November 2020 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 27 • No. 5

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

Inkjet Printing Is it time to take a closer look?

DEALERSHIP SPOTLIGHT Town Business Systems Seizing new opportunities during COVID-19

26

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

by Elizabeth Marvel Office Technology Magazine

If the story of inkjet printing within the office technology industry was unfolding in a novel, it could be said that we are still somewhere in the early chapters. Yes, inkjet is certainly not a new technology, but will it one day be commonplace in the SMB space?

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Facing the Future Together BTA Southeast hosts Oct. 14 virtual event

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

George Rezek, founder of BTA member Town Business Systems (TBS), located in Norwood, Massachusetts, opened the company in 1973 as an Olivetti typewriter and adding machine dealership. As the years passed, TBS began to focus on word processors and HP laser printers.

DEALERS HELPING DEALERS Desktop Access Installations What do dealers include?

What do they charge?

28

Compiled by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

On Oct. 14, BTA member and nonmember dealers had the opportunity to attend “Facing the Future Together: Navigating 2021 & Beyond,” a virtual event hosted by BTA Southeast. The event provided the opportunity for attendees to hear from industry leaders.

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Q&A: Konica Minolta Blackmer emphasizes success of virtual training Compiled by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

When you do a copier/MFP install, do you only include a certain amount of desktop access installs and, if so, how many? This is another of the questions submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers resource.

P R I N C I PA L I S S U E S Coping With COVID-19 It has been business as usual in unusual times

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In what ways is Konica Minolta providing additional support and guidance to its dealers during these challenging times?

What advice does it have for dealers? Laura Blackmer of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. answers these and other questions.

by Chip Miceli Pulse Technology

As 2020 came in, we had new product lines on the horizon, the potential need to take on additional staff members and encouraging first-quarter financials. All this and more was in the pipeline at the beginning of the year until the arrival of COVID-19.

COURTS & CAPITOLS 25

Succession Plan or Sale?

It is never too late to consider the future

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused dealers to closely examine their businesses and future plans. Many dealers who call the BTA Legal Hotline are seeking counsel regarding the sale of their businesses and succession planning.

D E PA R T M E N T S Business Technology Association

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• BTA Highlights

6

Executive Director’s Page

8

BTA President’s Message

30

Advertiser Index

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

Results Provide View of COVID’s Impact

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s part of our Dealers Helping Dealers resource, Office Technology regularly reaches out to BTA members with questions submitted by dealer members seeking input/responses from their fellow dealers.

Following are two such questions and some of the responses received. All responses were received between Oct. 12 and Oct. 23.

(1) What percentage of your business revenue and profitability have you lost due to the pandemic?

The question, as submitted, combined “revenue and profitability.” Of course, it is possible to have less revenue and still be profitable. Nonetheless, 63 dealers responded to the question. Following is a breakdown of the responses, along with a sampling of comments shared by respondents. Given the nature of the question, I removed dealer names. n Less than 10%: 16 dealers or 25.40% n 11 to 20%: 21 dealers or 33.33% n 21 to 30%: 15 dealers or 23.81% n 31 to 40%: Seven dealers or 11.11% n More than 40%: Four dealers or 6.35% Comments: n “Revenue through September is down 11%. Profit is down more than 40%.” n “Revenue is down, but profits are not at this time.” n “We lost revenue, but not profitability.

Profitability has not changed.” n “Our biggest impact has been with the multiple schools that we service. With them closing early and now teaching virtually, the prints have dwindled considerably.” n “We purchased a small dealership in April and, with its added revenue, IT sales and services are up 30% this year; hardware/ copier/printer sales are up year to date.

Maintenance is down about 25% and that has hurt us. The PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] was our lifesaver for the overall year. We would be in the red without it by about 2.5%.”

(2) What percentage of your employees are presently furloughed due to the loss of revenues or profitability from the pandemic?

Following is a look at how 65 dealers responded to the question, along with some of the comments shared. n None: 42 dealers or 64.62% n Less than 10%: 12 dealers or 18.46% n 11 to 20%: Eight dealers or 12.31% n 21 to 30%: One dealer or 1.54% n More than 30%: Two dealers or 3.08% Comments: n “The PPP helped us keep all but two employees (one part-time shipping and one warehouse) on the payroll.” n “We originally furloughed about 25%, but have brought back all but three employees (42 total employees).” n “We were able to maintain our staff as a result of the PPP loan that the feds made available. Our technicians and sales reps used a lot of this downtime for training and growing their knowledge bases for the future. Some have left to work at competitors.” n “We chose from day one to not furlough, lay off or reduce hours or compensation for any of our employees. We remained 100% as if there was no pandemic. Even though this was a difficult decision while many of our competitors made cuts to their workforces, compensation or hours, we feel our decision is part of the reason we have weathered this pandemic as well as we have. Plus, our employees are our brand.

Without them, we are nothing!”

For the responses to an additional Dealers Helping Dealers question, see page 28. n — 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 Bob Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Chip Miceli, Pulse Technology www.pulsetechnology.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: (312) 648-2300 Valerie Briseno Marketing Director valerie@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org Photo Credits: Bigstockphoto. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2020 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.

FLASHBACK

The association’s magazine cover 55 years ago this month — the NOMDA Spokesman, November 1965

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

BTA Virtual Event Polls Show Changes

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n Oct. 14, BTA Southeast hosted the association’s first-ever virtual event through the Zoom platform. The event featured a 45-minute dealer panel, “Facing the Future Together: Navigating 2021 & Beyond,” moderated by BTA General Counsel Bob Goldberg. The panelists were Laura Blackmer of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc., Jim Coriddi of Ricoh USA Inc. and Mike Marusic of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America.

The meeting also included three short BTA Talks on Hot Topics: “MNS Security,” presented by Brian Suerth of Technology Assurance Group; “Economic Update,” presented

by John Beriau of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., and “COVID Fallout,” presented by Goldberg.

During the event, attendees were asked to answer two poll questions regarding the state of their businesses during the pandemic. I think the responses give us a good idea of how the dealer channel is doing during these unprecedented times.

The first question was: “Dealers: In the past month, which of the following were TRUE for your dealership as compared to the previous month?” This question was answered by 130 attendees who were given six options to choose from. Multiple options could be selected: n “We learned that at least one of our customers is going out of business”: 91 respondents, or 70%, chose this option. n “We added net-new business to our base”: 90 respondents, or 69.23%, chose this option. n “The number of in-person customer meetings for our sales reps has increased”: 81 respondents, or 62.31%, chose this option.

n “The number of completed service calls was greater”: 78 respondents, or 60%, chose this option. n “We hired new employees”: 59 respondents, or 45.38%, chose this option. n “Click volumes have increased within our MIF”: 42 respondents, or 32.31%, chose this option.

The answers to this question reveal some interesting takeaways. A good portion of dealers reported that at least one of their customers has gone out of business, which has been an unfortunate outcome of the pandemic. Although click volumes aren’t at pre-pandemic levels, dealers have seen an increase in in-person meetings, completed service calls and net-new business in the past month. So, it is not all doom and gloom in the COVID-19 economy, despite clear struggles.

The second poll question asked about meetings and appointments: “Dealers: Which of the following is true for your dealership, on average, in the past month?”

Ninety-six attendees answered this question with one of three responses: n “Sales reps have less than five scheduled appointments/meetings per week”: 47 respondents, or 48.96%, chose this option. n “Sales reps have six to 10 scheduled appointments/meetings per week”: 46 respondents, or 47.92%, chose this option. n “Sales reps have 11 or more scheduled appointments/meetings per week”: three respondents, or 3.13%, chose this option.

It is clear the pandemic has required dealerships to change — and many are making the most of this tough situation. In this month’s Dealership Spotlight on page 26, learn how BTA member Town Business Systems created a new division to address customer needs. And, on page 29, Chip Miceli of BTA member Pulse Technology writes about how his company is coping with COVID-19. n — Tim Renegar

2020-2021 Board of Directors President Tim Renegar Kelly Office Solutions Winston-Salem, North Carolina trenegar@kellyofficesolutions.com President-Elect David Polimeni RITE Technology Sarasota, Florida dpolimeni@ritefl.com Vice President Don Risser DCS Technologies Corp.

Franklin, Ohio don.risser@dcs-tech.com Immediate Past President Bob Evans Function4 Sugar Land, Texas bobevans@function-4.com BTA East Aaron Rubin Docutrend Imaging Solutions New York City, New York arubin@docutrend.com Mike Ardry Automated Business Solutions Southington, Connecticut mardry@absne.com BTA Mid-America Mike Nerland Elite Business Systems Sioux Falls, South Dakota miken@elitebusinesssystems.com Matt Jackson Copynet Digital Imaging Solutions Inc. Plano, Texas matt@copierfax.com BTA Southeast Adam Gregory Advanced Business Solutions LLC St. Augustine, Florida adam@goabsinc.com Debra Dennis CopyPro Inc. Greenville, North Carolina ddennis@copypro.net BTA West Mike McCurdy Integrated Technologies Inc. Twin Falls, Idaho mikem@itechinc.com Dan Bombard Yuma Office Equipment Yuma, Arizona daniel@yumaofficeequipment.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC Chicago, Illinois robert.goldberg@sfnr.com

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Inkjet Printing Is it time to take a closer look? by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

I

f the story of inkjet printing within the office technology industry was unfolding in a novel, it could be said that we are still somewhere in the early chapters. Yes, inkjet is certainly not a new technology. Consumer-grade inkjet for home use has been commonplace for years. The same is true for inkjet wide format and, on the very high end, $1-million-plus, often rollfed, transactional inkjet printing equipment. But what about general office printers for the dealer channel targeting the SMB space? Will inkjet one day be commonplace there?

There is no doubt that the full-line laser-imaging-device manufacturers have the wherewithal to take on the manufacture of business-grade inkjet imaging devices for the general office, selling through the dealer channel. However, for many reasons, for the most part, that has not happened. Instead, the laser-imaging-device business model continues to dominate the BTA Channel, leaving many dealers essentially undecided about inkjet. Perhaps any thoughts about inkjet among dealers end, in part, with concerns about image quality. After all, dealers are accustomed to selling the sharp, crisp look of toner, which adheres to paper, rather than what they may often view as flatter, newspaper-print-like output with inkjet, which is absorbed into paper.

If inkjet is not being widely pushed into the general office by manufacturers today, might it ultimately be increasingly pulled into the general office by end users? In fact, isn’t that already occurring to some degree, perhaps more recently due, in part, to the monumental shifts in printing driven by the rise of remote workers? Also, might some dealers only be thinking about the image quality of their inexpensive, consumer-grade inkjet printers at home, assuming all inkjet printers have a similar level of quality? With such questions in mind, at the very least, it may be time for more dealers to

take a closer look at the current opportunities with inkjet.

“We provide a superior alternative to what has traditionally been offered in the market in terms of laser printing technology,” says Joe Contreras, commercial marketing executive at Epson America Inc. “If you look at our portfolio, I think that is where we are really strong. It spans from desktop A4 all the way up to A3 positioned for both the office and light production.”

How is inkjet superior? “What our dealers are seeing is that they can considerably improve their service profitability, given the low maintenance and low intervention required on our products, and that’s because of our PrecisionCore [Micro TFP Print Chip] heatfree technology,” Contreras says. “For our newest introductory flagship products, the WorkForce Enterprise series of color MFPs, when compared to the competitive set of laser products, our mean copies between service visits is roughly three-and-a-half times greater. So, we’re three-and-a-half times more productive than the competitive landscape, which translates, obviously, into better service and a better experience for end users. They are not having to have technicians come into their offices as frequently. From both the dealer and end-user standpoints, it’s really a win-win across the board.”

Contreras is not alone in emphasizing the service profitability that inkjet provides the dealer channel. In fact, looking upstream from the general office, but far lower in cost than the $1-million-plus inkjet equipment, there are production print inkjet opportunities available to dealers offering noteworthy service profitability. In April of this year, for example, KYOCERA Document Solutions America Inc. launched the TASKalfa PRO 15000c inkjet production printer, offering 146 pageper-minute (ppm) printing for letter-sized documents in both color and monochrome. The product — the first inkjet engine

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manufactured by Kyocera and production printers (and “We’re seeing a shift of — has an MSRP of around digital duplicators), echoes $281,000, fully configured. the comments shared by the product needs during the “With inkjet, you have fewer others, while also emphasizpandemic; so, kind of a moving parts,” says Douglas ing another key benefit of blend of A3, A4, in office, Cole, director of production the heat-free inkjet devices in home. It’s really causing print at Kyocera, noting that offered by RISO, which top dealers to rethink. We’ve the 15000c will be in use for out at an MSRP of $250,000 been able to aid our dealers an extended period of time for the company’s high-end, in ... capturing more opportunity.“ before any service is necesfully configured model. “Besary under the dealer’s maincause inkjet uses no heat, you

— Joe Contreras tenance agreement, and that need very little power; It can Epson America Inc. would initially be only for be plugged into any wall,” he replacement of rollers, etc. says. “So, you can crank it up “When you look at the economics of it, the machine can easily to crazy speeds. We print at 160 [simplex] to 320 [duplex] imreach 3 million impressions without necessarily having any- ages per minute with minimal electrical requirements.” one come in to do any major maintenance.”

As noted, even with the key benefits of inkjet shared by In fact, beyond any initial, simple maintenance that be- the manufacturers in mind, there is still that issue of quality. comes necessary for a dealership to provide, “a trained user But, is it really an issue? “Those who have the biggest mental can handle everything on the machine, from replacing the barriers with the quality are the salespeople who have been ink, to replacing the waste ink and the cleaning fluid, to han- selling toner and saying, ‘What do you think of the quality? dling the maintenance items on the product, up through the Isn’t it beautiful?’” D’Urbano says. “For the end user, in terms whole first year of the product to 12 million prints; a million a of quality versus savings, where do you think they land? They month for 12 months,” says Fred Morrone, marketing manag- like the fact that they can print in color for a penny or two.” er for production print in the Corporate Marketing Group at Actually, the broad acceptance of inkjet quality lies in the Kyocera. “So, the first scheduled time that a technician is sup- nature of most production inkjet printing, D’Urbano says, posed to be in front of the machine is after 12 million prints.” noting that it is generally high-volume transactional printThe low- to no-heat design of inkjet [the 15000c does heat ing. “In those companies where billions of copies are being internal ceramic tiles as part of its drying process] not only printed on inkjet, nobody seems to mind,” he says. “When contributes to the service profitability, but also provides you open your mailbox and look at your credit card statecost savings, due, in part, to lower power requirements ment or cell phone bill, you are not thinking, ‘Is this inkjet or as compared to laser, Morrone says, commenting on the is this toner?’ You are looking at how much you owe.”

15000c. “What helps make the decision [to acquire a 15000c] Regarding printing in the general office, with Epson easier is we’re entering the market with a production-based products, Contreras notes that for the typical targeted docinkjet device and yet we don’t have any extra HVAC require- uments, inkjet quality is well received. “For our office prodments and it uses standard household outlets,” he says. “La- ucts, they are designed for documents that people print on a ser production devices require 220 volts or 30 amps. With daily basis,” he says. “So, we want to provide consistency in the TASKalfa PRO 15000c, it is: slide it in, level it off, plug it our printers; consistent color and sharp text around office into the household outlet, turn it on and start printing. It’s a documents — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.” very simple acquisition.”

Those dealers only now looking at the current opportuniContreras similarly touts the cost savings and produc- ties in inkjet printing might want to consider how the COVtivity provided by the heat-free design of Epson’s devices. ID-19 pandemic has driven the placement of inkjet devices.

“At the high end, for example, our WorkForce Enterprise “For the dealer, especially now, there is the issue of declining 100-page-per-minute device consumes 85% less energy than page volumes in the office,” Contreras says. “We’re seeing a the competitive landscape,” he says. “Because we offer a shift of product needs during the pandemic; so, kind of a heat-free process, we don’t have that warm-up time; we are blend of A3, A4, in office, in home. It’s really causing dealers literally up to engine speed in seconds. No warm-up time is to rethink. We’ve been able to aid our dealers in casting a essentially going to ensure the highest available productiv- broader net and capturing more opportunity.” ity at any given point in time.”

D’Urbano says the current environment has likewise drivAndre D’Urbano, executive director of sales and marketing en greater interest in RISO’s production print devices. “COat RISO Inc., known for its inkjet (starting at 90 ppm) office VID-19 has shut down the office space,” he says. “Dealers are 12 | w­ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Nov e m b e r 2 0 2 0

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“What we’re hearing from losing mega revenue in terms “Dealers are losing mega dealers is that when they’re of monthly clicks since ofgoing out to service prodfices are closed. They have no revenue in terms of monthly ucts now, there is added choice but to look at an alterclicks since offices are closed. time when a technician has native and that alternative is They have no choice but to check in, get his or her the production area. We are to look at an alternative temperature taken, answer getting more mindshare now and that alternative is the a brief questionnaire, etc.,” than ever before.” production area. We are he says. “So, that adds time One recent success story getting more mindshare now than ever ... ” to the service call and is from a RISO dealer illusalso limiting the number trates the point, D’Urbano

— Andre D’Urbano of calls that any technician says. “In the past, the dealer RISO Inc. can make in a given day. would have been happy sellThat’s where we feel our ing 30 MFPs; why waste his time selling to a print shop?” he says. “Now the dealer has products are game changing, since they reno choice in terms of going to that print shop. Well, son of a quire fewer interventions, boosting, overall, gun, the dealer landed an $800,000 deal with multiple RISO the dealership’s profitability.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the units. It was the biggest deal the dealer has landed all year.”

Business Technology Association, is editor Is it time to take a closer look at inkjet? Perhaps so. of Office Technology magazine. He can be Consider how fewer service calls, inherent to inkjet, meld reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040. into the current impact of the pandemic, Contreras says.

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Facing the Future Together BTA Southeast hosts Oct. 14 virtual event by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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n Oct. 14, BTA member and nonmember dealers had the opportunity to attend “Facing the Future Together: Navigating 2021 & Beyond,” a virtual event hosted by BTA Southeast. The event provided the opportunity for attendees to hear from industry leaders who shared insight and guidance to help dealers better face the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and beyond.

“At the beginning of 2020, the industry was operating as business as usual and appeared to be on track for a busy, great first quarter,” said 2020-21 BTA Southeast President Debra Dennis as she welcomed attendees to the event. “But in March, COVID arrived and BTA General Counsel Bob Goldberg (top left) moderated the “Facing the Funearly the entire industry came to a screechture Together: Navigating 2021 & Beyond” panel discussion through a virtual ing halt. Without a crystal ball, it is difficult Zoom event. The panelists were (clockwise from top right): Marusic, Coriddi to know exactly what the future holds for and Blackmer. the industry. Yet, if there is an industry that knows how to pivot and endure, it is certainly ours.” drawn at random. Each received a $1,000 voucher toward atThe industry’s ability to “pivot and endure” was demon- tendance at the in-person Spring Break event, to be hosted strated throughout the event, starting with the content of by BTA Southeast March 19-20, 2021, at Disney’s Grand Flothe opening panel discussion, moderated by BTA General ridian Resort & Spa in Orlando, Florida. The vouchers were Counsel Bob Goldberg. The panelists were Laura Blackmer, financed by the Oct. 14 event sponsors: Premier sponsors senior vice president of dealer sales at Konica Minolta Busi- Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Sharp, and BTA Talks on Hot ness Solutions U.S.A. Inc.; Jim Coriddi, vice president of the Topics sponsors Epson America Inc., TAG and Xerox Corp.

Ricoh Family Group U.S. Dealer Division at Ricoh USA Inc.; As noted, the event began with a panel discussion with and Mike Marusic, president and CEO of Sharp Imaging and senior management from Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Sharp.

Information Company of America.

Following are excerpts from the discussion, providing a The event also featured three BTA Talks on Hot Topics ses- brief sampling of the questions asked by Goldberg and the sions: “MNS Security,” presented by Brian Suerth, president panelists’ responses. of Technology Assurance Group (TAG); “Economic Update,” presented by John Beriau, senior vice president and wealth Goldberg: What is your vision of the BTA dealmanagement advisor at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & ership in the next normal?

Smith Inc.; and “COVID Fallout,” presented by Goldberg. A Marusic: I think the secret sauce that the dealers have recording of the entire Facing the Future Together event is always had that we never really exploit is the people in the field — the service techs. I mean, there are so many technolaccessible at www.bta.org/SEVirtual20Videos.

During the event, the names of 15 registered dealers were ogies out there and, as things change, you need somebody

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on-site; you need somebody helping. I think that’s the secret sauce that the dealers really need to exploit during this time.

A dealer can go all different ways, but what I always say is “stay within your strengths.” Sometimes we go too far, diversified away from what got us there. I look at our business as “it’s always been about the office.” Really ... we’re in the information business. The information happens to be on paper, but the only reason you need to make a copy is you need to share that information. And why do you need to share it?

You need to collaborate with somebody else ... We’re in a hybrid situation here at Sharp. I don’t know everybody’s situation, but sometimes we’re in the office; sometimes we’re not.

Dealers need to adapt to that and the ability to support a hybrid environment in a flexible workspace with millennials who maybe don’t love paper, but love to collaborate in different ways.

Technologies are coming together now at a much faster pace. I think that’s what really is going to change our industry. At a [BTA] event in Las Vegas, Nevada, about two years ago, I presented a speech about mental models and [how] we get caught up in this industry: “Well, this is what we do.”

You’ve got to break free of that mental model of just framing everything around our clicks ... What we really do is support people in an office with information and collaboration. That’s what the dealers who will excel are doing. I think that’s where the future lies.

Coriddi: I think dealers need to become their customers’ helplines, the “911” to help them solve the problems that are associated with managing the overall information. Dealers have been the trusted print providers and now I think there’s a great opportunity to expand — to manage the customer’s overall information flow. So, when you talk about the next norm and what needs to change to continue to leverage that, I think we have to look at what’s going on with our customers.

Ricoh recently conducted, with Ricoh direct customers, a number of different surveys. One of the things that came back from those surveys: Right now, obviously, campuses are 50% to 90% empty; the challenge that presents is the access to information, to be able to access that information remotely. What has to be done is there has to be a digitization of the documents to be able to access that information.

They’re saying workers are going to return on a staggered approach. What’s going to evolve is the “hybrid employee.”

This means that companies have to be able to enable those remote workers.

Managing information is going to be crucial for them staying in business ... These are all opportunities for our dealers with things like managed IT services and cloud workflow; to be able to connect the office from anywhere — things of that nature. So, at the end of the day, our dealers

Economic Update “E

conomic Update,” a BTA Talks on Hot Topics session during the virtual event, covered the current state of the economy and expectations for the near future. The session’s presenter, John Beriau, senior vice president and wealth management advisor at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., also gave dealers advice on smart business moves to make during this “new abnormal.”

“I think it’s important to understand how we got here and maybe talk just a little bit about the numbers,” Beriau said, kicking off his presentation. “So, the first few months of the year we were steaming along. There was the possibility of a little earnings recession, but, generally speaking, the economy was doing well. The stock market was doing well. We had good demand and the most important thing is that the U.S. consumer was strong, as it represents 70% of the U.S. market.“ But when COVID-19 hit, “the universal decision was just to lock down the economy globally and try to understand the virus, slow the spread and try to get the curve to be less steep,” Beriau said.

This caused the U.S. economy to stall, significantly lowering GDP. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your view), government stimulus prevented a true drop.

“GDP for this year would have been down about 12.9% without government stimulus and liquidity,” he explained. “Just to give you some perspective, during the Great Depression, GDP was down 25% and during the 2008 financial crisis it was down 4%. But between stimulus in all its forms, the government pumped in about 11.9% of positive GDP, so GDP is trailing at about a -1% right now.

The most important thing that they did was keep the U.S. consumer alive with extra unemployment benefits and some extra stimulus.

That’s what really kept the economy moving and earnings OK.” Beriau went on to explain the five elements that he believes will be important in driving the economy over the next two to three years: (1) government stimulus; (2) liquidity; (3) a weakening U.S. dollar; (4) the housing market; and (5) innovation and capital expenditure. He explained that the combination of these five factors should lead to a “strong, robust economy for the next three to five years.”

For dealers, the last of these elements, innovation and capital expenditure, hold the most promise. “I think the reality is it’s a great time to consider expanding your business,” Beriau said.

“You know, putting some capital to work because the [interest] rates that you’re paying today are the lowest ever. Whether you’re borrowing on a business or borrowing on a real asset, your rates are so low that the hurdle rate is ridiculously low.

There’s a lot of risk coming onboard. There’s going to be a huge amount of M&A activity within pretty much every industry on the other side of this [pandemic].

“I think the big picture here is that it’s a good time to start taking risk to the extent that you can acquire businesses with new products — unconventional additions to your product line,” he continued. “This is a great time to do this because we’re going to have a strong economy and we’re going to have very low rates for a while. We’re bullish on both the economy and small business in general coming out of this.”

Beriau wrapped up his presentation on a positive note. “We have a good environment to do business,” he said. “It’s going to get better over the next six months and there should be a good expansion for at least three to five years after that.” n — Elizabeth Marvel www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2020 | 19

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COVID Fallout B

TA General Counsel Bob Goldberg presented a BTA Talks on Hot Topics session during the virtual event. “COVID Fallout” focused on the current laws surrounding the pandemic that are relevant to BTA dealerships. He also spoke about how dealers could request forgiveness of the loans they had taken out through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) announced earlier this year.

Goldberg spent a few minutes covering new regulations dealers should be aware of to ensure they are in compliance with all governmental entities that have COVID regulations. He noted that COVID has been determined to be a workplace hazard by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which means businesses need to take certain precautions.

“You should have personal protective equipment [PPE] available,” Goldberg said. “You can’t force people in most jurisdictions to wear masks, but you should have them available and highly recommend that they wear them. You should have sanitizers available. You should space your employees so they’re at least six feet apart. And if they’re not six feet apart, then you might look at plastic partitions or other things to help you.”

Other OSHA requirements concern employees in the field.

“When you send one of your technicians, salespeople or marketers out to a customer in your area, again, PPE should be available,” Goldberg said. “Your employees should make sure that the environment they’re going into has been sanitized prior to their arrival, and that there’s not a bunch of people around telling them what’s wrong with the machine, but one point person.

I have also found many dealers have been successful in doing before- and after-office-hours repairs.”

Goldberg also covered overtime compensation requirements for remote workers through the Department of Labor, as well as Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) laws regarding furloughed employees.

The rest of the session looked at seeking forgiveness for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and the PPP Flexibility Act of 2020, which made some changes to the program. “We went from eight weeks for a forgiveness period up to 24 weeks,” Goldberg said. “Working with dealers, I have found that within that 24 weeks you can basically meet the forgiveness amount of your loan through payroll. If that’s the case, that’s probably the easiest and simplest means to progress.

“Don’t forget for a minute that the lender you’re dealing with is the one that is going to look at your application for forgiveness,” he continued. “The lender is certainly on your side if you’re an existing bank customer and if, in fact, they want to get these 1% loans off the books and get that money forgiven and returned by the government so they can put it out at a higher rate.”

He also encouraged dealers to wait to seek forgiveness until they have a “slam dunk” situation. “The purpose of the government’s program was to provide small businesses with the funds essential to maintain those businesses,” Goldberg said. “They weren’t looking to create loans; they weren’t looking to get a lot of these funds back. They were looking to stimulate the economy and support the businesses of the United States of America. So we have seen an expansion making it easier for you to seek to obtain forgiveness and I think there will be no question that there will be another act that comes through that may even provide additional funds for small businesses.” n — Elizabeth Marvel

are in a great position to be able to now start transforming those great relationships with their customers and expand from being “print providers” to helping them manage their overall information flows.

Goldberg: What do you see as the characteristics of the office technology dealership that is best positioned for success in 2021 and beyond?

Blackmer: This is something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the last few months, because I do believe it’s our responsibility to try to provide tools, advice and offerings to help support these new characteristics. So, step one is not a new characteristic, but a strong balance sheet and investing; investing in people, investing in being able to bring ... new technology offerings to the market. I think that’s a really important characteristic that’s been in place forever, but continues to be important.

I think resiliency; the ability to weather difficult times.

Think about it. We’ve been through the recession of 2008.

Now, we’ve been through the pandemic of 2020. It is amazing to me how many dealers acted so quickly and so assuredly that they ended up on their feet, actually even stronger than before. So, where a lot of people originally said, “Oh my goodness, what’s going to happen?” the reality is that the dealer base is still actually a very strong financial base. They [dealers] reacted fast. So, that resiliency is important.

One of the strengths of the channel is the service guys; the people who actually physically go on-site and help customers with problems. They have been the face of our dealers for a long time. I think you’re going to start to see that transformation from a “service guy” and we’re already starting to see it in that they’ve become very technical. They solve a lot of problems using iPads and iPhones, and upgrading things remotely versus actually having to get a screwdriver in place. But I think that transformation — that digital transformation where people go on-site and consult with these customers — is going to continue. They’re not salespeople, necessarily. They’re not service techs, but they could be. I’ll call them “knowledge techs.” They are people who are helping to advise on, “You’re taking half of your organization’s employees and moving them to home offices, and you’ve got beautiful Cisco phones here that are going to be useless.

How can I help you transform your business to be able to be a very agile, very good business to communicate with each other and with customers?” So, that sort of knowledge tech — the person who’s going to bring that digital transformation to customers. n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

He can be reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040.

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Q&A: Konica Minolta Blackmer emphasizes success of virtual training Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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ow are the industry manufacturers assisting dealers in the current environment? What advice do they have for dealers? What changes in the workplace do they expect? What training programs do they have in place to help sales reps and service techs optimize their success? In August, Office Technology magazine launched a series of interviews to ask these and other questions of manufacturer executives who oversee the dealer channel for their respective companies.

The August, September and October issues featured KYOCERA Document Solutions America Inc., Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. and Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, respectively. You can find those interviews in the Office Technology archives on the BTA website at www.bta.org/OfficeTechnology. This month: Laura Blackmer, senior vice president of dealer sales, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. OT: In what ways is Konica Minolta providing additional support and guidance to its authorized dealers during these challenging times?

Blackmer: Early on in March we addressed dealers’ immediate needs with webinars on how to use Zoom, work effectively from home and execute virtual sales tactics. We also held a virtual event with BTA’s Bob Goldberg where he provided the latest updates on the stimulus packages and changes in HR/employment programs. Our marketing division, Konica Minolta Marketing Services (KMMS), hosted a webinar on how best to market during this time, which has transitioned into weekly vertical webinars. We are also launching a new prospecting training program for midmarket dealers. This comprehensive program begins with a webinar and is followed by email and voicemail scripts, flyers and virtual demos from our brand-new Customer Engagement Center, an 18,000-square-foot facility at our

U.S. headquarters in Ramsey, New Jersey, which showcases the latest technologies revolutionizing the production print industry. From the beginning, we have been focused on helping dealers pivot into the virtual selling model, a trend we expect to continue even when we are no longer quarantined.

Throughout this time, we have also offered dealers special pricing on a range of devices, including a special Remote Working bundle and a menu of savings to help dealer customers turn any space into a productive workspace.

OT: If you owned an office technology dealership, what would you be doing currently to optimize your level of business?

Blackmer: We often talk about how the strength of the channel is in its customer base, its long-lasting relationships and on-site service. New business development should always be an important area of focus, but I would also look to my existing customer base for other things to sell, especially those that do not require additional investment. Leveraging partnerships, such as with All Covered, to sell security, network and print optimization, managed voice — whatever the particular need is — and having ongoing business continuity discussions with my current customers is integral. So, while I would always be prospecting, I would be spending a lot of energy on additional offerings to existing customers.

OT: What key changes in the workplace do you expect long term, if not indefinitely, as it relates to the use of imaging devices?

Blackmer: We do believe that this hybrid model of remote and in-office work will dominate the business landscape and continue to prevail, particularly in the education space. Companies and their employees recognize the flexibility it brings, as well as potential cost savings through a

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reduced need for real estate. While the and student feedback has been over“Today, educational contraction in the number of physical whelmingly positive, with the majority devices necessary to conduct business of participants commenting how simisupport continues with will continue, the need for better manlar the training is to actually being in a weekly online learning agement of those devices for the new face-to-face session. centered on new products ways of work will be ongoing. Examples and skills, and growing of this include solutions and features OT: What new Konica Minolsegments of the market through which devices get documents ta product are you most pleased into systems, ECM and workflow tools. with/excited about at this time? such as managed IT ... ” So, while the number of devices might Blackmer: Konica Minolta is exgo down, how they are used will become cited for the introduction of our new increasingly complex and continue to be crucial to running high-speed digital printing press, the AccurioPress C4080, businesses and school systems. a brand new, all-in-one print factory that will help enable growth through intelligent automation, outstanding image OT: What Konica Minolta training programs quality and print application diversity. are in place to assist dealership sales reps and/ The C4080 Series replaces the C3080 Series, our light proor service techs to optimize their current levels duction press that debuted in June 2018. This robust and user-friendly production press is a perfect fit for businesses of success?

Blackmer: After the initial focus on providing skills and looking to expand their production capabilities with adtechniques for virtual selling and working from home, sub- vanced automation and ease of use for various applications.

With the IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimizer, qualsequent webinars focused on selling managed voice and prospecting. Today, educational support continues with ity color and registration can be executed at the touch of weekly online learning centered on new products and skills, a button. Combined with the TU-510 Trimmer Unit, the and growing segments of the market such as managed IT, AccurioPress C4080/C4070 digital press can output fully managed voice and production print. Overall use of our vir- finished, ready-to-be-boxed, high-quality output. The press tual instructor-led training has significantly increased. Our prints at 80/70 pages per minute (ppm) for letter size and team has also done a great deal of ad hoc, dealer-specific the AccurioPress C4080/C4070 digital press offers the flextraining on an ongoing basis. This customized training has ibility of two-sided printing on sheets up to 34 inches long, been mostly virtual, but a few on-site trainings have been professional finishing, excellent image quality and realdone by local teams. time automated quality adjustments. The C4080 Series Our technical education team has transitioned 31 techni- also includes the AccurioPress C4065, a lighter version of cal training courses into virtual instructor-led (vILT) train- the C4080 with the same image quality at a more affordable ing. Course content ranges from our core office product price point. and production print product lines to our print controller courses and solutions product training. Many of these vir- OT: What can you tell us about the status of tual courses incorporate virtual machines (VMs) that allow Konica Minolta’s next national dealer meeting?

Blackmer: In general, we have been transitioning to more students to access software without requiring licenses and remote panel applications to provide students with real, workshop-type meetings rather than big in-person events, hands-on exercises using key functions of our operations and we will continue to plan for and develop smaller, more regional programs. Our next meeting was not going to be panels and controllers.

This year, as of Oct. 1, 2020, our accomplishments — all held until spring of 2021, and we are already in the process of with zero travel costs — using virtual and remote-based investigating and exploring virtual program options in the event that we are not able to convene together at that time. training options include: As I mentioned, we have already found great success in n 189 vILT technical training courses conducted virtual programs. Most recently, our virtual Dealer Advison 1,150 student completions ry Council provided the opportunity to share and exchange n 2,478 Technical Tips webinar completions ideas, as well as ask for and receive great feedback. n n 97,065 web-based product training completions Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology We have also created, or are in the process of creating, 367 Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

YouTube-style technical videos for service representatives in He can be reached at brent@bta.org the field. These videos are used as just-in-time learning and or (816) 303-4040. as post-training performance support. Service management www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2020 | 23

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BTA HIGHLIGHTS BTA would like to welcome the following new member to the association:

Dealer Members Automated Equipment Service Inc., Poughkeepsie, NY Bauernfeind Business Technologies Inc., Marshfield, WI CCP Solutions LLC, Farmingdale, NY GOECO, Goldsboro, NC Innovative Office Solutions, Anaheim, CA Laser Action Plus Inc., Ocala, FL Maunakea Integrated Solutions LLC, Honolulu, HI Mountain West Business Solutions, Evanston, WY National Business Equipment & Supply, Albany, NY Office Equipment Co. Inc., Cullman, AL Remco Sales & Service Inc., Charleston, WV Source One Solutions, Lake Park, FL Total Imaging Solutions Inc., McAllen, TX Vanguard Technology Inc., Sanford, FL Vendor Member BMI Imaging Systems, Sunnyvale, CA Chassi, Phoenix, AZ Offsite Office Equipment Storage, Phoenix, AZ Pulsar360 Corp., Newark, DE

For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

IT University Online IT University Online’s (ITU’s) Lifetime Library consists of IT certification-based course curriculums. BTA members receive a 65% discount on the Lifetime Library.

For more information, visit www.bta.org/ITUniversity.

For information on BTA member benefits, visit www.bta.org/MemberBenefits.

For the benefit of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its vendor members in this space.

For 20 years, CET Group USA, with its United States location in Raynham, Massachusetts, has pursued the development and manufacture of its own brand of compatible spare parts and consumables for the office technology industry around the world. The company’s manufacturing center in Beijing, China, develops compatible and cost-saving products for its customers including toners, drum units, fuser assemblies, fixing films, charge rollers, chips, feed rollers and more. In support of CET’s mission, it guarantees each product goes through a number of strict print and evaluation tests before selling to the market. www.cetgroupco.com/usa Xerox Holdings Corp. is a workplace technology company building and integrating software and hardware for enterprises large and small. As customers seek to manage information across digital and physical platforms, Xerox delivers a seamless, secure and sustainable experience. The company offers its customers copier/MFPs and printers, production print devices, supplies for all machines and more, as well as a variety of solutions and services to support businesses.

Whether inventing the copier, the Ethernet, the laser printer and more, Xerox has long defined the modern work experience. www.xerox.com A full list of BTA vendor members can be found online at www.bta.org.

For more information, visit www.bta.org.

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

Succession Plan or Sale?

It is never too late to consider the future by: Robert C. Goldberg, BTA General Counsel

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he challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused dealers to closely examine their businesses and future plans. Many dealers who call the BTA Legal Hotline are seeking counsel regarding the sale of their businesses and succession planning. Transactions are still taking place and purchasers have not abandoned the channel, but owners often express an overall fear that they may miss their peak purchase prices. In addition, these owners may not realize that the very best prospective purchasers may already be working for them.

Although it is never wise to sell in a panic, careful planning maximizes the value of a business.

A common and costly mistake when it comes to business succession planning is not starting the process early enough.

By waiting too long, an owner runs the risk of not having the right people in place to run the business, as well as having much of the business’s value consumed by estate taxes. With careful planning, the risks that befall many businesses during ownership transfers can be avoided. In addition, the Nov. 3 election could drastically impact the availability of favorable succession-planning tax strategies, some of which are currently scheduled to sunset in 2025.

Sale and succession options should include family members and key employees. If family is an option, identify the family members who will play key roles in your business in the future.

It is crucial to ensure that your company’s management team is ready to support them and that the transfer can be accomplished without insurmountable estate and income tax liabilities. When there is no co-owner or family member to succeed you in your business, selling to members of your existing team can provide stability and an incentivized workforce with an ownership stake.

There is much more involved with transferring your business to family members than a simple will or trust. There are numerous strategies that can save millions in estate and other taxes. Many of these strategies depend on maximizing estate tax exclusions, which are scheduled to be cut in half in 2025, and may be reduced or eliminated earlier as a result of the Nov. 3 election.

It is highly unlikely that the tax environment will get any better than it is today. Business owners should now consider discussing with their advisers strategies such as lifetime gifting or using the numerous trust vehicles that are available.

In the office technology industry, selling to a third party such as a private equity fund, a supplier or a competitor is a

viable option. However, if you decide to go this route, be prepared for a rigorous process. These professional buyers will do deep dives on the business and ask pointed questions about financials and operations. You are best advised to seek a qualified adviser to balance the playing field. Advance preparation, recasting your financial statements, checking inventory, collecting receivables and bringing payables current will benefit you in the process.

Several businesses in our industry have used an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) for transferring ownership because it can create a market for the sale of a privately held company. It is a strategy that enables a business owner to sell his (or her) stock to a separate legal (and tax-exempt) entity and enables employees to acquire a beneficial ownership stake in the business. While the company continues operations, it may make contributions to the ESOP (which is a qualified retirement plan) to provide tax-deferred retirement benefits for its employees. There are also tax incentives for the sale of certain stock to an ESOP that help owners minimize tax consequences. Overall, an ESOP allows for a business’s culture, operations and identity to remain intact while the owner transitions out of the business.

If COVID-19 and the “new normal” have caused you to consider the future, it is never too late. The key is proper planning. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

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DEALERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

Town Business Systems Seizing new opportunities during COVID-19 by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology Magazine

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eorge Rezek, founder of BTA member Town Business Systems (TBS), located in Norwood, Massachusetts, opened the company in 1973 as an Olivetti typewriter and adding machine dealership. As the years passed, TBS moved away from typewriters and adding machines to focus on word processors and HP laser printers.

In 2000, George’s sons Randy and Michael took over the day-to-day operations of the business. Previously working in the software licensing and mortgage industries, respectively, the pair gradually learned the office technology industry and began integrating fax machines and supplies into the company’s offerings. In 2003, they added copier/MFPs to the mix, creating a diverse, well-rounded business.

Today, TBS is a “one-stop shop for business machines, transactional supply sales, maintenance programs, managed print services (MPS) and light IT services,” says Randy Rezek, the company’s general manager. The c ompany s ells Toshiba a nd HP products, solutions and services. Its physical coverage area spans from New Hampshire to Rhode Island, but it does manage some national accounts as well.

TBS’s supply sales business model has proven to be extremely successful. “We sell transactional toner supplies to hospitals, universities and some other large entities, as well as do break/fix service for them,” Rezek says. “We start by doing printer repairs, but if you buy cartridges from us as well, we give you coupons for toner or break/fix service, or they can be used toward your maintenance contract.

“Companies that previously purchased supplies through office superstores have found that we are easy to do business with and responsive,” he continues. “We’ll take their orders online or over the phone, and then a local delivery person will actually bring the supplies to them and ask if they need things installed or take out their empties. It’s this kind of white-glove service that differentiates us from the competition.”

With 14 employees and several subagents selling its services, TBS was doing well when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“The combination of all of our services feeding off of each other contributed to healthy profit margins,” Rezek says. “Because we were so well-diversified, the pandemic hurt but, thankfully, we were still profitable.”

During the swine flu (H1N1) outbreak in 2009, Rezek and a friend in the janitorial business came up with an idea to spotclean offices, but the plan never came to fruition. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit earlier this year, Rezek revived the 26 | www. o f f ic et ec hno lo g ym a g . c om | Nov e m b e r 2 0 2 0

Clockwise from top: Randy Rezek with the Enozo sprayer at Town Business Systems; the Enozo system; and one of the company’s SignJet temperature-scanning kiosks. idea, thinking that it was “the perfect time to hatch Germforce,” a new division of TBS that sells traditional cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE), handheld temperature readers, SignJet temperature-scanning kiosks and Enozo handheld sanitizers.

“When COVID hit, I knew that things were going to hit the fan and the office technology industry was going to suffer,” Rezek says. “When they closed businesses and prints weren’t being made, we had to come up with something else. We needed to

take care of our employees. Literally within Germforce has also created a plan for three weeks, all of our employees banded tosubagents to sell the Enozo system. “The “You’ve got to capitalize gether and designed and launched the new subagents are also a salesforce for it,” Rezek on whatever situation Germforce website (www.germforce.com), says. “So, we have our people in the office you’re in ... So opening secured a source for temperature-scanning who are selling them, but we’re a master Germforce was perfect kiosks and contacted Enozo to become a distributor, so we’ll have an agreement with timing. Everything kind master distributor.” an organization that might be in a vertical Rezek learned about the Enozo while market that can benefit from the product. It of clicked into place creating the plan for his cleaning busimight be a cleaning company or it might be at the right time.” ness during the H1N1 outbreak. When the a COVID response company — and they’re COVID-19 pandemic began, he knew it the ones bringing it to their customers.” would be a perfect offering.

Germforce chose to focus on temperature-scanning kiosks The Enozo is a unique product that uses aqueous ozone to and Enozo systems because they were more technical items. sanitize surfaces. According to the Enozo website, “a tiny trig- “We do have handheld temperature readers, sanitizer, masks ger-activated pump draws tap water across a patented electro- and all of that stuff, but those are more transactional,” Rezek lytic diamond cell to create Enozo aqueous ozone.” In essence, says. “The kiosks and Enozos are the two main products beaqueous ozone is water with an electric charge on it that has the cause they are a bit more technical. They’re higher-ticket items ability to kill viruses and bacteria for seven minutes. After that and I felt like no one was really capitalizing on these sorts of seven minutes, it becomes normal tap water again. things in our industry. These products — especially the Eno“Aqueous ozone is faster acting than most chemicals that zo — are industry disruptors; they are B2B opportunities. And kill germs, bacteria and viruses,” Rezek says. “The beauty of it is the more of these that are out in the market — once they get that Enozo’s cleaning power is generated by using regular tap more recognition — I think they’re really going to explode. water. And, whereas most chemicals take two to three min“I’m happy to set other dealers up to sell Enozos because, for utes of dwell time [the time a product has to sit on a surface] to us, it’s like selling a toner cartridge,” he continues, encouragsanitize and kill viruses, Enozo takes only 30 seconds. In addi- ing his fellow dealers to look into the product. “It’s something tion, it is completely chemical-free and safe to be around food, you can bring to your customer base that you really can’t get pets and children. Being chemical-free is a major advantage.” anywhere else. If any other dealers are interested in learning The business plan behind the Enozo is a leasing program about the product, I’d welcome their questions and help them where Germforce leases six or more of the bottles to schools and come up with a plan to sell them and get them the support businesses for a monthly payment that coincides with a two-year they need.” replacement warranty, much like an MFP lease. “So far we’ve Rezek says TBS is making the most of a bad situation with sold a few hundred bottles,” Rezek says. “We’re targeting school its launch of Germforce. “You’ve got to capitalize on whatever systems, health-care companies and things of that nature.” situation you’re in,” he says. “All of our clients are dealing with While the cost of an Enozo may sound expensive at $499, the same thing and they want to get back to work and stay Rezek says it is actually a very cost-effective product. “The case safe. So opening Germforce was perfect timing. Everything that we try to make for the customer is that it’s kind of a one- kind of clicked into place at the right time. But we’re also using and-done product. You buy it, you charge it like a dustbuster this as an opportunity. or cell phone and the battery lasts pretty much all week,” he “Now that we’ve brought on all of these new customers with continues. “You fill it with regular tap water and it’s rated for Germforce products — now that they have relationships with 5,000 fill-ups, or $.10 per fill-up. So if you look at it from a dol- us — we can build up their confidence and start selling them oflars-and-cents standpoint, if you’re paying $2.50 for a bottle of fice products,” he continues. “So we can become that one-stop traditional sanitizer like 409, the Enozo can be a money saver.” shop for them. If I sold a bunch of Enozo bottles to a school sysRezek also touts the ease of use of the Enozo and explains tem and they said, ‘Man, you guys saved us a fortune,’ I can get why it is attractive to facilities managers. “Facilities people in on their copier/printer needs and grow the relationship that who already know about the technology and what it’s capable way, too. That’s always kind of been our mantra of doing are thrilled with it because they don’t have to worry — entrenching ourselves in our accounts, being about allergic reactions, outbreaks or accidental poisonings, sticky, giving them good customer service and and stocking, buying or mixing chemicals,” Rezek says. “For predictable billing, and not playing games.” n example, teachers are just going to show up to schools and faElizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office cilities managers are not going to expect them to go into closTechnology magazine. She can be reached at ets and start mixing chemicals.” elizabeth@bta.org or (816) 303-4060. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2020 | 27

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DEALERS HELPING DEALERS

Desktop Access Installations What do dealers include? What do they charge?

Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

F

ollowing is another of the questions submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers resource, and several of the answers received.

These answers and many others can be found in the members-only section of the BTA website. Visit www.bta.org/Dealers HelpingDealers. You will need your username and password to access this member resource.

“Since we work with small businesses, we include one hour of networking with the purchase and after that they are told we will bill at $135 per hour. But that hardly ever happens, as our motto is to help the customer get set up. But the option is there to bill that, if needed.”

Cathy Dimon, president Northern Business Systems, Fairbanks, Alaska

When you do a copier/MFP install, do you only include a certain amount of desktop access installs and, if so, how many? What do you charge after that? An hourly rate or so much per additional desktop?

“As many as needed on the initial install. We can add remotely after that. If we need to go back in person, we charge $185 per hour if the issue is network related.”

Luis A. Junco, vice president of sales Barlop Business Systems, Miami, Florida

“We include up to five PCs, servers or workstations, or two total hours of installation and training of users and IT admin.

We charge hourly after that.”

Peter Kerling, vice president of service United Business Systems Inc., Buffalo, New York

“We include five installs per device and charge $150 for each device beyond that.”

Pat Russell, president ImageNet Consulting LLC, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

“A3 installs are all-inclusive, but A4 installs can vary based on the workload required.”

Erik Skadberg, treasurer CPI Business Solutions, Lafayette, Indiana

“We try to connect as many PCs as possible to print. It benefits us in the long run.”

Michael DelBorrello, owner Cyan Sky Copier Technologies, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania

“Right now it is unlimited, but we are looking to cap this at five desktops and charge for any extras. We still do not know what we will charge, but we are discussing it.”

Juan Maldonado, vice president of service UBEO, San Antonio, Texas

“We do not limit or charge extra for desktop access installs for basic equipment installs. If solutions are included, we will develop a scope of work that accounts for any additional installation, setup or programming costs.”

David Smith, vice president of administration Copiers Plus Inc., Fayetteville, North Carolina

“We provide four hours of install time per MFP and two hours of install time per printer. Any unused time can be used for help-desk calls within the first 90 days of install. Any overages are billed hourly.”

Eric Mishkin, CFO WCC Business Solutions, Clearwater, Florida “On copier/MFP installs, we usually include three desktop setups with drivers included. We charge for more than three, usually by the hour.”

Peggy Leppert, general manager Leppert Business Systems Inc., Burlington, Ontario, Canada

“Ten are included and then we charge hourly from there.”

Joseph Green, vice president of service operations Applied Imaging, Grand Rapids, Michigan Do you have a question for your fellow dealers? If so, email it to brent@bta.org with the subject line: “Dealers Helping Dealers.”

BTA will then share your question with the full dealer membership with a request for guidance from your fellow dealers. n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

He can be reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040.

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Coping With COVID-19 It has been business as usual in unusual times by: Chip Miceli, Pulse Technology

A

s 2020 came in, we had new product lines on the horizon, the potential need to take on additional staff members and encouraging first-quarter financials. All this and more was in the Pulse Technology pipeline at the beginning of the year until the arrival of COVID-19.

Like virtually every other business in every other industry, we were faced with multiple challenges and even more questions. Could we sustain our workforce? Would our clients be able to keep up with lease payments? What if our vendors came up against shipping issues? These were just some of the concerns that kept me and members of my executive team up at night as we tried to get our heads around what the pandemic might mean in both the short and long run to our print management, network services and office solutions company. While this was not the first time we have faced challenges (we have a history dating back to 1955), this time was very different.

Initially, and with much reluctance, we furloughed a number of employees. We then applied for funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to maintain as many members of our workforce as possible.

With so many companies transitioning to remote workforces, we turned our focus to IT infrastructure. This has been a growing component of our services in recent years and one that was suddenly more in demand than ever.

Pulse Technology has maintained a line of office supplies and essentials for some time, so it was a natural move to add personal protective equipment (PPE) to our offerings, including wall signs and floor decals with social distancing messages, mobile desk partitions, cleaning products and air purifiers.

As an extra incentive, we now run a dollars-off promotional coupon for supply orders over a certain amount.

In April, we partnered with a Michigan-based distillery to bring much-needed hand sanitizer to the Midwest market and beyond. We are marketing Journeyman Hand Sanitizer to our client base and to the general public.

File this under the “timing is everything” category: In the summer we also introduced OneScreen GoSafe. Launched by tech giant Qualcomm, the system can scan for temperature and mask presence. It also includes facial recognition so it can recognize employees entering a facility even with their masks on.

This timely application of technology can prevent someone from entering a building if he (or she) has an elevated temperature or if he is not wearing a mask. In less than a second, it can measure temperature, perform facial recognition and read an

ID card. Then, based on the results of the scan, the device can notify a human monitor, or automatically grant or deny access when connected to a building’s security system. We have received excellent feedback about this product and expect that it will be at the forefront of our offerings for a long time.

We also began to promote the online ordering of equipment and supplies, recognizing the need to make purchasing as easy as possible. Keeping the customer top of mind has always been a hallmark of our company, but we knew we had to go an even further mile to maintain a client base — and maybe even build it — during these unprecedented times. To that end, we worked with our leasing partners to obtain flexible payment terms for clients in particular need. As such, we were able to defer lease payments for several months for some of our valued customers.

I am pleased to say that, during recent weeks, we have rebuilt our team, asking furloughed employees to return. We have even taken on new hires as we continue to focus on ways to maintain and increase our bottom line.

Social media has played a large role in our company presence this year. We aim to publish one blog post a week, with www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2020 | 29

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to never lose sight of our workforce team. topics ranging from “proper lighting for As mentioned before, our initial furlough a Zoom meeting” to “the importance of We have had a good was a tough decision to make, but at the conducting an information technology response to our social time it was a necessary evil. It was a great assessment.” Other topics we have tackled media content and will day when many of our employees were back include malware attacks, the psychology of continue to brainstorm in action, with a few new ones, too. passwords and home-office needs. There is ideas to further engage, Like everyone else, we have no idea how a win-win result here — a readership that long this seemingly open-ended pandemic is benefiting from our professional guidentertain and enlighten will continue to interrupt our former “busiance and the chance to get our name out to our present client base ... ness as usual.” And, like everyone else, we a wider audience. will persist in looking for more ways to retain We also host regular webinars on topour current clients and attract new ones. n ics important to clients, and are building Chip Miceli is president and CEO followers on Facebook by including tech tips and a “Meet Us of Pulse Technology, headquartered in Monday” post where a member of the Pulse Technology team is Schaumburg, Illinois, with additional featured with a brief biography. We have had a good response locations in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, to our social media content and will continue to brainstorm and Chesterton, Indiana. He can be reached at ideas to further engage, entertain and enlighten our present chip@pulsetechnology.com. client base and prospective customers.

Visit www.pulsetechnology.com.

While trying to transition and refocus our business, we tried

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