Print Solutions Magazine, March 2002 -- Adding Value

When Rick Doss, CDC, started his distributorship 17 years ago, he already knew the importance of value-added services. "It was ingrained in my mind that it's much better to try to sell an account than an order," says Doss about his training at UARCO (now Standard Register), where he spent five years as a regional health care specialist. Today, Doss, president and owner of Data Flow Media Systems, Plano, Texas, puts that knowledge to work for his distributorship. "We go into accounts selling a system," he says.

Data Flow Media Systems' customers have driven the firm to expand its product and service offerings. More than four years ago, the distributorship began offering customers e-commerce services. "We had a client that was faxing us their business card orders," Doss says. "It was a nightmare because most of the orders were handwritten. By the time they were faxed to us, we couldn't read them." After reading articles about how the internet could assist with order processing, Doss was sure this was the perfect application for e-commerce.

The distributorship worked with a freelance programmer to create its own e-commerce system. "For the client base we have, a canned solution doesn't work," Doss says. "Each client's needs are unique." At first, customers could order only items such as business cards and letterhead from the system. Soon after, they could order any items stored in the distributorship's 2,000-square-foot warehouse.

Last year, a large health care firm accepted bids for a 3-year contract for all of its printing, including business forms, commercial printing, envelopes and ID card carriers. The contract mandated that the print provider offer an e-commerce system, warehousing, and pick-and-pack services. Doss wanted the account, but he knew Data Flow Media Systems' e-commerce system and 20,000 cubic feet of warehousing space wouldn't meet the health care firm's needs. "I had to make hard-line decisions about where I wanted Data Flow to go," Doss says. "I knew getting this account would change the way we did business dramatically."

"If you're not providing some sort of a value-added service, all you're providing is price. That's not going to cut it because there's always someone cheaper than you."

Rick Doss, CDC

President and Owner

Data Flow Media Systems

Plano, Texas

Competing with Moore, R.R. Donnelley and Mail-Well, Doss met with the health care firm's decision makers and presented Data Flow Media Systems' e-commerce system. He informed the firm that if his distributorship landed the account, it would design a more complex e-commerce system and move to a facility with approximately 130,000 cubic feet of warehouse space. "They were impressed with how quickly we could respond to their needs," Doss says. Data Flow Media Systems landed the 3-year contract, and the health care firm is now its largest account.

In September 2001, Data Flow Media Systems went live with eRelease, an updated e-commerce system it developed with a freelance programmer. eRelease allows the health care firm to place, proof and track orders online. Like each of the system's other users, the health care firm's intranet is linked securely to the eRelease system. "It's clean and simple, and we don't get hung up with administering user IDs and passwords," Doss says. The system allows the health care firm to view details about items previously ordered, including number in stock, dates when items were last ordered, prices, monthly usage and carton contents.

Data Flow Media Systems recently provided the health care firm with 500,000 2-color trifold brochures. Designed by the end user and preflighted by the distributorship, the brochure featured information on the firm's prescription-benefit program. The distributorship also provided 500,000 4-color mail-order prescription inserts and 500,000 2-color participating-pharmacy lists. The items, cataloged on the distributorship's eRelease system, now are reordered online.

—Kara S. Carpenter

At Your Service

Data Flow Media Systems' customer service department is at the forefront of its value-added service offerings. "I empower my customer service team with education," says Rick Doss, president and owner of the 17-year-old distributorship in Plano, Texas. He trains the staff with educational videos and workbooks. "If they know where to get something or how to build something that my competition doesn't, that's a value-added service," he says.

Data Flow Media Systems ensures each customer service employee is computer proficient—each can send digital files to customers and build Microsoft Excel databases. The company also pays for courses at local colleges for employees who maintain C averages or better.