BY SARAH WASSNER
Call him hokey, but Dan Swagler is just a people person, plain and simple. At least that's what the Southerner tries to impart upon clients of FSi, his Nashville-based distributorship. It's the people--his employees, that is--who are the crux of FSi's synergy, and according to Swagler, the company's greatest asset.
Since FSi (formerly FormService Inc.) was founded in 1990, its goal has remained firm: to serve customers with a dedicated team of specialists. Through the years, this mantra has worked. With 40 employees, FSi is considered one of the fastest-growing distributorships nationwide--a credible feat considering the company started with only two employees.
From Bleeding Edge to
Cutting Edge
From the start, FSi has focused on offering clients total solutions instead of products. But, Swagler admits, that wasn't an easy task to accomplish in the early 1990s. "Many of our ideas were on the bleeding edge back then," he says. "But we kept playing with imaging and started doing data capture very early on, and finally found our niche business."
Today, FSi offers a broad spectrum of production and distribution services for business communications within the walls of its 100,000 square-foot-facility in Nashville. Swagler and partner Joel Chyke, the distributorship's CFO, rely on a tightly knit employee team--including salespeople; a graphic designer; and accounting, IT and warehouse departments--to roll out thousands of products and services each year. These include customized office supplies, promotional products, document processing, Electronic Bill Presentation and Payment (EBPP) and personalized web pages. Additionally, FSi handles procurement, warehousing, distribution, kitting, and accounting services (including tax collection and reporting).
But it's not just the plethora of services that keeps FSi successful, Swagler says. It's the distributorship's astute concern for its clients, most of whom are environmental retail stores, banks, insurance companies and hospitals in the Southeast. "My people and their experience in using our facilities, software and suppliers bring the solution to the client," he says. "Everyone who works here is highly trained in customer service. I really try to let everyone know: If you pick up a phone call from a customer, no matter what their concern, help them."
Anticipation in the Air
Although FSi began offering fulfillment services approximately six years ago, the buzz surrounding these services still hasn't dissipated among employees. "There's always a huge sense of anticipation when we are about to work on a big project," says Swagler, who fields teams of 10-30 people for each shipment.
These "big" projects have included new product promotions for clients with thousands of customers. For example, a large retail store relies on FSi's fulfillment services to implement seasonal changes to its promotional items. Four times a year, FSi creates new signage, shelf labels, shelf "talkers," and point-of-purchase (POP) literature that reflect the store's theme for the current season.
This partnership and most others are solidified by FSi's flagship product, WebMANAGERSM. Enticing its clients to "join the electronic age," FSi created WebMANAGER as a user-friendly tool that allows clients to manage their inventories, order new items, track purchase histories and maintain accounts.
In With the New
Such a system is a far cry from the labor- and time-intensive fulfillment methodology of the past, Swagler says. After all, it was just a few years ago when FSi realized the impact a system such as WebMANAGER could have on saving customers time and money when it came to fulfillment. Swagler recalls a current client's previous fulfillment system: The client, who regularly orders uniforms for employees, previously faxed an order form to its uniform manufacturer. The manufacturer filled the order, shipped it to the client, then sent the client an invoice. The client forwarded the invoice to its headquarter facility, where it was approved and forwarded to the company's accounting department. After updating the company's general ledger report, the accounting department finally cut a check for the uniform manufacturer.
Now, Swagler says proudly, this client can "just go to their page on our web site and place the order for uniforms, plus many other items." FSi picks everything from its warehouse and packs the items. Product prices are preset, so the client doesn't have to review pricing, he says. Additionally, FSi automatically uploads the invoice into the client's general ledger account, streamlining the payment process.
According to Swagler, WebMANAGER saves this client and others about 40 percent per item acquired. Previously, a uniform (which has a true cost of $6) would cost approximately $52 once freight costs, processing fees and labor costs were added. "With limited freight cost, no manager interaction and minimal labor involved, a uniform will run down to $7.50 or $8," Swagler says. "We drive out the ancillary cost of doing business."
Client Reaps Rewards
This process has worked for Mike Schoettmer, president of Nashville-based Tractor Supply Company, the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in the United States. It operates 460 specialty retail stores in 30 states. In search of a company to provide his company's supply management, Schottmer surveyed several distributorships over six months. When he discovered FSi 11Ž2 years ago, he saw a "really good match" for his company. The firms began a partnership, and now FSi warehouses and replenishes approximately 350 items such as POP materials for Tractor Supply Company.
Schoettmer entered the relationship with FSi focused on two specific corporate goals. First, he wanted to manage his company's inventory in a non-complex, cost-saving way. Second, he wanted a solid accounting system that would provide seamless invoicing and little manual upkeep.
Schoettmer met with FSi to discuss and implement a business plan, and his goals were met within 90 days. "The system is in its early stages, but I can already see the difference and how it is going to be very beneficial for my company," he says.
Forty percent of FSi's clients use WebMANAGER, but Swagler hopes success stories such as Tractor Supply Company's will propel interest in the system. "It's catching on, but a lot of our clients don't understand the system," he says. "Explaining it and then implementing it for all of our clients is something we are focusing on for the future."
