supplies since their inception in 1996, it was just during the course of the last 12 months that they have been able to buy them direct from the manufacturer and pass the savings on to wholesalers. They have always been a Canon Latin America direct distributor, and are also a direct distributor of Sony, TDK, Panasonic, and Okidata.
“We always had HP and Lexmark product lines. But over the course of 2004, we have been named direct distributors,” says Mario Monge, from the sales and marketing division of Data Tech. “Manufacturers simply cannot oversee our market performance and continuous growth in unit sales in Latin America!”
In the future, they hope to get more opportunities like this from other manufacturers they carry, like Brother, Epson, Xerox, Iomega and Imation, to name a few. “Manufacturers simply cannot afford to overlook a good market performance,” Monge says. But, for now, they are resolute to offer the best customer service mix to their major accounts in Latin America.
“Our customer knows the difference between us and others in the market,” says Monge. “Notice that we do not use the word ‘competitors,’ because we actually don’t compete with anybody. We compete with ourselves everyday, in excelling our customer service for all our accounts.” He went on to say, “You can trust Data Tech for on-time stock availability, all-original OEM reliability, and best wholesale market prices.”
Data Tech is currently the largest exporter of OEM imaging supplies to Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 25% of all the exports to the region.
South of the Border
Most of Data Tech’s business comes from Latin America. While many U.S. companies stay within the borders of the Shining Seas, Data Tech has found its niche beyond them.
Many things are different in doing business with Latin America. For instance, instead of shipping products out to customers there, they are responsible for picking them up. There is an entire market based on “picking up” instead of “shipping”: freight forwarding. These companies take care of everything from packaging, transporting, and customs to clearing products at the final destination.
“It allows us and gives us the time to give better service to all our customers because we don’t have to worry about shipping,” Monge says. “Customers choose their own freight forwarders, and they do everything for them. They pick up the product and they take it to where it goes and fill out the documents for sea freight or air freight. Miami is set up in such a way that there are hundreds of freight forwarders.”
Also, exchange rates fluctuate. Data Tech sees no disadvantage in this, because they get paid in dollars. But customers could see discounts depending on how their own economy is doing. For instance, Mario told me that the Brazilian real is gaining again on the dollar—so, it takes less reals to buy the same amount of cartridges. So, when a country’s economy improves, prices go down.
Also, languages differ. But Data Tech has sales reps from all over Latin America that call home to renew orders or get new customers. They have sales reps from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Puerto Rico.
While there are many differences in the international and domestic markets, what remains the same in the international market is the need for quality imaging supplies at an affordable price. This is what Data Tech offers them.
More on Products
Data Tech is known throughout both the international and domestic markets for customer service. “We keep our commitments—If we say we will do something, we do it,” says Monge, who goes on to say why his customers feel they can rely on him.
“You can trust Data Tech based on the fact that we make commitments and we deliver. We deliver on the originality of the product, on the quantities of the product, and on the fair market price. Those three things make us very competitive,” he says.
“We are completely devoted to imaging supplies,” he adds. From OEM laser cartridges to inkjets and ribbons, Data Tech has over 500 product SKUs in stock. Because they keep such an in-depth inventory, most orders are processed within 24 hours. Products range from wide-format cartridges to copier toners and multifunction inkjets, to name a few. Aside from imaging supplies, Data Tech also carries storage media such as CDRs and floppy discs for computers, as well as other storage media.
Customer Quick Note: There is a minimum quantity order of $15,000 for first-time customers at Data Tech; orders are processed the next day; and since Data Tech gives customers low pricing off the top, generally there are no quantity price breaks. But they do run specials on cartridges from time to time.
Multi-Cultural History
Much like its international visage, Data Tech has an international history. The two founders, Akira Yasawa and Carlos Eidelstein, came from to begin their company. However, neither of them are from ; Yasawa is from , and Eidelstein is from .
So, from the beginning they had an international customer base: They simply sold to their original customers in Venezuela from inside the U.S., and from there they grew naturally.
International business is grown the same way as domestic relationships with manufacturers. “We find that word of mouth has been a great tool for us,” says Monge, explaining how they promote for new business in Latin America. “Customers from one country or region will recommend us. But tradeshows and magazine ads are number one for us.”
While they attend many U.S. tradeshows like the ITC and Recharger shows, they also attend a lot of shows in Latin America: Escolar in Brazil, Computo in Ecuador and Shopa Shopa in Costa Rica.
As they grow, they invite in an international workforce. Uniquely, they have consolidated an international workforce with sales and marketing experience in various fields: consumer goods, TV and computer industries. While this may add to more customers, it also adds to a more fun and cultural work atmosphere.
Multi-Faceted Future
While Data Tech is always looking to grow, they wonder how much growth is possible.
“We wonder when we will tap the market,” Monge says. “Every year, we grow in the double digits. This year we projected 10% growth, but right now we are growing at 20%. At some point, you have to think that it will slow down. But so far it hasn’t.”
Aside from growing their customer base, Data Tech looks forward to growing their facility. Over the next five years, they will increase their warehouse from 10,000 (over 107,000 sq ft.) square meters to 15,000 (over 160,000 sq ft), with room to grow past the 20,000 (over 214,000 sq ft) mark.
They also look forward to growing their team. With the new facility and more office space, Data Tech will add more administrative people. Also, Monge says that Brazil has become such an important market for them that they are in need of native Portuguese speakers for their sales staff.
Another future goal that Data Tech has is the revamping of their website. They are about to add a pre-order capability to www.datatech-usa.com that will allow customers to reserve their products in the Data Tech inventory. The orders will then automatically be placed for processing. Currently, the website lists all the products they carry, including manufacturing quick links and product descriptions/specifications.
To Contact:
Data Tech
305-436-8201
Online: www.datatech-usa.com
Email: datatech@bellsouth.net
By Jamie Hamilton— in addition to writing business profiles in ENX, Jamie writes and designs ads, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, and manuals for companies in the imaging industry. She can be contacted at: Tel/ Fax 502-896-1051 or e-mail her at: jamiewriter@hotmail.com.
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