ust like avid surfers can't imagine life without sunny days and monster waves, some distributors can't imagine running their companies without e-commerce. But tackling the technology is a bit like trying to "hang 10" on a surfboard for the first time--the move involves risk, and it helps to have an experienced partner.
The hype surrounding internet services once had the energy of a tidal wave, but not anymore. People who thought internet services could revive the dot-com economy and make business seem like a day at the beach were wrong. Instead, firms have found practical ways to leverage existing capabilities with new online offerings. Most of those firms are running more efficiently and attracting larger clients.
In spite of a sluggish economy, 96 percent of small businesses plan to maintain or increase their internet expenditures in 2003, according to a recent study by Verizon Superpages.com. And according to Aberdeen Group, a Boston-based IT market analysis firm, chief information officers and other IT decision-makers are most interested in these five e-commerce applications: content and document management; query, reporting and analysis; project management; web management; and web analysis.
The three distributorships featured in this article carefully explored
e-commerce options and now benefit from the technology in different ways. Independence, Mo.-based Control Printing Group Inc. is streamlining its warehousing operations. Albany, N.Y.-based The Bajan Group Inc. is partnering online with other firms to increase sales. Bloomington, Minn.-based Creative Solutions Group Inc. is improving its supply-chain management.
Jeff Martin, vice president of sales and marketing at Independence, Mo.-based distributorship Control Printing Group Inc., says e-commerce software helps the distributorship streamline its warehousing system. The distributorship uses software from Reno, Nev.-based supplier Forms Management Data Systems Inc.
In May 2000, Independence, Mo.-based distributorship Control Printing Group Inc. began using Quantum Net®, a Windows-based e-procurement system from Forms Management Data Systems Inc. (FMDS), a 24-year-old management software and e-commerce supplier in Reno, Nev.
Control Printing Group maintains inventory of hundreds of products, including traditional business forms, ad specialties and even ceiling tiles, for its clients. "We do a lot of warehousing for clients for anything they want, even if it's not a printed item," says Jeff Martin, the firm's vice president of sales and marketing. He says the software helps Control Printing Group know what products have been shipped and what items remain in its warehouse.
The system, which Control Printing Group calls INCONTROL, enables online ordering, customer support for product and service inquiries, business card and stationery previewing, remote report generation, and electronic messaging. The distributorship assigns customers usernames and passwords. They log on to www.controlprinting.com, click on "Electronic Ordering," select shipping methods and cost centers, then place orders. Clients also can view HTML or PDF format reports on back orders, cost-center inventory usage, order statuses and more.
When clients request products stored in Control Printing Group's warehouse, the "Warehouse Release" section of INCONTROL receives the request. The firm's warehouse manager views the section regularly. Warehouse release requisitions processed before 10 a.m. generally ship the same day; ones processed later ship the next business day. The software automatically sends customers email notifications when orders are placed and when products are shipped.
Control Printing Group's clients say INCONTROL is easier to use and gives them more information than other software, Martin says. They appreciate the ability to view order statuses, inventory quantities and order histories, he says.
Control Printing Group has 70 clients using INCONTROL. Last year, the distributorship landed approximately 15 new ones. Martin says most clients expect distributorships to offer online services. "When we compete for business, we know that prospective clients use online ordering systems as a criterion to choose a distributorship," he says. Some clients prefer ordering via email or phone. Martin says those clients think, "Why should we go online, then go through six screens when we can simply send an email saying this is what we want done?" Nevertheless, most of those clients want online access to order histories, he says.
Offering e-commerce has helped Control Printing Group make better use of its time, Martin says. Because clients input the data, "we simply download information and orders," he says. "The software automatically does the paperwork." This frees up the firm's sales reps, who spend less time on paperwork and more time calling customers and prospects.
Implementing INCONTROL has been "a huge, huge step, and I can't believe that we took so long" to make the move, Martin says. "It's like the mid-80s, when the fax machine became big and we started asking, 'How did we get along without it for such a long time?'"
Albany, N.Y.-based distributorship The Bajan Group Inc. implemented e-commerce software from Norcross, Ga.-based supplier TopForm® Software Inc. The software allows end users to access detailed order statuses, inventory statuses and product-usage reports.
Two years ago, Albany, N.Y.-based document delivery resource planning company The Bajan Group Inc. implemented print distributor software from Norcross, Ga.-based supplier TopForm® Software Inc.
The Bajan Group President Anthony Lombardo says a customer, for whom the firm was warehousing products, asked if the company had an online ordering solution. That spurred Lombardo to look aggressively for software that would integrate with the firm's existing IT infrastructure. Lombardo was sure he didn't want to make too many changes to the existing technology. TopForm had released its software called Web.ec. After tweaking the software to fits its needs, The Bajan Group implemented the system, which it calls "electronic document resource planning" (edrp).
"We implemented edrp because it's a very aggressive and great system," Lombardo says. Twenty-three of The Bajan Group's clients use the software.
A new, widely used feature is a customized catalog developed specifically for customers that order printing and collateral items. The firm uses a simple 3-step process to set up the catalog. First, customers identify order types such as variable printing, industry-based stock items, custom-printed inventory items or repeat items. Next, the firm develops a custom catalog based on how customers want to order products: by department, type of document, order type or shipping location. Third, the firm assigns customers usernames and passwords, enabling users to order products at www.bajangroup.com. "Imagine being able to go online, accessing your 'internal needs catalog' and ordering all your print and print-related items from one source," Lombardo says.
When customers click on "Reports," they can choose from three options: order status, inventory status and product-usage reports. By clicking on "Create Reports," they can view detailed reports generated within seconds by edrp.
Lombardo says a new industry trend is "e-partnerships," in which distributorships make sales calls jointly with other companies. The Bajan Group recently partnered with a company offering janitorial and sanitation supplies. When customers visit that company's web site, they see a link to The Bajan Group's homepage. They can click on it and order printing supplies at the same time they're ordering janitorial and sanitation supplies. "The client is getting the best technology and the best products--all on one site," Lombardo says.
