Supplies Network These days, the ability to adapt to the changing times is the key differentiator in whether or not a business succeeds. Supplies Network embraces the challenges, recognizing it as an opportunity for growth. Already a trusted leader in IT consumables and equipment wholesale for independent dealers in the U.S. since 1991, the St. Louis-based company has achieved impressive growth, closing with over $500 million in annual revenue, and continues to invest in the right mix of people, products, services and technologies for their customers. Supplies Network’s success is tied to the success of their independent dealers. By providing innovative solutions to the changing conditions of the market, they give independent dealers all the necessary tools to transform and grow their companies. Greg Welchans President With a new year comes a new logo, one that communicates their brand promise – We Supply Trust to the world. Greg Welchans, President at Supplies Network, says, “We have always provided trust and solutions to our customers, but we wanted to define it further. There was a need to teach people about our culture and we did this by putting more definition to our brand.” Their new, clean look heralds exciting changes to their company, including updates to their current MPS offerings, as well as new partnerships that take MPS to the next level. The company offers a full-line of IT supplies, equipment and data storage media from 70 leading manufacturers. In addition to the newest and most popular supplies, they also carry the hardest to find copier supplies including: Copystar, Gestetner, Kyocera Mita, Lanier, Minolta, Royal Copystar, Savin and Sharp. The company’s unparalleled selection of compatible supplies for 40 equipment brands is one of the most comprehensive in the industry encompassing: inkjet, laser, MICR, maintenance kits/parts, copier, facsimile and impact ribbons. With success built through years of excellence in service in the wholesale arena, they were able to invest in their own successful MPS program— CARBON SiX®, which helps independent dealers to lay the foundation for future business security and profitability. CARBON SiX® is an all-inclusive “turn-key” program that allows dealers to reap the benefits while avoiding costly up-front software or capital expenses. This unique program is designed by industry experts and powered by industry leaders. Supplies Network provides detailed step-by-step training, follow-up support, and ongoing consulting to help ensure a successful transition to a new model of doing business. Supplies Network’s MPS program has continued to evolve and grow over the past year. For example, they have made a number of enhancements to MyPrinterManager.com. Doug Johnson, Senior Vice President of MPS, explains, “On the reseller side of this web portal, we offer a wide range of tools and collateral, access to run a wide range of reports from our patent-pending 360 Plus® Database, as well as the ability to manage changes to their end user’s environment—including updates on Service Tickets and changing delivery locations for consumables utilizing our Supply Routing Label® (which is also patent-pending). “                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Doug Johnson                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Sr. VP of MPS “On the end user web portal, we enable end users to view the estimated delivery dates, actual UPS tracking information, and shipment history of all toner AND non-toner consumables for every device in their environment. End users can also find self-help for printer issues, and can initiate and monitor the status of Service Tickets. Of course, Supplies Network is “in the background” on the end user side of this portal, as all brand and contact information shown on this end user portal is the reseller.” The reason for their success in the MPS arena is their complete understanding of the process and continuing to evolve with MPS, making it more easily accessible to a wider array of independent dealers. Johnson shares, “Growth of our program overall has continued to be outstanding. Our Cost Per Image (CPI) program, where we combine software, services, supplies, delivery, and the option of break/fix service into a device-based CPI that is billed on actual pages printed monthly in the end user’s environments, has grown exponentially over the past two years and now accounts for about two out of every three new deals under our program. The predictability of cost and margin every month for the reseller has shown to be an excellent value proposition for this program.” “Our reseller base has continued to expand and diversify over the past year or so. We now have solid MPS resellers across the spectrum of channels. We believe the flexibility of our program enables almost any reseller to find additional value add in one or more of our services under the mpsSELECT umbrella.” There are myriad software offerings on the market that provide data, but what is necessary is one that combines all the relevant information into one place, and then makes it simple for the end user to apply this data. Johnson states, “Our recent coalition with Preo, FMAudit, and NewField IT will transform the way end user data is used in the assessment, proposal, and ongoing management of MPS engagements. This group of market-leading MPS providers has solved many of the issues that have prevented the use and analysis of end user data in the MPS engagement process.” “Access to end user data enables visibility of ALL devices in the environment (not just those with internal capabilities to report back to device data collection software), ALL end user behavior (job parameters, applications, etc.), AND the relationships between the end user and those devices. This visibility provides the dealers with the ability to cut time and effort in the assessment process, enables more comprehensive proposals that consider knowledge worker productivity in the determination of fleet optimization strategies, and manage the continued optimization of the fleet based on knowledge of changing end user needs and printing behavior. “We are very excited about the contributions each company in the coalition brought to the table to enable this visibility and use of end user data throughout the MPS engagement process, and expect this to accelerate the adoption of end user data in the development of MPS deals across our dealer base.” And what about the dealers who are still contemplating on getting into MPS? Johnson advises, “Time is truly running short to make the move. With a more diverse set of channels now offering MPS, those without a program risk losing the core business they have today. And, with Supplies Network’s mpsSELECT program breadth and flexibility, dealers can get into MPS with little or no investment and minimal operational expertise.” Supplies Network has recently been recognized by a variety of organizations for their managed print programs and their excellence in customer service. Welchans says, “Our key differentiators are in helping our customers GROW their business. We have really focused much of our efforts in creating tools that help our dealers drive sales. We have dynamic marketing programs and CRM abilities that give our loyal dealers an advantage over those who don’t buy from us, programs and promotions that are not available from any other distributor. “We are also different in that we encourage our dealers to use our infrastructure and distribution to drop-ship their orders. In our category of goods, it does not make sense for dealers to handle our products…the margins are just too slim. Over 90% of our orders now go directly to the end-user on behalf of the dealer, eliminating costs and giving the dealer more time to focus on selling!” In addition to drop shipping, Supplies Network delivers one- and two-day ground shipping to 98% of the U.S. population from four distribution centers located in Dallas, TX; Fresno, CA; Carlisle, PA; and St. Louis, MO. Air freight is available. Supplies Network delivers 99.8% error-free order processing and shipping. Every account has a personally assigned rep. Both customers and the sales team enjoy the personal relationships developed over time, and experience the best results by working with people they know. Supply Network’s full-time sales professionals are trained experts—many with five or more years of experience with the company—and are knowledgeable, friendly, and responsive. Consider them your personal consultants, and your doorway to all types of Supplies Network and manufacturer resources. Explore Supplies Network’s web site. Place orders, check out the latest in products, prices, availability, shipping status, past orders and more—all in real time. Don’t miss the sections of the website that are informational. The netMarketing tools section details free resources to help you promote your business. The promotions section keeps you informed about monthly specials to send to your customers. Don’t be afraid of change—embrace it! Let Supplies Network help your business grow, at whatever stage it may be. With over 20 years of knowledge in wholesale, first-hand experience in succeeding with MPS, and continuous innovation in taking MPS to the next level, Supplies Network is committed to helping independent dealers thrive. u To speak with a sales representative, visit www.suppliesnetwork.com  or call 800-729-9300.