<TITLE>Print Solutions Magazine, September 2004 -- Partners for Growth, Page 3

Manufacturers can assume they know what their customers want, or they can make it a point to track each distributor's needs through consistent communication. Companies that choose the latter can tailor their products, services and procedures to satisfy unique demands. Highland Computer Forms Inc., a manufacturer based in Hillsboro, Ohio, turned that point into a program.

Highland Computer Forms launched the program, called PACE ("Partners Assuring Continuous Excellence"), at DMIA's Print Solutions 2003 Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. It's designed to support growth, stability and trust between the manufacturer and its distributors. The manufacturer contacted its customers through phone calls and surveys, asking each about the product lines it deemed most important, the goals it wanted to achieve and the ways the manufacturer could customize its procedures to meet those goals.

"Our business is based upon relationships, and I can't emphasize enough how important it is to communicate effectively," says Steve Clarke, general manager of Highland Computer Forms' Des Moines, Iowa, plant. "The more customized solutions and value we can bring to distributors, the better for them and their end users."

Distributors who want to become PACE partners tell Highland Computer Forms how they plan to advance their businesses and what changes the manufacturer can make to help in that regard. They also share information about new customers, corporate initiatives and end user trends. In exchange, the manufacturer provides updates about its new products and equipment, as well as ideas about marketing and selling popular products. Highland Computer Forms offers stock tab and cut sheet products, custom long run continuous forms, health care forms, envelopes, label/card combinations and other items. The 25-year-old company has six plants, six distribution centers and more than 140 employees.

PACE participants receive service perks from the manufacturer, which assigns partners ID numbers through its AS400 software system. "Customer service representatives who receive calls from PACE partners understand that they should give those partners extremely high levels of service and attention," Clarke says.

Professional Business Products (PBP), a distributorship in Lincoln, Neb., has been a Highland Computer Forms customer since 1989. It offers promotional products, forms, e-commerce solutions and more. In 2003, Clarke approached Dave Lund, PBP's president and CEO, about becoming a PACE partner. "I embraced the idea and thought it could enhance our relationship and help us serve end users in the most effective, most economical way," says Lund, who works closely with several industry manufacturers, including St. Louis-based The Flesh Company and Englewood, Colo.-based PrintXcelSM, A Quality Park Brand. "Our industry is fast-paced, and we're all trying to do more while spending less," Lund says. "We're often so preoccupied, we forget to communicate properly."

When Clarke asked Lund about PBP's needs, Lund said the distributorship would benefit from having a dedicated customer service representative. Highland Computer Forms provided one, and PBP "has taken new business there since we began the PACE program," Lund says. In 2003, the distributorship purchased approximately $40,000 worth of products from Highland Computer Forms. This year, PBP will purchase more than $100,000 from the manufacturer, and much of that will be for custom products. Recently, Highland Computer Forms received three large orders for custom roll products from PBP on a Monday, and the orders shipped that Friday--a 5-day turnaround that usually takes two weeks.

"Companies have a huge chance of missing the most minute details on the way to processing print orders, and it's a problem we've always faced," Clarke says. "As an industry, we tend to get bogged down in internal processes and constraints. We're trying to do some right things by breaking down those constraints and making communication more effective and more frequent between us and distributors."

Thought Provokers

1) How can you foster more frequent, effective communication with your vendors and customers?

2) What perks can you provide customers that are most loyal to your company? What incentives can you provide to ones that aren't?

Darin Painter is managing editor of Print Solutions. Email him your comments at dpainter@PSDA.org.

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