Distributorships that don't offer e-commerce are missing the boat, says Ken Detwiler, president of The Labyrinth, a 4-year-old distributorship in Brunswick, Ohio. "Some prospects wouldn't give us the time of day before," says Detwiler, whose distributorship began offering e-commerce in August 2001. "I'm 6 feet 5 inches tall. I'd tell prospects, 'I'm the tallest salesman selling this stuff, give me a shot at it.' That's all I had going for me." Now he tells prospects, "Why wouldn't you come with us? You're using bows and arrows to order printing, and we've got a machine gun."
Since introducing e-commerce, The Labyrinth has secured new clients and has penetrated business from existing accounts previously out of reach. For example, its e-commerce services recently won the firm the printing business of a large regional bank. The bank plans to order more than 800 items ranging from deposit tickets to promotional products via the distributorship's web site. A local health care facility that ordered $20,000 in business printing from The Labyrinth in 2000 ordered $15,000 worth of products via the distributorship's web site in December 2001 alone.
"Our e-commerce system has opened doors that were never open to us before," Detwiler says. "Our customers view us completely differently now." The distributorship sold less than $1 million in business printing in 2000; Detwiler expects that amount to triple in 2002.
Another customer that's reaping the benefits of The Labyrinth's e-commerce system is Sovereign Healthcare, a Westlake, Ohio-based provider of nursing care services for the elderly. (See "End User Roped" at left). Sovereign Healthcare operates six elder care centers and four retirement communities west of Cleveland. The organization has approximately 1,000 beds and 900 employees. Before The Labyrinth launched its e-commerce services, each facility ordered its own business printing products, often from different vendors. The Labyrinth's e-commerce system streamlined Sovereign Healthcare's ordering process, Detwiler says.
The Labyrinth started in a spare bedroom in 1998. Today, it offers
a slick e-commerce system for several clients, including a nursing care provider.
BY KARA S. CARPENTER
The Provider
After starting The Labyrinth in a spare bedroom in 1998, Detwiler realized that in order to stay competitive, his firm needed to offer e-commerce. As a distributor of promotional products, he already had seen the benefits of
e-commerce through services offered by Dallas-based SAGE®-Quick Technologies Inc. and other providers of technology-based information services for the promotional products industry.
Detwiler also was impressed by e-commerce systems of manufacturers such as Dupli-Systems Inc., Strongsville, Ohio. "We could log on to their site, enter our password and view reports and order statuses," he says. "I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if we could offer our customers something like that?'" Most importantly, he felt that offering
e-commerce would level the playing field between The Labyrinth and larger distributorships.
The Labyrinth's staff soon began researching e-commerce providers. During the distributorship's weekly meetings, each staff member was assigned certain e-commerce providers to investigate. The distributorship called the providers for information on their systems, requested printed materials and received in-house demonstrations from at least three firms.
In October 2000, Detwiler attended DMIA's Informservices 2000 Conference & Expo (i2000) in Chicago to meet e-commerce providers showcasing their systems. He was impressed by Quantum Net®, an e-commerce system offered by Forms Management Data Systems (FMDS), a management software supplier in Reno, Nev., and signed on with the firm.
Detwiler felt Ross Barker, FMDS' president and DMIA's 1989-1990 president, understood The Labyrinth's needs more than the principals of other e-commerce providers. "He knew what kind of product he was putting out and how it would help us," Detwiler says. What's more, Barker reassured Detwiler that he didn't need to be a computer wizard to use FMDS' system. "Ross Barker told me that three or four years ago, he didn't know how to turn a computer on or off," he says. "I thought, 'Good, there's hope for me.'"
FMDS doesn't charge user fees for each transaction (fees for other systems can run from $2 to $7) or dictate which manufacturers The Labyrinth must use. Detwiler says he was most impressed by Quantum Net's clean, professional look and its simplicity.
Last August, The Labyrinth went live with Quantum Net. The system allows customers to run usage reports; request proofs; place orders; select shipping destinations; and custom imprint business cards, letterhead and other items. The system also includes administrative tools that allow end users' purchasing departments to add additional users, monitor orders companywide, control payment options, specify maximum dollar amounts per order, run customized reports, view estimated run-out dates, limit which employees or branches can order certain items or view certain reports, and more. The system's flexibility ensures that The Labyrinth will be able to add more features as its needs change, Detwiler says.
The Labyrinth also uses Quantum 2000, FMDS' distributor management software system, to handle its accounts payable, accounts receivable, invoicing, general ledger, contact management and forms management functions.
Traci Rath (left), vice president of sales and marketing of The Labyrinth, a distributorship in Brunswick, Ohio, explains the features of the distributorship's e-commerce system to Eileen Harrison, purchasing director of Sovereign Healthcare, Westlake, Ohio. The e-commerce system streamlined Sovereign Healthcare's print ordering process.
After deciding to offer e-commerce, The Labyrinth moved from a 1,200-square-foot facility in Westlake, Ohio, to a 3,000-square-foot facility in nearby Brunswick that includes 1,600 square feet of warehouse space and a conference room. From left: Craig Oen, management information systems specialist; Bob Altieri, sales representative; Ron Detwiler, vice president; Ken Detwiler, president; Traci Rath, vice president of sales and marketing; and Carolyn Reid, office manager.
Credit: Adam Kennedy Bernard
Credit: Adam Kennedy Bernard
Previously, when Eileen Harrison wanted to order business cards, she generated purchase orders and mailed them to The Labyrinth. The distributorship sent Harrison proofs, which she approved and returned. The entire process took 10 days to two weeks. "Now all I have to do is go into Quantum Net, pull up a card, edit it, then submit my order," Harrison says. "The card comes in three to four days."
Eileen Harrison meets with Ken
Detwiler to discuss Sovereign Healthcare's uniforms. "Even though I can order items online, I still have that personal relationship component with The Labyrinth," Harrison says. "E-commerce hasn't eliminated that, and that's a good thing."
Thanks to its e-commerce system, The
Labyrinth serves as Sovereign Healthcare's primary print provider, supplying
business cards, brochures, checks, envelopes, letterhead, business forms,
promotional products, uniforms and more.
Credits: Adam Kennedy Bernard
