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Image Star
Founded in ’92 by Jeff Johnson and an
investor group, Image Star’s purpose has always been to
provide a reliable source for OEM consumables for copiers,
printers, and faxes. “The [investors] were already involved
with the sale of compatible & remanufactured products and they
needed a good source for OEM supplies. We are strictly a
consumables outfit (they do not manufacture). And we found
out we are pretty good at it.”
Started with a “small” investment, the
company produced $1 million in sales their first year of
operations- all this with a minor network of vendors &
customers. “We recognized by effectively servicing our
customers and aggressively sourcing product, we would build a
loyal customer base, stay very competitively priced and
provide a much needed service.”
His five-person crew became experts on
finding international deals and establishing partnerships with
companies in the industry to acquire the price points needed
to advance into the trade’s Major Leagues. “We were early in
the game of globally sourcing products. We identified
reliable people to source from, demonstrated a solid payment
history and established ourselves as a legitimate partner with
our vendors. A commitment to technology and a conservative
balance sheet allowed Image Star to compete with the big boys
from the start”.
The investment group was interested in
expanding their product offering and finding better OEM
pricing to supplement their remanufactured and compatible
business. “We evolved from an OEM wheeler dealer to a
formidable full service wholesale competitor in the
industry”. Image Star now offers a full line of OEM and an
extensive line of compatible and remanufactured products.
Johnson came from an accounting
background, previously working as a controller at a brokerage
company in the investment industry. He runs his business
through this accounting lens, “We run on a very lean
[system],” he said, “technologically we can provide a customer
outstanding service and the best price by running an efficient
operation which results in the best value for our customer”.
Open for over a decade, Johnson’s tactics
have proven successful. Image Star is now a $61 million
company with 45 employees, “I don’t want to admit to being an
accountant,” Johnson said jokingly, “I think we could be a bit
bigger but we are more on the conservative side. We’re still
here, we’re still solid, and profitable. I think we’ve
managed our balance sheet very well, and didn’t over extend
ourselves.”
Products and Services
Image Star’s catalogue lists over 2000
items of OEM, remanufactured, and compatible consumables (you
can print this catalogue from their website,
www.Image Star.com). Products include printer, copier,
fax, and data media products from “most” manufactures such as
Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Imation, Lexmark, Sony, Okidata,
Panasonic, and Xerox.
With extensive drop shipping capabilities
(including packing slips that include the customer’s logo,
phone number and slogan), no minimum orders, and next day
shipping (on orders placed between 8:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. EST)
Image Star caters their services to meet individual customers’
needs. “I like to say that we have two ears and one mouth, we
listen twice as much as we talk [to our customers].”
Their customers range from “small
dealers, VAR’s, to the mega-retailers of the world”. And they
treat each one according to their demands at the most
efficient price and service level matrix possible. “Using
picking tickets with our customers’ logo and slogan is a great
way for a dealer to keep their name in front of their valuable
customer. Image Star provides e-mail ship confirmations,
private labeling of remanufactured products, candy with orders
and we can e-mail your invoices.”
“At the end of the day the price of the
product and a business’s profitability will be determined by
the cost of transacting the business. Image Star encourages a
dialogue with our customers to reduce SG&A costs. Sometimes
paying 50 cents less for a product is a lot more expensive.
The ability to marry OEM and private labeled remanufactured
products on customer orders significantly reduces the cost to
the dealer incurs for freight, handling and inventory costs.”
Knowledge is Power
If financially Image Star doesn’t extend
itself, customer service-wise they do. “We put our customers
at the top of our organizational chart. We report to our
customers.” Not only do they answer to their customers, they
assign them a representative that has the authority to do
business. Your sales representative at Image Star can
personalize service because they have the power to make
decisions.
“Our sales people have the ability to
establish pricing and implement service programs. They are
very experienced and cross-trained. They know if it is
possible to ship a certain order because they have been
trained in the warehouse. They understand our credit programs
because they’ve been trained in our accounting department.
When you talk to a representative here, you are talking to
someone who has the power to make decisions and satisfy the
customer.”
What type of people staff the Image Star
sales department? Experienced. Not only in sales but also in
life. There are “people from varied backgrounds and
educations [here]. We have English majors, social workers,
Mom’s and more in the sales department. We joke that we can
correct your spelling, solve your problems and do your laundry
[along with taking care of your order]. We are high energy,
motivated, and have great attitudes stimulated by a FUN
atmosphere.”
Influenced by Attitude and Technology
This philosophy of giving Image Star
representatives the capacity to make decisions and encouraging
them to have great attitudes stems from Southwest Airlines.
“When you go to a counter at Southwest, they can help you and
want to help you. They don’t have to make a call to find out
information or get permissions. They already have the ability
to make decisions. And they are having fun at their job.”
In addition to perfecting customer
service, Image Star is adamant about using technology to make
their business more efficient for the customer. “We e-mail
shipping slips and invoices, we have a system [so defined]
that can tell us how many cartridges we sold on Tuesday in
Tennessee. This is how we can project the demands of our
customers and provide them with what they need. We have top
rate information and technology.”
A recent upgrade to Image Star’s
enterprise software will facilitate a website that will host
live inventory and include complete e-commerce ability. This
is scheduled to be available in early 2004, “Unless it’s
ready to work right, our customer’s won’t see it”. “We are
all about serving our customers and we aren’t going to give
them something that’s a half-baked solution just to play the
[e-commerce] game.”
Mr. Johnson credits his technology stance
to Daisytek. “In the early days Daisytek was ahead of its
time. They were customer focused and had leading edge
technology. They were also very helpful to their customers in
running their businesses. Image Star strives to provide the
service and information needed for our customer to maximize
their business. ”
Playing Ball
With a positive sales team and technology
at his fingertips, Jeff Johnson is taking Image Star to the
next level. He knows his competition is web based and larger
than life, “generally large corporations, 2 of them giant
stationers, some large hardware players, a couple of
conventional wholesalers and several smaller individuals
cherry picking a particular line.”
However, he is comfortable with his
positioning, “We fit having the infrastructure of a large
competitor but the mentality of a smaller one. We are small
enough to associate with all customers and large enough to
support the demands of a highly competitive industry.
Personalized service with an experienced rep that can make
decisions to manage accounts. Our reps provide solutions not
just prices.”
“To realize our vision we will: Listen
to our customers. Find out what they want and need, then
provide it to them. Meet and exceed our customers’
expectations profitably. Enhance our technology investments
to build valued services for our customers. Capitalize on the
strengths and leadership skills of all our employees. We will
succeed and have fun succeeding. Regularly communicate goals,
objectives and operating results to all of our employees.
Never lose sight of our commitment to our customers!”- Image
Star’s Vision Statement,
the Bright Source.
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