Mark Thompson has seen the future of printing distributor services, and that future is pork dumplings.
OK, it's not just pork dumplings. It's also custard buns, shrimp rice rolls, spare ribs, scallion pancakes, chicken lo mein and fried sticky rice.
After serving 20 years in the direct sales and wholesale manufacturing segment of the printing industry, Thompson decided to strike out on his own. Last March, he launched ThroughSource, a provider of
e-commerce, information technology (IT), e-sales training and consulting, print management, marketing, finance and other services in Phoenix. He saw a problem with the types of e-solutions offered specifically to printing distributors. "The e-commerce technologies that I knew existed were better than what was being offered," Thompson says.
Thompson made it his business to close the gap. He knew there was only one way to sell
ThroughSource's e-solution services--Chinese menu style. "You pick and choose exactly what you want and that's what we give you," he says.
In an industry where a distributor often must order half the menu from an e-solution provider before getting the service he or she wants, Thompson says ThroughSource's clients have been impressed by the company's no-pressure sales philosophy. Although the company is less than a year old, Thompson expects it will generate more than $4.5 million in sales this year, thanks in large part to its customer-friendly approach. "We charge for services on a consulting basis and then we walk away," he says. "Once you teach a guy how to do something, I don't understand why you should stand there with your hand in his pocket."
"We take all the infrastructure--the IT, the technology--and offer it for a fraction of the cost it would take for distributors to build themselves," Thompson says. "We give you all the flexibility to manage and come up with solutions that are homegrown. We aggregate technology for distributors, rather than aggregate distribution."
Independence is Key
The name "ThroughSource" symbolizes the company's goal to help distributors find efficient solutions and remain independent. ThroughSource's rather unconventional approach has led to an unconventional marketing campaign, in which the company describes what it is not. "We're not a franchise, not an ESOP, not a manufacturer," reads the company's promotional material. "We're not trying to buy, sell, acquire, aggregate or become distributors."
Instead, ThroughSource offers five services--Print Ledger Online®, Print eSite®, Sales eXpansion®, IDistributor® and Financial Services®. Its e-commerce offerings--Print eSite and Print Ledger Online--are the most popular.
Print eSite assists distributors in print management, building and improving web sites and FTP and offers customer print-on-demand libraries, file sharing and numerous other online resources hosted and managed by ThroughSource. Print Ledger Online offers access to internet-enabled software from Norcross, Ga.-based TopForm® Software Inc. The software provides automation for every aspect of distributors' operations. With relatively low startup costs, both services offer distributors 24-hour access to print management and accounting services.
Additionally, ThroughSource's Sales eXpansion offering provides e-sales workshops and consulting services for e-commerce. The company's IDistributor marketing team assists new distributors in creating corporate identities and helps existing firms maintain or recreate their images. The Financial Services arm finances and manages distributors' accounts payable and receivable. "We know how to play in this space," Thompson says. "We can take on the big players. We've done it before. We have the systems in place and they're the best in class."
That's heady talk for the principal of such a young firm, but Pete DeLuca has no doubt that Thompson is right. DeLuca, the president of a one-man printing distributorship in Phoenix, is starting a new internet-based venture and has enlisted ThroughSource's help to grow his company--Bound2Remember.
Bound2Remember is a reproduction company that turns customers' personalized scrapbooks into coffee table books. DeLuca's goal is to tap into the $2.5 billion scrapbooking industry by letting scrapbookers publish their work as keepsakes or gifts. DeLuca launched his firm in October and is using ThroughSource's sales expertise and e-commerce resources to attract new business.
"I've seen what all of the large firms are offering," DeLuca says. "Mark has shown me that he has everything they have. The difference is that he offers the Chinese-menu-type items. If I need it, I'll use it."
"I'm an entrepreneur," he continues. "I'm looking for more than a company that says, 'This is our box. Get inside our box.' Mark has built a culture that is not going to restrict the entrepreneurial spirit...the ability to make as much money as possible within your own company."
Growing Demand for E-Services
And that's ThroughSource's main challenge--maintaining cutting-edge e-solutions and finding a way to deliver them as efficiently as possible so that distributors see immediate returns on investment.
Thompson says his company will accomplish these goals by continuing to offer top-notch e-solutions while expanding its currently modest role as a financial services provider. "As our distributors become more adept at selling the best-in-class e-commercesolutions, they will find themselves needing financial resources to help fund larger print management and vertical market opportunities," he says.
For example, ThroughSource currently is helping a customer win a hospital account that's served by a major direct. When the customer hit a financial sticking point--purchasing hospital inventory owned by the direct--ThroughSource stepped in and financed the purchase. "The deal also relied heavily on ThroughSource providing best-in-class online print management and e-commerce solutions," Thompson says. "We see the two--print e-commerce and financing--becoming almost co-reliant as the year progresses."
Thompson says the demand for these services will grow as more reps continue to leave larger distributorships and directs to start their own companies. These entrepreneurs will need tools and money, and that's where ThroughSource enters the picture. "We want to be there on a per solution basis," Thompson says.
In other words, selling one pork dumpling at a time.
