February 2009 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 15 No. 8 G

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

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Regulatory Compliance Securing information in a networked environment

COURTS & CAPITOLS A Difficult Lesson Establish the rules & enforce them consistently

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by Denine Phillips Tech-Write LLC

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

Question: How many times have you signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy notice at your doctor’s office? How many times have you read it? Prior to researching this article, my answers were “many” and “never,” respectively. Perhaps the better question is: What do HIPAA, and other federal regulations, have to do with office technology? When it comes to networked MFPs, plenty. It is imperative that organizations devise a security strategy around how information is held, stored, who has access to it and how long it should be kept.

Recently, I advised members of the need to update Labor Department, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state minimum wage notices on company bulletin boards.

In response, a member told me his story.

PRINCIPAL ISSUES Certified Data Let’s demand honesty in our industry

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by Mike Marusic SIICA

Vision 2009 Konica Minolta hosts dealer meeting Jan. 11-14

It is time for the annual ritual of copier/MFP manufacturers making claims of market-share growth. The disheartening news is that the manufacturer is under no requirement to provide “actual” data.

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

The recent Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. Vision 2009 Business Conference and Expo served, in part, as an opportunity for new executives to candidly comment on the company’s past challenges and recent strides. The Jan. 11-14 meeting was held in Orlando, Fla. During the opening General Session, dealers were addressed for the first time by Rick Taylor and Alan Nielsen.

Your MPS Strategy Ask the right questions about turnkey programs

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by Bill Siderys WMMW Print Services LLC

As we all know, managed print services (MPS) programs are some of the hottest, most profitable programs to hit the BTA Channel since the inception of copier costper-page (CPP) contracts many years ago.

SELLING SOLUTIONS 23

Sales Compensation Developing an effective plan to reward salespeople

by Howard Meltzer SalesTiger

Sales compensation is a challenging topic for many people because they think in terms of absolutes. Most of the questions I receive begin with, “What is the standard (salary, draw, commission percentage) for (hardware, supplies, service, etc.)?” Unfortunately, there are very few standards that apply to sales compensation. The variations in sales compensation plans are infinite.

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DEPARTMENTS Business Technology Association

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Education Calendar BTA Highlights

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Executive Director’s Page

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BTA President’s Message

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Advertiser Index

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

New BTA Workshop Added to Offerings n the early 1990s, in my early years at the Business Technology Association (BTA), I had the privilege of getting to know Mitch Morgan. At the time, he was a principal in the Network Institute of America (NIA) and its connectivity dealer program. Both of these entities were located within BTA’s headquarters building in Kansas City, Mo. I recall that I had two impressions of Mitch. First, it was clear to me that he was very adept in his chosen profession and had a keen awareness of the opportunities that exist for the BTA Channel. Second, he was an excellent speaker/instructor. In fact, I recall sitting in a large audience at an event where Mitch was a presenter thinking, “This guy is really good at what he does.” With these thoughts in mind, I was not surprised when Mitch ultimately sold his business to IKON Office Solutions.

Fast forward 15-plus years. Last fall, our paths crossed again. I was working on an article on the topic of professional services and was told that Mitch was among the best people to interview on the topic. After all, he was now consulting with a growing number of dealerships, helping them to establish lucrative professional services groups. His role as a consultant follows a number of successful years leading IKON Professional Services, which he formed for the company.

Where does all of this lead? If you have not heard already, Mitch is serving as the instr uctor for our l at e st educational offering, the BTA Professional Services Workshop. The workshop focuses on the

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critical success factors necessary to build a successful professional services group. Each participant will leave the workshop with a clear professional services road map for success with goals, targets and milestones based on the unique characteristics of his or her dealership.

The workshop serves to address a number of questions. Among them: What is the business model and what are the key metrics that drive success? What are the roles, activities and accountability levels for professional services personnel? What are the products and services that will drive the business today and in the future? How does one select, develop and train personnel?

Mitch emphasizes that the workshop teaches dealers the steps needed to successfully enter this growth market, with minimal incremental expense. He explains: “In today’s economy, many customers are looking to do more with less. This fits perfectly with the solutions of a professional services group.”

Among his clients, 80 percent have successfully entered the market selling software and related services without adding employees the first year. “This requires some realignment of responsibilities, but the resources are often within the company and need to be focused on specific, dedicated activities,” he says. “To the extent that the personnel are already in place, the gross profit falls to the bottom line.”

If you have been thinking about pursuing a professional services initiative, I encourage you to attend the new BTA Professional Services Workshop. For more information or to register, visit www.bta.org and click on “Education & Certification” on the home page or call (800) 843-5059. I — Brent Hoskins

Executive Director/BTA Editor/Office Technology Brent Hoskins brent@bta.org (816) 303-4040 Associate Editor Elizabeth Marvel elizabeth@bta.org (816) 303-4060 Contributing Writers Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Mike Marusic, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), www.sharpusa.com Howard Meltzer, SalesTiger www.salestiger.com Denine Phillips, Tech-Write LLC www.tech-write.biz Bill Siderys, WMMW Print Services LLC www.managedprintsvc.com

®

Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688 Valerie Briseno Membership & Marketing Manager valerie@bta.org Mary Hopkins Database Administrator mary@bta.org Teresa Leerar Bookkeeper teresa@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org ©2009 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material.

However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ®

Visit BTA at the ITEX Show in Las Vegas n times of need, people go home. The warmth and security of a trusted friend or relative is a place of sanctuary. In today’s uncertain economic climate, the BTA membership growth rate is at a 10-year high. More than ever, office equipment dealers understand the value of BTA membership.

Many senior office equipment dealers who remember the NOMDA days are returning to the educational offerings and friendships they enjoyed from the glory days of the 1980s and 1990s. New entrepreneurs are realizing the vast amount of educational offerings that are available to BTA members.

Many first-time and renewing BTA dealer members are taking advantage of the new, discounted two-year membership category.

BTA’s monthly, members-only webinar attendance continues to grow. Our most recent webinar, on the topic of print management, had 120 participants. Recognizing that many participants had multiple listeners on the call, it is likely that several hundred people dedicated an hour of their business day to increase their ability to understand and sell managed print services.

The BTA-elected officer team, BTA board of directors and staff encourage everyone to visit the BTA booth and reception at ITEX on March 18-19 in Las Vegas. Situated in the center of the trade show floor in booth #445, BTA will be in the center of the action. Stop by to say “hello” and sign up for giveaway drawings that will include cash and prizes donated by a number of BTA’s vendor members.

After reviewing all the member services offered to BTA members, pick-up your invitation to the BTA Reception that will be

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held from the close of the trade show floor until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, in a suite at the Las Vegas Hilton.

You will have the opportunity to view the Las Vegas skyline from the suite’s balcony, enjoy a drink, sample a few hors d’oeuvres and meet with fellow BTA dealer members, vendors and industry leaders. We encourage BTA members to invite a non-member to share the spirit of BTA camaraderie.

During the BTA Reception, BTA’s 2009 Channel’s Choice Award winners will be announced by Brent Hoskins, BTA executive director and editor of Office Technology magazine. Marc Spring, ITEX and Imaging Network founder, will be on hand to present imageSource magazine’s 2009 Perfect Image Awards.

Several BTA members, vendors and educators affiliated with BTA-sponsored seminars will be ITEX Power Hour presenters. If you have ever wanted the opportunity to sample the style and substance of BTA educational offerings, ITEX offers an excellent opportunity through Power Hour attendance. BTAaffiliated educators scheduled to speak at ITEX include: Darrell Amy, Tom Callinan, Ed Carroll, Jack Duncan, Bob Goldberg, Ronelle Ingram, Mitch Morgan and David Ramos.

As an added bonus, all BTA members are eligible for a special ITEX discounted registration fee of $79. When registering online at www.itexshow.com, enter promo code BTA9B to receive the discounted rate. You must register online by March 12 to be eligible for the BTA discounted price of $79.

I encourage all BTA members to take advantage of the BTA Reception, educational offerings, trade show and BTA camaraderie that will be shared at ITEX, March 18-19, in Las Vegas. I — Ronelle Ingram

2008-2009 Board of Directors President Ronelle Ingram Steven Enterprises Inc. 17952 Sky Park Circle Ste. E Irvine, CA 92614 ronellei@msn.com President-Elect Bill James WJS Enterprises Inc. 3315 Ridgelake Drive Metairie, LA 70002 bjames@wjsenterprises.com Vice President Rock Janecek Burtronics Business Systems Inc. 216 S. Arrowhead Ave. P.O. Box 1170 San Bernardino, CA 92408 rjanecek@burtronics.com BTA East Tom Ouellette Budget Document Technology 251 Goddard Road P.O. Box 2322 Lewiston, ME 04240 touellette@bdtme.com BTA Mid-America Mike Blake Corporate Business Systems LLC 6300 Monona Drive Madison, WI 53716 mblake@corpbussystems.com BTA Southeast Bob Smith Copiers Plus Inc. 408 Chicago Drive Fayetteville, NC 28306 bobsmith@copiers-plus.com BTA West Greg Valen Hawaii Business Equipment Inc. Toshiba Business Solutions - Hawaii 590-A Paiea St. Honolulu, HI 96819 gregory.valen@tabs.toshiba.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC 222 S. Riverside Plaza Ste. 2100 Chicago, IL 60606 robert.goldberg@sfnr.com

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Regulatory Compliance Securing information in a networked environment by: Denine Phillips, Tech-Write LLC

uestion: How many times have you signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy notice at your doctor’s office? How many times have you read it? Prior to researching this article, my answers were “many” and “never,” respectively. Perhaps the better question is: What do HIPAA, and other federal regulations, have to do with office technology? When it comes to networked MFPs, plenty.

While many government mandates impact key verticals — healthcare, banking, etc. — those that typically affect your customers are HIPAA, the Gramm-LeachBliley Act (GLBA) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).

HIPAA was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. Title II of HIPAA includes The Privacy Rule, which governs use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI) and The Security Rule, where administrative, physical and technical safeguards are outlined; we will be examining physical and technical safeguards in this article.

GLBA governs the collection and disclosure of personal financial information and affects, for example, financial institutions, insurance companies and credit card companies.

Insurance companies, for example, are required by this law to provide a yearly notice to customers describing how they will treat customers’ personal financial information.

SOX was the result of the Enron scandal. Affecting all publicly-held corporations, SOX legislation holds CEOs/CFOs accountable for the accuracy of financial statements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) implements rulings on how to comply with this law.

Considering the current Madoff mess (i.e., the $50 billion Ponzi scheme), regulations can only go so far to protect the public, even under the threat of prison time and hefty fines.

Indeed, non-compliance with these federal laws can have

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serious consequences: HIPAA: Up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

GLBA: More than 10 years in prison and $1 million in fines.

SOX: Up to 20 years in prison and $5 million in fines.

The point is that organizations entrusted with our personal health and financial information can be held legally responsible for how they manage, store and secure data. Should an audit or investigation determine that fraud has occurred or that safeguards are not in place to protect sensitive information, whether in electronic or paper form, a company faces litigation, embarrassment, loss of market share and diminished public trust.

The Common Bond The common bond between HIPAA, GLBA and SOX is information security. In fact, information security and compliance are tightly linked, according to Greg Gies, director of product marketing at eCopy Inc. “Generally speaking, there are four areas concerning compliance,” he says. “Number one is security ... the security of information and data. Next is process control, process transparency and information retention and destruction. One of the drivers in the push to secure information assets is federal legislation. And though burdensome in terms of administration, it is important to remember that loss of proprietary information and data costs U.S. businesses billions of dollars annually. Therefore, it is imperative that organizations devise a security strategy around how that information is held, how it is stored, who has access to it and how long it should be kept.”

Physical Safeguards Implementing physical safeguards is the first step in

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preventing unauthorized aca piece of paper, it cannot go “Paper presents a number cess, use and disclosure of in the regular trash. We use a of challenges in respect to information — patient reHIPAA-certified shredding compliance ... Many cords, research data, sales company that must use forecasts, etc. Physical safecross-cut shredders to entechnologies secure and guards can include proxsure complete document control electronic imity/smart-card access to destruction.” information and processes, buildings, computer work“Paper presents a number but those solutions are stations and network-conof challenges in respect to inadequate when it comes to ... paper.” nected devices. “According compliance,” says Gies. “Be— Greg Gies to HIPAA regulations, physsides being costly to process eCopy Inc. ical safeguards also mean and store, it is difficult to having patient charts doumanage and audit. Many ble-locked,” says Claudia Moran, registered nurse and clinical technologies secure and control electronic information and practice administrator with the Department of Medicine at processes, but those solutions are inadequate when it comes Brown University, Providence, R.I. “We built a locked suite, to dealing with information contained on paper. And backadded a door to the outside and a locking sliding-glass office production scanning systems do not address the comwindow. Even interoffice mail has to be carried in a locked pliance concerns of securing and controlling paper-based bag. And if you jot down a patient’s name and date of birth on information and processes while it is in-process in the front

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office. So, MFPs now play a key role in the workplace, enabling office workers to securely integrate paperbased information into electronic business processes, while enabling companies to enforce compliance throughout the entire document lifecycle.”

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able component on the network — the MFP. “Very few companies today have aggressively integrated MFPs into an overall security policy,” he says. “They have integrated security technologies into everything else — desktop computers, laptops and PDAs. But MFP security, generally speaking, has been an afterthought. That is surprising because there are many features available across all the devices in the marketplace today that provide a degree of assurance that compliance can be achieved.”

Are there specific MFP security technologies that will guarantee compliance? “First, there are no guarantees,” says Lou Stricklin, director of marketing at Muratec America Inc.

“Very few companies today have aggressively integrated MFPs into an overall security policy.

They have integrated security technologies into everything else ... But MFP security ... has been an afterthought.”

— Dennis Amorosano Canon U.S.A. Inc.

Technical Safeguards Technical safeguards, again using HIPAA as an example, include protecting personal health information, transmitted electronically over open networks, from reception by anyone other than the intended recipient. But as Dennis Amorosano, senior director at Canon U.S.A. Inc., points out, when it comes to technical safeguards, some organizations are still overlooking a vulner-

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at Sharp Imaging and Infor“Information security poli“First, there are no mation Company of Amcies and procedures can be guarantees. Information erica. “Everyone is familiar in place, but compliance security policies and with document workflow in involves human behavior, a doctor’s office. Medical which cannot be reliably procedures can be in history, insurance and the controlled or predicted. That place, but compliance HIPAA forms are filled out said, it is best to view cominvolves human behavior, and signed. The receptionist pliance as an organizational which cannot be reliably receives these forms and obligation, not a technical controlled or predicted.” scans or makes a copy of my specification. In other words, — Lou Stricklin insurance card . And , if I regulatory compliance is Muratec America Inc. forgot my referral, my pritechnology-neutral; no spemary physician’s office may cific technology is endorsed.

So, if a vendor claims ‘compliance’ with regulatory mandates, fax the referral. This workflow starts in hardcopy form. The that could be misleading. What they are really saying is: ‘We receptionist has to print the original forms for me to sign, have solutions that can assist with your ongoing efforts to which may be scanned into an electronic medical records (EMR) application. Now we are moving into document mansecure information assets — your digital workflow.’” agement and archival. When a document is archived, it is Workflow Selling indexed for easy retrieval. In this workflow, the security of “We are talking about workflow selling; that is the business each of the MFPs core functions — copy, print, scan and fax we are in — helping organizations manage information,” says — needs to be addressed.”

Vince Jannelli, associate director of applications and partners Art Schwartz, president and CEO of Image Systems Group,

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Of course, hackers, too, Somerset, N.J., says: “The “We have enjoyed 20 can have a devastating imtopic of compliance comes years of success in this pact on an organization. As up briefly. More often, the competitive industry by Ed McLaughlin, president of customer says, ‘Can you tell Sharp Imaging and Informaus about the security feataking a consultative tion Company of America, tures on your device?’ As approach with our d emonstrat ed durin g a document management specustomers, offering not national dealer meeting, a cialists, our team sits down only value, but information, hacker can easily intercept with the customer and asks a including how to secure their workflows.” e-mail. “We hired a hacker to lot of questions, chief ly, — Art Schwartz spoof the IP address of an ‘What is the document workImage Systems Group MFP, so the machine thought flow in your office? Take me it was sending it to the corthrough the document input, storage and distribution cycle. Who has permission to rect IP address,” says McLaughlin. “I jotted a message on a view the documents? What actions can they perform — edit, piece of paper and then scanned it to my e-mail address. print, save? Do you want to restrict documents from individ- The hacker tapped into the communication — a ‘man-inuals or groups?’ Typically, what starts this dialog is discussion the-middle attack’ — and before the e-mail reached my PC, of the scan-to-email and scan-to-folder functions. Though he was displaying the information on his PC, which could be the word ‘consultant’ is overused, it is appropriate. We have altered and redirected. An MFP is a powerful asset that, left enjoyed 20 years of success in this competitive industry by unsecured, can pose one of the greatest threats to an organitaking a consultative approach with our customers, offering zation. So, while we can implement IP and MAC address filnot only value, but information, including how to secure their tering to effectively mitigate the hacker threat, a multi-layer workflows. You will not find our sales team writing a price on approach may be necessary, depending upon the desired security level.” a brochure and dropping it off.”

How far must an organization go in order to be “in comIs Security a Priority? pliance?” Which functions need to be locked down — walk“With layoffs at historic highs, shouldn’t controlling up copy, inbound fax, network scan, print? “When speaking access to MFPs and other devices on the network, be a top to customers, primarily chief security officers, if you are priority?” asks Anne Valaitis, associate director at market going to lock down the device, lock the whole system research firm InfoTrends. Case in point: In 2006, a Coca- down,” says Amorosano. “It is no different for a user to scan Cola administrative assistant conspired to sell trade his or her ID badge to log in to the entire device or log in to secrets to Pepsi (“3 Accused in Theft of Coke Secrets” by scan. I believe that eventually the marketplace is going to K a th l e e n D ay, Wa shi n g t on P ost , Ju ly 6 , 2 0 0 6 ) . T h e come around to that, but it has not yet. The overwhelming company ’s surveillance camera caught the employee majority of security concerns are related to the scanning looking through files and “stuffing documents into bags.” feature of the machine.”

Pepsi contacted Coca-Cola to report the theft; Coca-Cola then notified the FBI. This case caused Coca-Cola to recon- Vulnerabilities and Threats sider security from the top down. It also illustrated that, in “Start by looking at the vulnerabilities,” says Jannelli. most instances, the loss of corporate information and data “When I think of the vulnerabilities, I think about the — trade secrets, intellectual property, customer/client lists, threats. Where are the threats coming from? Vulnerabilipatent applications, R&D data, etc. — is the result of ties might be regulatory non-compliance, stolen informaemployee actions, not hackers. In fact, reports indicate that tion, potential for lawsuits, unauthorized use of devices internal threats pose the greatest risks. Negligent and mali- and lost productivity. Threats are internal or external. cious employees are the largest cause of data breaches, Internally, I have walkup access threats. External threats according to a Compuware study (“Employees, Not Hack- are related, primarily, to the network. That is where the ers, Cause Most Corporate Data Loss” by Joel Hruska, ars company’s risk assessments and vulnerabilities analysis technica, Oct. 12, 2008). come into play.”

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Closing the Loop each with its own proprietary “In recent years, “In recent years, manufacfunctionality. IT administramanufacturers and turers and solution providtion is streamlined when solution providers ... have scan activity occurs at eCopy ers, like Canon, eCopy, HP, ShareScan. Moreover, eCopy’s Lexmark, Muratec, Ricoh, created effective go-tosecurity features can be deSharp and others, have cremarket strategies ... As a ployed across all scanning ated effective go-to-market result, they have earned a devices within the enterprise strategies that say to their reputation in security— dynamic active directory customers, ‘Hey, we can reconscious verticals. ” and application authenticaplace your first- and second— Don Dixon tion, document encryption, generation MFPs and outGartner Inc. job logging and secure deledated single-function printion of temporary image files. ters, copiers and fax machines with systems that will help you with compliance, and Regardless of which device a user walks up to, the touch here’s how,’” explains Don Dixon, research director at market screen, with an easy to navigate graphical user interface (GUI), research firm Gartner Inc. “As a result, they have earned a rep- is the same. That consistent user experience is a key benefit, as utation in security-conscious verticals. When MFPs are being is our ability to customize that experience to a customer’s spedropped into the value chain, organizations can close the cific application needs, whether to improve business processes or enhance security.” loop on compliance.”

While space does not permit coverage of the many MFP security solutions available to close that loop, we can examine highlights among the front runners in the effort to secure information assets.

Canon U.S.A. Inc. — “In the past, Canon customers who had experienced theft of intellectual property had no way to track how it happened,” says Amorosano. “So, we launched imageWARE Secure Audit Manager, software that collects important job attributes, including a physical copy of all processed jobs, and acts as an effective deterrent to information leaks. When documents are processed by Canon-branded MEAP-enabled imageRUNNER devices, the software tracks everything that that user does, ultimately capturing and archiving each image in a backend Oracle database. The Keyword Notification feature automatically notifies the administrator via e-mail whenever a pre-set keyword is detected in a job. This software provides companies with an effective and efficient tool to monitor the electronic transmissions of hardcopy documents, which is especially helpful to those organizations that must comply with industry regulatory mandates.” eCopy Inc.— “eCopy digital imaging solutions utilize infrastructure that is already in place,” says Gies. “Our eCopy ShareScan software operates across different MFP and scanner platforms, so scan operations can be performed on the device of choice ( for example, a Canon, Konica Minolta, Ricoh or Xerox device), using one intuitive interface. An open architecture sets eCopy apart. This is important within mixed fleets, w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 9 | 19

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Muratec America Inc. Sharp Imaging and “In terms of regulatory — “ We ad dress our cusInformation Company of compliance, log files are tomers’ regulatory compliAmerica — “In terms of regcritical. So, we can ance concerns on many ulatory compliance, log files levels,” says Stricklin. “Our are critical,” says Jannelli. “So, monitor activity for OfficeBridge solution, for we can monitor activity for auditing purposes, either example, supports Inbound auditing purposes, either on on the device itself, where Fax Routing, enabling users the device itself, where the the first page of each scan to receive faxes directly to efirst page of each scan is is retained, or via third-party software ... ” mail. With the increased emretained, or via third-party — Vince Jannelli, Sharp Imaging phasis on compliance, the software, where every page is and Information Company of America vertical markets we serve do stored on a back-end server. not want incoming faxes to And with scan-to-email, we print at the device for all to see; they want to route messages can enforce authentication rules that only allow the employee directly to an e-mail inbox. We also support Inbound Fax to scan to his or her e-mail inbox or desktop, no others. SecuArchival to a network folder, creating a permanent audit rity is enhanced because documents cannot be sent outside trail. The administrator has the ability to retrieve a given the organization. This type of authentication is associated document, perhaps in the event of a security breach or liti- with an Account Control List (ACL), where permissions are gation. Outbound Fax Archival also captures an image of based on authentication settings established by the adminiseach document sent outside the organization. Other trator. Securing network printing is also possible, using PIN embedded Muratec security technologies include user Print, where the user must enter a code at the device to release authentication, which validates network user names and the job; Pull Print uses third-party software to send the file to a passwords (through Microsoft Active Directory), password- server where any authorized individual (on the LAN or WAN) protected PDF, PIN masking, secure fax reception and can print the job; My Folder Print uses Sharp’s OSA platform to secure print. And we will continue to expand our security enable users to browse to and print documents stored in their offerings to add even more value to the Muratec brand.” network folders. So, Sharp takes a comprehensive approach to Ricoh Americas Corp. — “Information security is of security by protecting every step in the document lifecycle, paramount importance to IT; they will only allow scanning in a from the initial scan to final output and distribution.” secure environment,” says Ron Albeck, manager of capture and distribution at Ricoh. “At the device level, the user must be Conclusion authenticated on the network. Our GlobalScan family of prodCompliance is a journey, not a destination. “When it ucts addresses that security requirement by using the comes to compliance, organizations are never really there,” employee’s existing network log-in credentials for authentica- says Dan Waldinger, director of market development at tion at the MFP control panel. Once validated, the user can Ricoh. This reality presents an opportunity for office techscan-to-email, folder, fax and/or DMS. Card Authentication nology dealerships to drive new revenue and gain market (optional) supports single sign-on and the ability to control share in a very competitive industry. access to restricted features. Using HTTPS, e-mail communicaHow? As solution specialists, communicate to MFP tion from the GlobalScan Server-enabled MFP is secured using buyers how targeted implementation of security technology 128-bit encryption technology. A large utility company recently can support enterprise-wide compliance initiatives and, in required these capabilities in order to improve processes and doing so, protect their most valuable asset — information. address regulatory compliance. Compliance in the utility Denine Phillips of Tech-Write LLC specializes in the industry is governed by both the Public Utilities Act, nationally, development of marketing collaterals, technical manuals and training materials along with oversight by state public utility commissions. By for the office technology industry. leveraging the core security features of our MFPs and GlobShe can be reached at alScan Family products, Ricoh provides assurance that infordenine.phillips@comcast.net. mation assets introduced into their electronic workflow were Visit www.tech-write.biz. fully protected from unauthorized access.”

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Sharp ad Feb 09:Layout 1

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THINK OF IT AS

A NAVIGATION SCREEN

FOR WHERE BUSINESS IS HEADING.

Introducing the Sharp® Frontier Series.

These stylish Multi Function Printers are taking business in a whole new direction. That’s because they offer

Introducing the Sharp Frontier Series.

a big 8.5” color LCD with touch screen navigation. So now you can easily manage document workflow, find stored files and work smarter than ever before. Plus, Sharp OSA® technology enables you to seamlessly access anything on your network right from the LCD panel. The Sharp Frontier Series delivers more functionality, efficiency and productivity in a smaller footprint than anything else in the category. So why are you still using printers, when you can step up to a new Frontier? To learn more, visit sharpusa.com/frontier

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Sharp and Sharp OSA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation. All other trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. © 2009 Sharp Electronics Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Vision 2009 Konica Minolta hosts dealer meeting Jan. 11-14 by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

he recent Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. Vision 2009 Business Conference and Expo served, in part, as an opportunity for n e w e xe cutive s to can di d ly comment on the company’s past challenges and recent strides. The Jan. 1114 meeting was held in Orlando, Fla. During the opening General Session, Rick Taylor Konica Minolta dealers were addressed for the first time by Rick Taylor, senior executive vice president and COO, and Alan Nielsen, executive vice president of dealer sales and administration. Both joined the company in 2008. Taylor previously served as president and CEO of Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. Nielsen previously served as executive vice president of the Indirect DiviAlan Nielsen sion of Ricoh Americas Corp.

Taylor was quick to comment on the long-term challenges resulting from the 2003 merger of the two previously separate companies — Konica Corp. and Minolta Co. Ltd. — and the negative effect on Konica Minolta’s dealer channel. The two merged companies “were clearly separate organizations with different priorities when it came to the dealer division and the direct division,” he said, noting that the typical result of a “fractured” organization is poor communication and conflicting priorities. “The manifestation of the structure I inherited and that you experienced was the ongoing conflict in the field between our direct and dealer channels.”

A number of changes have been made to eliminate channel conf lict, including senior management personnel changes, said Taylor. In addition, he said, Konica Minolta has “put our direct branches on a dealer cost P&L.” Promising that direct branches “will not sell to your Konica Minolta

T

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accounts,” he pledged: “Our direct organization will compete fairly with our dealer partners for new placements maintaining the highest ethical standards in sales approach, marketing materials and respect for our dealer channel partners.”

Taylor also issued a warning to Konica Minolta employees.

“Failure to adhere to those concepts by any direct employees will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination,” he said. “Let me simplify that: They will be fired.”

Nielsen commented on the “significant channel conflict” as he addressed dealers as well. He also cited Konica Minolta’s past practice of “adding distribution while all of you were saying we have too much already” and the company’s past marketing program and support structure “designed to load your warehouse with as much inventory as possible.”

He added: “Your resources should be used to invest in your own businesses, not purchase excess inventory.”

Like Taylor, Nielsen highlighted the changes that have been made in recent months to better serve dealers. He also explained that Konica Minolta is working to optimize its distribution. “The process to achieve this objective,” he said, “is to review every dealer and direct point of distribution in each of the 300 markets in the entire United States, and then to develop a dealer-by-dealer and branch-by-branch strategy that will allow us to achieve our market-share objectives while simultaneously having the fewest possible points of distribution in each marketplace.”

When Konica Minolta started the process, the company had 453 authorized dealers, he said. “Today, there are 429.”

In his remarks, Nielsen also emphasized a key strength of Konica Minolta that helps to distinguish the company among competitors — the loyalty of its dealers. “You have been Konica Minolta dealers, on average, for 23 years,” he said. “To me, that speaks volumes.”

Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

He can be reached at brent@bta.org.

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SELLING SOLUTIONS

Sales Compensation Developing an effective plan to reward salespeople by: Howard Meltzer, SalesTiger

ales compensation is a challenging topic for many people because they think in terms of absolutes. Most of the questions I receive begin with, “ What is the standard (salary, draw, commission percentage) for (hardware, supplies service, etc.)?” Unfortunately, there are very few standards that apply to sales compensation. The variations in sales compensation plans are infinite. Here is the best advice I can give you to help you develop an effective sales compensation plan: Pay less attention to what other companies are paying and more attention to developing a sales compensation plan that takes into account the profitability of your company’s various products and services, and motivates desired sales behaviors. These are the twin cores of any truly effective sales compensation plan.

With that said, there are some basic concepts that will help you develop an effective sales compensation plan. Let us begin by reviewing these concepts.

S

Providing an Income Floor Sales compensation plans that attract and motivate quality salespeople usually include some type of “income floor.” This is a guaranteed minimum amount of compensation that the salesperson earns within a specified time period.

An income floor is usually provided in one of three ways: Salary — This is a fixed amount of money that is paid within a specified time period. Any commissions earned (if applicable) are paid in addition to the salary.

Recoverable draw — This is also a fixed amount of money that is paid within a specified time period. Think of it as commissions paid in advance. If the actual commissions earned during the time period exceed the draw amount, the salesperson is paid the difference at some later date. However, if the actual commissions earned during the time period do not equal or exceed the draw amount, the salesperson owes the company the difference. Any commissions in excess of draw that are earned in future time periods will first be applied to

liquidate any negative balance in the salesperson’s draw account before commission payments are made.

Non-Recoverable draw — This is also a fixed amount of money that is paid within a specified time period.

Like with a recoverable draw, if the actual commissions earned during a time period exceed the draw amount, the salesperson is paid the difference.

However, if the actual commissions earned during the time period do not equal or exceed the draw amount, the salesperson does not owe the company the difference.

Calculating Commissions on Revenue or Gross Margin Another common question is whether sales commissions should be calculated based upon revenue or gross margin. The answer depends upon your company’s specific circumstances.

If your salespeople sell from a fixed price schedule and they do not have much latitude to change prices without management approval, then it makes sense to calculate commissions as a percentage of revenue. You could even consider offering different commission percentages for different price bands, with the commission percentages declining as the profitability of the price bands declines. This would give your salespeople some pricing latitude, yet still motivate them to secure the highest possible price. It would also protect the confidentiality of your company’s profit margins.

If your salespeople have considerable latitude when negotiating price, it is desirable to base commission calculations on gross margin. A common approach is to offer a “sliding scale” that increases and decreases the commission percentage based upon the gross margin produced.

For the sake of discussion, let us say your company’s target gross margin is 30 percent and the target sales commission is 10 percent of gross margin. In a sliding scale model, the commission percentage would be adjusted upward if the gross margin for a transaction is higher than 30 percent and downward if the gross margin is lower than 30 percent. You could also have a fixed percentage of the gross profit or a percentage w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 9 | 23

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based on the attainment of quota.

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answering other questions such as: How many (properly qualified) opportunities Common incentives can a salesperson manage at one time?

Additional Incentives include offering fixed What is the length of the average sales You may also want to consider adding dollar bonuses or cycle? Do you think the average sales cycle additional incentives to your sales compenmultiplier “kickers” to length can be shortened? What is the sation plan. Common incentives include promote team selling, average close ratio? Do you think the close offering fixed dollar bonuses or multiplier cross-selling and sales ratio can be improved? “kickers” to promote team selling, crossof specific products. selling and sales of specific products.

What is the total target income These incentives can motivate desiryou are willing to pay for this amount able behavior in some circumstances, but this motivation of annual production? If you have determined the percomes at the price of adding complexity to the sales compen- centage of profits that you are willing to contribute to sales sation plan. When a sales compensation plan becomes so compensation, and you have determined how much a salescomplex that salespeople cannot rapidly calculate how their person can sell in a year’s time, you have the factors you need performance will impact their compensation, the plan loses to calculate total target income.

How much and what kind of income “floor” are you much of its motivational value. willing to provide to your salespeople? Now that you know Putting It All Together the total target income for your sales position, you can split it Here is an outline of the step-by-step process we follow into fixed and variable compensation. The fixed compensawhen working to develop or revise sales compensation plans. tion will provide a “floor” to income and is usually paid as a What is the average profitability of your company’s salary or draw. The variable compensation will include comsales transactions? If there are significant differences in missions, bonuses and any other incentives you choose to profitability between product or service groups, or between include in your sales compensation plan. new business and repeat business, calculate profitability by What commission percentage(s) will you pay? Once group and/or business type. again you will find the answer by answering other questions such How much of this profit are you willing to contribute to as: Does it make sense to pay a single commission percentage, or sales compensation? Look at all of your company’s costs and do you want to have different commission percentages for new the percentage of profit you want to re-invest in growing your business and upgrade business? Should commissions be calcubusiness. If the best you can do is determine a range of profit that lated based upon revenue or gross margin? Does it make sense to you are willing to contribute to sales compensation (example: 10 have a sliding scale, where the commission percentage increases to 30 percent), that’s okay. You will refine this percentage as you as the gross margin percentage increases, and decreases as the continue working through the remainder of the outline. gross margin percentage decreases?

What is the desired mix of new business versus Do you want to include any bonuses for achieving repeat business? A key consideration is how deeply your specific performance targets? In addition to paying comsalespeople have already penetrated their existing accounts. If missions, you may want to consider paying bonuses to salesthey are doing a great job of selling your company’s entire people who achieve specific performance targets. portfolio of products and services in every assigned account, What other sales behaviors are critical enough to be it makes sense to have them focus on finding more new addressed by the sales compensation plan? You may decide it accounts. You can accomplish this by paying a higher com- would be desirable to tie bonuses or other incentives to specific mission percentage on sales to new accounts. behaviors such as team selling, cross selling, etc. However, it is However, if your salespeople are just scratching the surface important to recognize that the motivational value of your sales in terms of selling your company’s entire portfolio of products compensation plan will decrease as its complexity increases. and services to existing customers, your focus should be on Howard Meltzer is the president of SalesTiger, a increasing account penetration. Why? Because it is easier and sales training and marketing consulting firm faster to sell more to existing customers than it is to sell to that works exclusively in the office products new customers. industry. He can be reached at hmeltzer@salestiger.com or (866) 892-7773.

How much can a salesperson realistically sell in one Visit www.salestiger.com. year? You will zero in on the answer to this question by 24 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 9

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EDUCATION CALENDAR March 10-11 BTA Print Management Workshop

Denver, CO Taught by Tom Callinan and Ed Carroll of Strategy Development, this two-day educational workshop is designed to provide dealerships with the tools they need to establish a print management strategy that will allow them to significantly increase the quantity of captured prints, lock in customers, distinguish themselves from competitors and, ultimately, sell more hardware.

18-19 ITEX ‘09

Las Vegas, NV BTA members receive a discounted $79 registration to ITEX ‘09. Use the BTA members-only promo code BTA9B when registering. BTA will also be hosting a reception in a suite at the Las Vegas Hilton on the evening of March 18. Watch www.bta.org for more information.

April 2-3

BTA ProSolutions Chicago, IL Software vendors teach you about their technology. However, your clients don’t care about technology — they want their business problems solved. You need to understand your client’s business problems before you can provide solutions. Darrell Amy of Dealer Marketing Systems will teach attendees how to: get the attention of top-level decision makers, analyze business processes, secure buy-in with proof-of-concept demonstrations, overcome common objections and much more.

7-8

BTA Sales Management Workshop Atlanta, GA Taught by Ed Carroll and David Ramos of Strategy Development, this intense, two-full-day workshop will provide dealership principals and sales managers at all levels a framework and tools so they can develop their sales employees and drive new business and more share of wallet in current accounts. This interactive workshop will help attendees form a business plan that they can implement upon returning to their dealerships.

14-15 BTA Professional Services Workshop

Dallas, TX With the focus on software solutions to drive growth and differentiate their dealerships from the competition, the formation of a professional services group is an ideal strategy for dealers.

Taught by Mitch Morgan of CEO Focus, the BTA Professional Services Workshop focuses on the critical success factors necessary to build a successful professional services group. Each participant will leave the workshop with a clear professional services road map for success with goals, targets and milestones based on the unique characteristics of his or her dealership.

For additional information or to register for courses or events, visit www.bta.org or call (800) 843-5059.

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BTA HIGHLIGHTS The following new members joined BTA during the month of December:

Dealer Members Advanced Office Solutions, Swansboro, NC Image 2000 Inc., Van Nuys, CA J2 Office Products, Kalispell, MT MBS Inc., Des Moines, IA Titus Imaging Inc., Ontario, CA For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org and click on “BTA Hotline Online� on the home page before April 1.

BTA Professional Services Workshop Members receive a discount on tuition!

With the focus on software solutions to drive growth and differentiate their dealerships from the competition, the formation of a professional services group is an ideal strategy for dealers.

Taught by Mitch Morgan of CEO Focus, the BTA Professional Services Workshop focuses on the critical success factors necessary to build a successful professional services group.

Each participant will leave the workshop with a clear professional services road map for success with goals, targets and milestones based on the unique characteristics of his or her dealership. Visit www.bta.org for more information, including workshop dates and locations, and to register. BTA members receive a discount on tuition and may also apply their $150 coupon toward this workshop.

For more information on BTA educational offerings, visit www.bta.org.

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For the benefit of its dealer members, each month, BTA profiles two of its Vendor or Service Associate members in this space.

BTA Vendor Associate member InkCycle is an industry leader in toner and inkjet print cartridge technology. InkCycle provides products to office and computer products resellers, office products superstores, other national chain stores and printer service companies. The company produces and distributes its line of aftermarket toner and inkjet cartridges throughout North America from its headquarters in Lenexa, Kan. Its two Kansas City metro locations employ 500 team members and include inkjet manufacturing and administrative offices, toner remanufacturing and service/ refurbish work areas, warehouses, distribution centers and empty cartridge processing areas. www.inkcycle.com BTA Service Associate member OutSource Management Inc. (OMI) was founded in 1999 to provide value-added services and software solutions focused on information creation, management and distribution. For organizations that are moving from a traditional print services business to a more cost-per-page deliverable, OMI offers its Managed Print4U service. This managed service is designed to provide remote monitoring of print devices for the better management of toner consumption, service, maintenance, billing and print management programs. For more information about this program, call (770) 814-4284. www.outsourcemanagement.com A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

A Difficult Lesson Establish the rules & enforce them consistently by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association

ecently, I advised members of the need to update Labor Department, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state minimum wage notices on company bulletin boards. There were several changes to employment laws last year and it is required that updated notices be posted by every employer. In response to the recommendation, a member told me his story — how he ran afoul of both the law and the requirement to post notices.

The member was facing reduced revenue and, as a result, let two employees go — a salesperson and a technician. The company enjoyed good company relations and was flexible regarding policies. At times it was necessary to work longer hours and all employees did what was required to get the job done. Employees, by mutual agreement, were then permitted to take “comp” time in exchange for the hours worked. Everyone was happy until the involuntary termination of the technician. He was angry and contacted the Department of Labor to complain of the failure of his employer to pay overtime as required by the law. The fact was that the employee had received compensatory time for all hours worked. In fact, for each overtime hour worked, he was granted one and a half hours of “comp” time.

Seven out of 10 complaints to the Department of Labor come from employees of companies. In this instance, the law provides that technicians working more than 40 hours in a week are entitled to time and a half for every hour over 40 worked. Some states require overtime if an employee works more than eight hours in a single day. The overtime rules apply to most administrative employees as well, but would not apply to salespeople, as more than 80 percent of their time is spent outside the office. The fact that all employees agreed to “comp” time was not a defense to the employee’s claim and could not be used to offset the money claimed.

The Department of Labor opened an investigation and went to the business to interview the employees. The department’s first request was a copy of the company’s employee manual.

R

Th e manual was provided and th e policy for overtime was correctly stated, but, unfortunately, not followed. The next step was to view the required employment notices. Unfortunately, the notices posted were not up to date and were incomplete.

During 2008 there were five new or revised notices required: a revised Equal Employment Opportunity notice, an updated Fair Labor Standards Act notice, which included the new minimum wage requirements, a new Military Family Leave notice and two new IRS notices. Many states also had changes, particularly in regard to the minimum wage. The failure to post the new notices was not monumental and could have resulted in a penalty, but it did cast the employer in a poor light.

The interviews with the employees went well, with most acknowledging their agreement for “comp” time. Since time records were not kept, the employees estimated the amount of overtime worked and the figures were accepted by the Department of Labor. The department ordered, based upon the estimates, that the employer pay overtime for the past three years, plus interest and penalties. The financial impact on the dealer may prove fatal to the business in these difficult economic times. Clearly, additional employees will be let go.

The dealer treated his employees like family. He did not watch the clock, did not refuse a request to go to a school conference or the doctor and frequently loaned money when needed. Everyone was happy until part of the family had to be eliminated to save the remainder. The law was violated and the penalties were imposed.

Your business is not a family and cannot be run like one. Flexibility can come back to hurt you. Establish the rules and enforce them consistently within the law. And by the way, do not forget to update your posted notices.

Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com. w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 9 | 27

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Certified Data Let’s demand honesty in our industry by: Mike Marusic, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA)

or the past year, the business section has moved to the front page as questionable ethics and business practices have helped wreak havoc on the economy. The most shocking thing is, these were not just cases of dumb people doing dumb things. These were cases of smart people doing greedy, self-serving things. And during it all, many of us complained of “those people” or “Wall Street” as though it was a nameless impersonal group that did this.

Well, what about us? How do our actions measure up?

With the new year, it is time for the annual ritual of copier/MFP manufacturers making claims of market-share growth. Marketing departments are on standby with press releases, nifty PowerPoint slides and posters, each highlighting their company’s dominance. The assumption for the dealer and end-user is that this data is accurate. The disheartening news is that the manufacturer provides its sales data and is under no requirement to provide “actual” data. This leaves a large opening for misleading information.

This is one of the dirty little secrets of our industry — that the market-share data we all use may not be as accurate as believed.

While analysts do their best to determine accurate numbers, at the time I am writing this, only three companies in the industry provide “certified” sales data: Kyocera Mita, Sharp and Toshiba. All other manufacturers refuse to provide their actual sales data to the analyst community. Analysts have asked each OEM to provide their data as certified by a third party and they have refused to do so. (Editor’s Note: Recently, there has been some indication that Konica Minolta may begin certifying its numbers.) Instead, manufacturers provide data that is uncertified or they give directional input such as “we are flat” or “up 10 percent.” There are stories of OEMs overstating individual model sales by up to 20 percent.

Some might ask, “What is the big deal?” To put it another way: If it was not such a big deal, why not provide accurate information? The answer is simple. It is in the manufacturer’s best interest to appear stronger in the market. But what is the impact on the dealer?

As the economy gets tighter, banks and lending institutions look to this data as part of their decision-making process,

F

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impacting dealers in many ways. A dealership with a “lower-share OEM” (even if accurate) may face lending hurdles if its banks think it is not partnered with a “high-share OEM.” But dealers partnered with a high-share OEM are not without risk. If your bank knows your business is slowing while your OEM is reporting flat or increasing sales, your bank might think that it is your dealership that is faltering.

That will not help your lending position.

Other dealers use the data to determine which lines to carry; everyone wants to go with a market-share winner. Well, what if that so-called winner is really losing? You might make a poor business decision based on purposely misleading data.

The same goes for end-users; they make decisions based on the logic of “going with a winner.” Regardless of whether or not it is a good process, the process falls apart as the system becomes tainted with false data.

I am sure you have all heard this one before: “We need to add distribution in this area because we are not meeting our market-share goals.” Manufacturers constantly use their overall market share to tell dealers that they need to increase their results; that they are falling behind. Of course, it is in the manufacturers’ interest to beef up that number.

So, the next time your manufacturer provides you with a press release or poster touting their market share, ask them why they did not provide certified data. Then ask, “If you are not being completely honest on this, what else am I in the dark about?”

While you may not see this issue come up on the evening news, it is clearly smart people doing what is in their best interest, even if it is not completely honest. This practice is becoming far too common. Why should we settle for an industry that cannot be honest with itself? Business ethics and honesty start at home. Dealers deserve better and should demand better of their suppliers.

Mike Marusic is vice president of marketing at Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA). He can be reached at marusic@sharpsec.com.

Visit www.sharpusa.com.

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Your MPS Strategy Ask the right questions about turnkey programs by: Bill Siderys, WMMW Print Services LLC

s we all know, managed print services (MPS) programs are some of the hottest, most profitable programs to hit the BTA Channel since the inception of copier costper-page (CPP) contracts many years ago. For some dealerships, the revenue stream may grow slowly. But once a good program is in motion, the newly captured printer pages can easily surpass your current copier clicks within three years.

At the same time dealerships are looking for MPS opportunities, many are worried about the ever-increasing presence of OEM direct distribution. But dealerships involved in MPS have a competitive advantage that will last for years to come; the combination of offering software, MFPs and MPS using a flexible leasing package will allow smaller dealerships to grow with a strong, steady revenue stream.

The traditional dealership and OEM relationship is already feeling stress with every new direct branch office that is opened. On top of this, many dealerships are now dedicating assets and time to finding MPS contracts, losing their focus on hardware sales. A dealership’s new best friend may be the company that can help them enter the MPS marketplace by creating a program with a low initial cost.

Many suppliers or parts vendors that traditionally worked with local or regional supplies resellers have developed programs and invested in tools to help the dealer community create winning MPS programs. There are a wide variety of tools that can automate the process and save time, while providing a great turnkey solution.

The potential increase in revenue has enticed many dealers to jump on board and sign up for these programs. It may be as easy as calling your current vendor to discuss the details. In some cases, you can have your MPS program up and running in a matter of weeks, not months.

If you choose a turnkey program for providing MPS to your customers, there are a few things you should consider: Does the vendor’s contract have an exit strategy? — Once you decide to move to the next stage or a different provider, how does the current vendor help? How much notice is due? Is there a per-account termination fee or a one-time fee based on pages?

What happens to the months or years of historical data about your customer and their printing habits?

A

What are the terms for paying on the toner that is shipped to the customer? — Is the auto-ship toner program set up by the vendor or is it based on the dealer’s understanding of the customer? This may not seem like an important item, but remember that transferring the cost of toner from the customer’s books to your dealership may not be the best solution. Also, $100 toner cartridges can add up quickly when you gain MPS market share. The traditional response time for MFPs may not apply when servicing printers. This difference in urgency may allow you to ship the toner when the printer is out of toner, thus reducing your time to recover your costs.

How much does it cost to track a customer’s fleet? — It should be a goal to have all the printing or copying devices report back to one centralized DCA system. The normal fee for machines not covered by the compatible supplies or parts vendor may cost upwards of fifty cents to a dollar per machine. Again, once the program matures, you could see monthly fees upwards of $5,000 to $10,000 per month. Do not forget that your customer may want reports on machines you do not service as part of the MPS package. It is a good practice to offer this as well.

The contractual agreement with your turnkey provider may satisfactorily cover many of the potential problems; however, the details can cost a lot and deserve careful examination. w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 9 | 29

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team to help you in your program developIf y ou d e ci d e to lo o k b e y ond th e ment and implementation. turnkey programs, there are many compaI like the option Another important part of any MPS nies that can help to create a long-term of shopping for the program is tracking the customer’s prints quality program. In my opinion, based on raw materials and and incorporating that data into your my life in the Rust Belt, we should treat the using programs that sal e s and ERP sy st em . I know a fe w MPS program like a manufacturing line at I can make work dealers who have had great luck with HP a plant. I like the option of shopping for with my own ERP Webjet Admin or other programs (FM the raw materials and using programs that system and staff.

Audit, Print Audit or Print Fleet). From I can make work with my own ERP system personal experience, I have found these and staff.

One of the steps in creating your own program is finding a programs very robust and at an affordable investment level. In way to develop a cost per page for the different HP models the case of HP Webjet Admin, it may be more difficult to and pushing that information to the sales team. If you look at manage, but I like the fact that you can get a variety of reports the HP printer lineup, many models are easy to segment. The without the ongoing fee per machine that you see with many use of a base monthly fee for local printers and the customer’s self- or Web-hosted tools. This cost can add up quickly when excess onsite supplies will cover many unexpected expenses your program grows and it deserves a thorough analysis that may arise in the first few months of your new program. A before investing.

I only covered a few of the areas involved in creating a new simple Excel spreadsheet list of machines, detailing toner and maintenance kit ratings, can make CPP pricing development MPS program. If your internal expertise does not allow you to an easy task. The majority of the models do not require very create your own program, there are many good consultants in much in the way of service and adding a fee for service and the market. But in today’s market, it makes sense to start with a detailed analysis of your future plan. Make sure to also get overhead is not difficult to create on a per-page basis.

Do not worry if you do not have a resident spreadsheet all of the facts about a new program before moving forward.

Bill Siderys is the founder of WMMW Print Services LLC. expert. A very powerful and easy-to-use program, with much of He has more than 20 years of experience in the printer data already included, is offered by Compass Sales MFP solution sales and MPS program design.

Solutions (www.compasscontact.net). Once you have your supplier’s data incorporated into the program, your sales team will He consults with dealers to design, develop and implement MPS programs. He can be reached be able to quickly respond to a potential customer with consisat bill@managedprintsvc.com. tent, professional-looking proposals. Not only do you get a great Visit www.managedprintsvc.com. software package, but you also get an experienced, responsive

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