BASE Wholesale’s market includes specialty-type products to dealers who have only one copier and fax line. This gives the dealers a wide product base to offer their customers without having to make major commitments to the manufacturers.

Service is the key to what BASE does. "We’re not here to sell boxes," Thompson said. "We could just sell boxes but most importantly we are a resource for our dealers. We want to be known as a value-added support center."

"We recently expanded to Atlanta, Georgia by bringing BNS Wholesale into the BASE family," said Thompson. BNS is a wholesale distributor of copier, fax and printer machines and parts located in Atlanta, Georgia. "Jerry Ayers and Ray Johansen, originally from BNS, were brought on the BASE team to direct all sales from our newly acquired southeastern region." Thompson added, "Donna Bothner and Bridget Serra still continue to service the dealer market in the northern region."

BASE continuously takes surveys of dealers to see if there is demand for certain products. If there is a demand for a particular niche-type product, Base will look at adding it to their product mix. BASE Wholesale provides full service and support for all products it sells. They provide depot service and national 800 support lines manned by trained technical-support personnel. The company eagerly supports its dealers quickly and efficiently. "You would be surprised at how many referrals we get from dealers," said Donna Bothner, Telemarketing Supervisor. Thompson notes, "Our aggressive referral program discounts 5 percent off the next order for any dealer that makes a referral resulting in sales over $10,000. A dealer can order one machine or 200 machines, a skid of toner or one box of toner. Any order in by 4 PM ships the same day."

Thompson said that most dealers use the "just in time" inventory system, so BASE’s same-day shipping is a large asset to its dealers. Another advantage is that the dealer doesn’t have to keep a huge amount of inventory in stock, but can use BASE as their warehouse. "The company does a lot of Internet marketing, which is coming into its own right now," Thompson stated, "and dealers are learning more and more about the types of products and services we provide on the Internet." Bothner provided good news for those people who are used to the voicemail black hole. She said that there is always a live person available at BASE. In fact, Thompson said, "Tech support has a queue system to track our average response time. We are now averaging 1.5 minutes for each inquiry." BASE is aiming to bring that time under a minute.

If a dealer who is calling, is at a customer’s site and needs immediate technical assistance, BASE personnel act quickly to diagnose and resolve the problem. This is an example of the dealer support provided by BASE. Boyle said, "BASE has flexible financing conditions and an easy payment program for dealers." Thompson added, "BASE tries to reduce the amount of pricing levels to create equal competition for all dealers. You don’t have to buy a ton of goods to get great pricing."

"I think the reason for our success with our dealer program is simplicity," stated Bothner. "It is our hassle-free program that requires no quota, no contract and no commitment – just great pricing, exceptional support and fast turn around of orders." "Because of this," Thompson added, "we have experienced a 30% growth in the last two years and have doubled our warehouse space."

BASE actively works within the communities of Bethel and Southern Connecticut. Thompson said, "BASE Wholesale is an extremely community-oriented company, supporting such activities as Earth Day, when employees pick up garbage and help clean up the park." "We organize that with a lot of other companies and we are a prime sponsor," added Boyle. They also support a program that mentors children from broken homes. Employees are allowed time from work to spend with the children they mentor, to help provide someone significant in the children’s lives. BASE Wholesale is also strongly involved in the Junior Achievement program and a sponsor of JA in Southern Connecticut.

And when asked what lies for BASE in the future? Thompson replied, "We are rolling out a new parts division here at BASE with a target date of March 15^th. We are currently building out our new parts warehouse, which will be totally automated. We have made a substantial investment into this project and look forward to its launch. Our goal is to be able to supply parts to our dealers in the same manner we supply equipment and supplies. Quick turnaround will be the key to success. We feel this is the next logical step in the continued focus of providing total support to the dealers."