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COS Business Products &Interiors, TN Dealer,Celebrates 70th Anniversary Congratulations to Skip Ireland and histeam at COS Business Products & Interi-ors in Chattanooga, which is celebrating

its 70th year of service to the local business community this year.

Founded as Chattanooga Office Supply in 1941 by Skip’s grandfa-ther, Henry H. Ireland Sr., COS is a long-time Knoll dealer and theoldest active Office Furniture USA dealer in the country.

The dealership is still very much in the hands of the Ireland family.Skip and his brother James E. “Jim” Ireland, vice president of op-erations, represent the third generation of the family to lead thebusiness, having purchased it in 1983 from their father, H. HudsonIreland, Jr.

Since that purchase, they have seen annual sales more thanquadruple and the product mix expand dramatically.

In addition to office supplies and furniture, the dealership today alsocarries computer products, laser and inkjet cartridges, safety products, coffee and breakroom items, janitorial products and adspecialties.

“There’s never been a better time to be an independent businessin the office products industry than today,” Skip says. “We’re cer-tainly proud of our past and the legacy our grandfather and fatherhave left us with. However, the best times are ahead of us and weare really excited about the next 70 years and the continuing op-portunity to serve all of our customers in the Tri-State area.”

Indiana Business Publication Honors ‘BestOffice Furniture Suppliers’Congratulations are also in order for three Indiana dealers who re-cently received kudos from the readers of their local business pub-lication for outstanding service and value.

Each year, Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly magazine asks itsreaders—and the publication reports over 32,000 of them for eachissue—to cast their votes for the best business suppliers in the area.

Earning first place in the “Best Place to Purchase Office Furniture”

JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 3

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Technology Investmentis Key to Your Long-Term Prosperity andProfitabilityThis month marks the thirdyear in a row that we’ve madedealer technology a coverstory for our magazine and wedo so with no apologies.

Putting it simply, if a commitment to aggressive use oftechnology and continuous improvement in that areaisn’t front and center in your business planning, you’rebasically gambling with your dealership and its longterm future.

For that reason alone, we hope you’ll find time tospend more than just a few minutes on this month’scover story.

Each of the dealers featured is using technology to runsmarter. They’re increasing the overall bandwidth oftheir business and, perhaps most importantly, givingtheir people the tools they need to get the job doneright.

No two dealers are doing it the same way of course,but hopefully you will find one or two approaches thatmight make sense for your own organization.

Business today may be better than it was, but it’s stillfiercely competitive and margins are under more pressure than ever before.

That’s not going to change any time soon and we allknow it. That’s why making an ongoing investment intechnology is one of the best things you can do foryour dealership to secure its long-term prosperity andprofitability.

The commitment to make that happen has to comefrom the top. And if it’s not there already, now’s thetime to do something about it.

category were HDW Commercial Interiors, an Allsteel dealer inSchererville, IN, and Herman Miller dealer Kramer & Leonard inChesterton.

These two dealers beat out big box competition from runners-upOffice Depot and OfficeMax to win first place. Also a runner up inthe category was McShane's Business Products & Solutions inMunster.

HDW also earned honors as “Best Office Interior Design Firm,”with Kramer & Leonard and McShane's coming in as runners up.

Pacific Office Interiors, Southern CA Dealer,Earns Local IIDA Chapter Honors for ProjectTeam Excellence

In Agoura Hills, CA, Free Taylor and his team at Pacific Office Interiors (POI) were popping the champagne recently, after win-ning a prestigious Calibre Award from the Southern CaliforniaChapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).

POI won the award as members of the project team for a new re-search center at the University of Southern California’s KeckSchool of Medicine.

The $80 million project, two years in the making, was for a five-story, 87,500 sq. ft. facility that houses four state of the artlaboratories and ten research teams.

“The Calibre Awards recognize project team excellence and wewere privileged to be part of a team that included some outstand-ing architects and designers, engineers and construction special-ists,” commented Free. “The project team worked incredibly welltogether and we are very grateful to all the individuals and organ-izations who played a part in its success.”

Like most dealers, Free and his team have found the past fewyears challenging, to say the least, but, he says, business is start-ing to show new signs of life.

“We’ve observed a definite uptick in activity and revenue,though pricing pressures have constrained margins enough to

substantially eliminate any meaningful balance sheet contri-butions,” he reports.

“This environment has been a catalyst for renewed passionand creativity around the ways in which we work,” says Free,citing increased investments in cross training his people anda greater emphasis on accountability as key factors in thedealership’s response.

“Although it may be some time till we return to our pre-recessionsales-per-employee ratio, we see many positive signs for the fu-ture and expect to be larger, stronger and smarter through ourconsistent focus on improvement,” he adds.

Marathon Business Environments, MODealer, Turns to Facebook for Joplin ReliefFundraiserIt’s just a four-hour drive from Columbia, MO to Joplin, and whenFrank Sovitch of Columbia’s Marathon Business Environmentssaw the devastation caused by last month’s killer tornado, he andhis team turned to Facebook to find an innovative way to help.

Less than 24 hours after the tornado hit, the Marathon Facebookpage was up and running with a special fundraiser that promiseda $1 contribution to relief efforts, up to a total of $1,000, for everynew “Like” they received.

Just 48 hours later, Marathon had not only reached its $1,000 ceil-ing, but had also enlisted about a dozen other local companiesto run similar efforts.

“We were amazed at the response” commented Frank. “One localfamily came up with a matching funds offer and we were ‘liked’by people from as far away as Michigan and Arizona.”

MBI, Memphis Dealer, Hosts Fundraiser forLocal Charter SchoolIf you’ve been in the office furniture business for any length oftime, you won’t need an MBA from Harvard to know that educa-tion is one of the industry’s top growth markets.

In Memphis, Joan Messmore and her team at Memphis BusinessInteriors (MBI) found a way last month to make a statement abouttheir commitment to the education market and do some good inthe community at the same time through a special fundraiser onbehalf of a local charter school.

It was held on May 5, but instead of Cinco de Mayo festivities,the event was billed as a Cinco de MBI-O celebration.

MBI hosted more than 100 clients, business partners, civic lead-ers and friends at its showroom and treated them to food, musicfrom a local mariachi band and a lot of fun, including a silent auc-tion to benefit the school.

JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 4

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In addition to the school featured at lastmonth’s event, MBI also sponsors anearby public school. The dealership pur-chases needed materials and supplies andschool uniforms for children who attendthis school and also participates in awardsprograms and end of year celebrations.

“MBI has always felt very strongly aboutgiving back to the community that sup-ports our business and education is a keyarea where we can make a difference,”says Joan. “It also gives our own teammembers the pride that comes from work-ing in an organization that proactivelyseeks out ways to give back.”

MOI, Knoll Dealer, Co-Hosts Seminar on BonusDepreciation, Tax Benefits ofGreen Building Investments When Congress approved legislation al-lowing accelerated depreciation of capitalasset investments and introduced similar

benefits for investments in new, energy ef-ficient equipment, it provided a welcomeshot in the arm for the office furniture in-dustry during tough times.

But for forward-thinking, proactive deal-ers, it also offered an opportunity to bringadded value to their clients and positionthemselves as more than just anotherproduct source.

Case in point: David Noel and his team atMOI. The Knoll dealership is headquar-tered in Baltimore but operates other loca-tions in Washington, DC and Virginia.

Last month, its DC showroom co-hostedwith the Clifton Gunderson consulting firma special breakfast seminar on the tax lawprovisions and their implications for com-mercial property owners.

MOI had initially brought in tax expertsfrom Clifton Gunderson to educate theirown people on the new tax provisions andthe session went so well, reports MOI VPof business development and marketing

Joanna Hoffschneider, that offering it tothe dealership’s clients and prospects wasa logical next step.

The session drew about 30 attendees fromsome of the top commercial real estatebrokers, A&D firms and project managersin the DC market.

“It’s still too early to saythe seminar generatedany new business di-rectly,” says Joanna,“but it certainly rein-forced with our clientsand prospects the need, par-ticularly this year, to be making furnituredecisions earlier in the project cycle. Thebonus depreciation provisions only applyto furniture put in service by December 31and after that, it’s too late!”

The seminar also sent a strong messageto attendees about the value MOI bringsto its clients. “Providing this kind of edu-cation represents a new way for us to offeran extra level of knowledge and expert-

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JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 5

ise,” explains Joanna. “It certainlystrengthens our credibility as workplaceexperts and sets us apart from other deal-ers in our market.”

Response has been so positive, she says,that the dealership will be co-hosted asimilar presentation later this month in Baltimore.

Business Furniture,Indianapolis Dealer,Expanding into Illinois

Indianapolis-based Business Furniture, aSteelcase dealer that has served the Indi-ana market since 1922, announced earlierthis month it is expanding into central andupstate Illinois.

New markets the dealership will cover in-clude Bloomington-Normal, Springfield,Champaign-Urbana and Peoria, IL, as wellas the Quad Cities area.

Bloomington will serve as its Illinois baseof operations, with additional locationsplanned in the Quad Cities later in 2011,and Springfield and Champaign-Urbana in2012, the dealership said.

“We plan to leverage our expertise and in-frastructure to deliver the most compre-hensive offering of contract furniture andservices available in central and upstateIllinois,” said David Bratton, CEO of Busi-ness Furniture. “There are many similari-ties between the Indiana markets that wecurrently serve and our new Illinois mar-kets. We look forward to sharing our storyin these new locations.”

Business Furniture expects to open itsBloomington-Normal facility in Septemberand hire additional employees in supportof all markets between now and August.

New Owner for Colorado'sWorkplace Resource

Denver-based Workplace Resource, oneof Colorado’s largest commercial officefurniture and related services dealerships,has a new owner. The company has beenpurchased from Herman Miller by its pres-ident, Carla Dore.

This transition to independent ownershipwas endorsed and facilitated by the Her-man Miller executive leadership team overthe past seven years. The company willcontinue doing business as Workplace Re-source and will continue to be recognizedas a Herman Miller Certified Dealer.

In addition, it will now qualify as a WomenBusiness Enterprise (WBE). The dealershipsaid that based on gross revenues, it proj-ects to be in the top ten women-ownedbusinesses in the state.

“As a woman-owned business, we can sig-nificantly enhance our value to our clientbase—whether they operate in governmentor the corporate sector,” Carla said.

The move to independent ownership alsowill enable Workplace Resource to en-hance its presence and impact in the com-munities it serves. “We intend to continue,and grow, our commitment to environmen-tal stewardship, giving to the community,inclusiveness and diversity,” Carla said.

U.S. Navy Awards BlanketPurchase Agreement toNational Business Furniture The U.S. Department of the Navy hasawarded a five-year Blanket PurchaseAgreement (BPA) to National BusinessFurniture (NBF), effective June 1, 2011.

“The BPA provides all Navy and MarineCorps activities, domestic and interna-tional, with additional discounting. It's a

big win for both NBF and for the Depart-ment of the Navy,” stated Jake Feeley, di-rector of government sales at NBF.

NBF's BPA award includes all six officefurniture classifications that were solicited.Five of the awarded classifications may beutilized by all domestic and internationalNavy and USMC buyers, while the sixth islimited to the Navy's eastern region.

Office Basics Acquires BF Molz Boothwyn, PA-based Office Basics earlierthis month announced the acquisition ofBF Molz in Moorestown, NJ. The acquisition doubles the size of the staffat the dealership and enables Office Basics to consolidate operational functions, resulting in more resources andbetter costs to customers, the companysaid.

Office Basics said the acquisition makes itthe fifth largest independent office supplydealer in the country and will allow it tooffer contract furniture and value-addedsolutions, all at competitive prices.

The newly acquired dealership’s name haschanged slightly to BF Molz Business In-teriors, a Division of Office Basics.

“We are very excited to be a part of thisgreat company, and believe the efforts ofour combined teams will bring addedvalue and greater opportunity to our cus-tomers and business partners,” wroteDean Molz, president, and Donna Walsh,vice president of BF Molz, in a letter tocustomers.

“We are, of course, delighted to be joiningforces with a company that is as estab-lished and respected as BF Molz,” said Of-fice Basics president John Leighton.

The acquisition of the New Jersey officewill help continue to expand Office Basicsand its geographic reach, which alreadyincludes Lancaster and Bethlehem, PA,the company said.

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JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 6

New Addition to Solomon Coyle Dealer DevelopmentConsulting TeamNationally known management consultant,author and speaker James M. Bleech hasjoined SolomonCoyle, LLC as an execu-tive development consultant.

The SolomonCoyle consulting team, ledby David Solomon, specializes in helping

office furniture dealers achieve significantimprovements in efficiency, performanceand profitability.

A Certified Professional Consultant toManagement, Bleech specializes in issuesof corporate culture and strategic thinking.He has more than 30 years of experiencein private industry as a CEO and extensiveconsulting experience.

As part of SolomonCoyle's consultingteam, Bleech will focus on strategic plan-ning, senior management development,mergers and acquisitions consulting, andsuccession planning.

In addition, he is leading the new Solomon-Coyle Executive Coaching, Mentoring andStrategy Execution Program. This program

JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 8

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The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers As-sociation (BIFMA) released its market statistics for April ear-lier this month and while the year-over-year increases inorders and shipments were down from March gains, thenumbers still depicted an industry moving very much in theright direction. BIFMA said April orders increased 20% year-over-year, while shipments were up 21%.

While the 20% order gain was less than the 25% increaseposted in March, analyst Budd Bugatch of the RaymondJames investment house pointed out that the April prior-yearcomparison was significantly more difficult (a 12% increasecompared with +5% in March 2010).

Similarly, the April shipments 21% gain represented a mod-est deceleration from March’s 25% increase in shipments,but again, the prior year comparison for April shipments wastougher than the March comp.

With the April estimates, the office furniture industry has nowexperienced year-over-year order growth for 14 consecutivemonths (following 19 months of year-over-year order de-clines from August 2008 to February 2010), Bugatch noted.April also marked the 12th consecutive month of year-over-year shipment growth for the industry, he added.

“Given the barrage of recent news about an impending eco-nomic slowdown, the April BIFMA statistics were a welcomedevelopment,” commented Bugatch, who said he had been“braced for a bigger order slowdown due to tougher year-over-year and sequential comparisons” and was also concernedabout the generally weaker than expected macroeconomic datathat has been released recently.

“While we will be ‘watching the skies’ closely in the comingweeks and months, for now at least, we believe the currenteconomic slow patch represents a bump in the road, not theend of the road or a cliff,” Bugatch said.

And while he recognized declining home prices and highgasoline prices continue to pressure consumers, Bugatchsaid he expects business spending to be a bright spot withthe office furniture market likely to benefit from pent up de-mand and continued office space churn as companies re-duce their footprint or try to make more effective use ofexisting space.

However, while arguing the office furniture industry is nowin a multi-year expansion cycle, Bugatch predicted year-over-year growth rates will moderate in the months aheadin the face of more difficult prior year comparisons.

Separately, BIFMA updated its long-term industry forecast,predicting office furniture consumption will increase 15.8%in 2011 and 10.5% in 2012. Previously, BIFMA had calledfor a 16.6% gain in 2011 and a 9.6% gain in 2012.

Due primarily to a decreased estimate for net imports,BIFMA increased its forecast for U.S. manufacturers’ ship-ment growth from +14.0% to +17.5% in 2011. BIFMA nowexpects 2011 orders to increase 14.5% versus +9.1% pre-viously.

For 2012, BIFMA increased its order and shipment forecastto +9.5% and +9.7%, respectively, compared with the priorestimates of +8.3% and +8.4%, Bugatch reported.

BIFMA Releases April Market Numbers,Adjusts Full Year Forecast

JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 9

provides office furniture dealer CEOs with anexperienced high-level resource outside ofthe company to serve as a trusted advisorand leadership coach.

“Jim Bleech is a tremendous new resourcefor our clients and we are excited to wel-come him to the SolomonCoyle team.After serving as a CEO for most of his ca-reer, Jim not only has great empathy forthe issues that dealer senior executives'face on a day-to-day basis, but also theability to make practical recommendationsthat can help them set priorities andachieve their goals,” said David Solomonof SolomonCoyle.

United Stationers AnnouncesGREENGUARD Certification for AleraFurniture Line, Enhancements toVisual Planner Sales ToolWholesaler United Stationers an-nounced last month its entire Alera Fur-niture line has been GREEENGUARD

Certified for Indoor Air Quality.

The certification identifies goods with lowchemical and particle emissions for use in-doors, including furniture, interior furnish-ings, building products, cleaning products,electronic equipment and personal careproducts.

The Alera Furniture portfolio offers morethan 20 product lines with styles rangingfrom traditional to contemporary. It com-prises more than 600 SKUs and includesoffice suites, desk chairs, conference andtraining tables, bookcases, storage cabi-nets, pedestal desks, reception furnitureand wire furniture and shelving.

All Alera products are in stock for immedi-ate delivery, are backed by a five-year war-ranty and meet ANSI (American NationalStandards Institute) and BIFMA (Businessand Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’sAssociation) standards.

Separately, United announced another

One of the most recent offerings in the Alera line,the Alera Neratoli high back swivel tilt chair featuressoft-touch leather upholstery, chrome accents,contemporary cushioned seating and a waterfallseat for enhanced user circulation and comfort.

Industry News continued from page 8

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enhancement of its furniture program withthe addition of new automation function-ality to its Visual Planner sales tool.

This new turnkey enhancement will extendthe tool’s usefulness beyond layout functionality and allow dealers to leverageVisual Planner as a furniture sales produc-tivity tool to accelerate the quote processand ultimately win more business, thecompany said.

“This new feature broadens the usefulnessof Visual Planner,” said Melinda Myers, di-rector of marketing for United StationersFurniture Division. “The time-saving bene-fit of receiving quotes back from Unitedeven faster is not only useful for sales repsinterested in presenting their quotes tocustomers more quickly but also for purchasing agents within the dealership.”

AIS Reports 42 Percent SalesIncrease for 2011Manufacturer AIS has announced a 42%sales increase for its 2011 fiscal year, compared to the previous year. Thecompany reported 2011 sales of over$93 million.

“AIS moves fast,” said AIS CEO BrucePlatzman. “We saw the market changing.We knew that in order to compete we hadto deliver products and programs thathelped increase dealer profitability and al-lowed them to offer end-users tangiblevalue. We are very optimistic about the fu-ture. The dust has settled from this eco-nomic downturn and we couldn’t be moreexcited to show what AIS has in store.”

‘Pink Podiums’ from AmpliVoxSound Systems Help Raise BreastCancer AwarenessAmpliVox Sound Systems has announcedit will provide pink podiums to Susan G.Komen for the Cure Affiliates for use attheir breast cancer awareness fundraisingand educational events.

These specially-designed podiums aremanufactured in the signature pink colorof the breast cancer awareness move-ment. The donation is an extension of Am-pliVox’s Pink Podium Promise, which hasdistributed nearly 100 podiums to breastcancer organizations since its inception in2010.

In the Pink Podium Promise Program, anyKomen Affiliate can receive a pink podiumfree of charge for use at their Komen Racefor the Cure, fundraisers, meetings orother events. The pink podiums are madeof heavy-duty plastic, making them suit-able for indoor and outdoor use.

New Facility for 9to5 Seating inSouthern CaliforniaManufacturer 9to5 Seating will be movingthis month to a new 100,000 sq. ft. facilityin Hawthorne, CA. The building will housecorporate offices, a product showroom,manufacturing and warehousing.

Design of the building and grounds incor-porates features for improved energy effi-ciency and environmental sustainabilityand 9to5 Seating said it will pursue LEEDGold Certification for the facility.

The new location in Hawthorne's CenturyBusiness Center is approximately 13 miles

from the company’s current location inCompton.

Groupe Lacasse Expands in New YorkGroupe Lacasse and its New York Cityrepresentative, Pringle-Ward Associates,last month hosted over 200 guests at anall-day event to launch the re-design oftheir joint showroom in the New York De-sign Center. The expanded display high-lights Groupe Lacasse’s C.I.T.É deskingproduct and its Nvision systems line.

Master Manufacturing IntroducesReStore-It-Quick Office FurnitureRepair KitsMaster Manufacturing Co has introducedthree new ReStor-It Quick 20 Repair Kitsto join its Furniture Touch Up Kit.

The company said each kit allows easy re-pair of moderate furniture and seatingdamage in 20 minutes. Each compoundapplies simply and dries in only 20 minuteswithout the need for heat, with the additionof a convenient activator, the companysaid.

To match popular colors and grains, eachkit comes with seven intermixable colors,a color mixing guide, mixing cups, an ap-plicator, and easy-to-follow directions.

For more information, visit: www.mastermfgco.com/restorit.html.

Got News? E-mail Alicia.

Industry News continued from page 9

JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 10

OFDA presented its prestigious Alignedand Non-Aligned Manufacturer of the YearAwards at the NeoCon World’s Trade Fairin Chicago earlier this month.

The Dealer Choice Awards program recog-nizes leading manufacturers with a three-level “Manufacturer of the Year” award,applying Gold, Silver, and Bronze distinc-tions. The awards are based on a carefullystructured, anonymous dealer poll – theOFDA Dealer Manufacturer SatisfactionIndex (DMSI) Survey – which is sent outevery spring. Its purpose is to improvedealer-manufacturer relations by measuringsix functional areas of manufacturer per-formance that are of greatest importance toa diverse cross-section of dealers through-out North America. The award program an-

nually recognizes those manufacturers thatdeliver the most consistent and effectiveoverall support to dealers in all of thoseareas.

The 2011 winners among Non-Aligned Manufacturers are:

Gold: AIS Silver: Global – The Total OfficeBronze: The HON Company

This year’s award winners in the Aligned Manufacturer category are:

Gold: Herman MillerSilver: AllsteelBronze: Steelcase’

“OFDA and office furniture dealersthroughout the country are honored to

have these winning manufacturers asstrong supporters of our industry,” statedFrank Gutwein, OFDA chair and presidentof Widmer Interiors, based in Peoria, IL.“These past few years have been amongthe most challenging for the dealer community in recent memory and thesemanufacturers have earned special recog-nition through their unwavering support.

As winners of OFDA’s most sought-after-award this year, Herman Miller, AIS, Global– The Total Office, Allsteel, Steelcase andThe HON Company have demonstratedtheir ongoing commitment to deliver highquality products and management supportto dealers who sell their products."

OFDA Launches Special ‘DealerBoot Camp’ Training Program forNew Sales RepsOn July 28-29, OFDA will host a new“Dealer Boot Camp” training workshop atthe Chicago O’Hare Hilton for OFDAdealer members to help them effectivelytrain new high-potential sales representa-tives. Attendance will be limited to 15 par-ticipants and registrations will be acceptedon a first-come/first-confirmed basis.

Special workshop rates have been estab-lished to ensure high value for members’investment in this program.

The two-day workshop will run from 8:30AM on July 28 through 3:30 PM on July 29at the Hilton O’Hare, accessible directlyfrom the airport terminals. The workshopwill be presented by Debbie Junge andBrenda Brodt of Junge + Associates, bothof whom are highly respected office furni-ture dealer consultants with extensive

sales and operations consulting and inter-active training experience. Junge + Asso-ciates has a strong track record in workingwith dealerships of all sizes and using var-ious business models to help them im-prove sales and other key businessprocesses.

The program is expressly designed to fillin the significant gap between product-related training offered to dealers by their

JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 11

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AIS receives the Gold for Non-Aligned Manufacturer of the Year.The winner of the Aligned Manufacturer of the Year is Herman Miller.

OFDA Announces Manufacturer of the Year Award Winners

primary industry manufacturers, and training that dealershipsprovide to new employees regarding their specific businessstrategies, goals, processes and policies.

In this workshop, Debbie and Brenda will accelerate learning ofthe industry’s collective “tribal knowledge”—practical informationon the “who, what, where, how and why” of the complex salesprocess— which new sales people new to our industry typicallyacquire piece-meal by trial and error.

This special OFDA workshop will provide a well-structured, inter-active format ideal for adult learning and a comprehensive binderthat contains in-depth training information to which each participant can refer during and after the session. This approachwill reinforce the learning that takes place during the workshopand help ensure its regular use when the participant returns to thedealership.

For further information on this exciting new program, visit OFDA'sbootcamp website.

OFDA Conference to Feature General Session on“Emerging Workplace Trends”

OFDA’s September 25-27 Dealer Strategies Conference programin Tucson, AZ will feature four general session programs, includinga post-luncheon session on “Emerging Workplace Trends andMajor Customer Needs – The Future is Now!” This is anothermajor highlight of the comprehensive, two-day OFDA educationaland networking program aimed expressly at dealers and their keybusiness partners.

Mary Lee Duff, Assoc. AI, Principal, IA Interior Architects, will moder-ate this session, which will feature three knowledgeable, California-based panelists who work with national and international customersto create cutting-edge workspaces. Panelists include:

• Kevin Kelly, Senior Architect, Center for WorkspaceDelivery, General Services Administration

• Jan Penagos, LEED AP, Senior Strategic Planner, Intuit

• Garth German, Change Management Consultant,Expressworks.

The panel discussion will highlight recent case studies and newprojects reflecting initiatives of major corporations and federal government agencies to restructure their workplace environmentsto attract and retain top talent, maximize the flexibility and efficiencyof their office real estate footprint, and fully embrace new patternsof workforce mobility, collaboration, technology use and otheremerging workplace behaviors.

Register today to ensure your place at OFDA’s 2011 conferenceat the J.W. Marriott Starr Pass, September 25-27.

Remembering an Industry IconFriends and colleagues of industry consultant Barry Coyle, whopassed away this past November after a long battle with cancer,joined co-hosts David Solomon of SolomonCoyle and Mark Vig-noles of Service West the day before the NeoCon show inChicago to recognize Barry's many contributions to our industry,celebrate his life and work and to raise funds to establish theBarry E. Coyle Memorial Scholarship through OFDA.

A partner at Solomon Coyle, Barry consulted with more than 125dealerships, installation companies and furniture manufacturersin the United States, Canada and Mexico. He was generous withhis time and talents and deeply committed to his clients’ success.

Barry’s many contributions to the success of dealers and othersmall businesses in our industry were evident in the strong atten-dance at this special reception to honor his memory.

Including contributions made during NeoCon, OFDA is pleasedto report that we are two-thirds of the way toward reaching ourgoal of raising $25,000 to create and sustain a new OFDA schol-arship in Barry’s name to recognize his life-long commitment todeveloping and sharing industry best practices.

For more information or to make a donation, visit: http://www.of-danet.org/Barry-E-Coyle-Memorial-Scholarship-Fund

OFDA News continued from page 11

JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 12

As David Solomon looks on, Mark Vignoles of Service West remembersfriend, colleague and industry icon Barry Coyle at a fundraiser for theBarry E. Coyle Memorial Scholarship.

continued on page 14

Finding the Technologyto Drive a Dealership

JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 13

By Scott Cullen

As many office furniture dealers have discovered, the right software can

enhance productivity, streamline processes and have a strong positive impact

on the bottom line. But while a wealth of programs are available, no two

dealers are alike and some software offers a better fit for a specific dealership

and its needs than others. Let’s look at some of those programs and how

they’ve benefitted office furniture dealers.

Visualization and Design Programs� 20-20 Technologies’

20-20 Visual Impressionwww.20-20technologies.com

Software Synopsis:20-20 Visual Impres-sion is designed toserve the 3D color visualization needs ofthe office furniture in-dustry. The softwareuses manufacturers’3D shapes as well asfinishes, fabrics, and

laminates so the client can see what the product will look like intheir office and explore how different fabrics and finishes will af-fect the appearance of their environment.

In action: “It’s intuitive, quick, and effectively shows our clientstheir furniture finishes,” explains Liz Plant, furniture project man-ager for Creative Business Interiors in Milwaukee and Madison,WI. “Nowadays clients want to see what they’re getting beforethey buy it and this is a valuable tool.”

Plant is particularly pleased with the program’s ease of use. Threeof Creative Business Interiors’ designers are currently using theprogram and they’re looking to get their sales force up to speedon it as well.

“We all took a training course but really didn’t need it because wewere able to sit down and use it right away,” notes Plant.

She also is impressed by the quality of the renderings and theability to add accessories as well as computers on work surfacesand books on shelves.

It’s also eliminated a lot of issues that might come up at theend of a project when clients would say, ‘I didn’t realize I wasgetting this.’

The most dramatic change in the two months since Creativestarted using 20-20 is its versatility because now they can ren-der any project, any time and Plant no longer needs to out-source this work.

“Before we were only able to render our bigger projects,” ob-serves Plant. “Now we can render onesies and twosies.”

� Universal Office Visual Plannerfrom Animated Vision

www.animatedvision.com

Software Synopsis: Universal Office Visual Planner is a Web-based application for an office furniture dealer’s sales, marketingand customer service efforts. The program offers many of thesame features of the original Visual Planner, but is specifically de-

signed for the office furniture sales team. It encompasses morethan 1,200 standard office products, which are accessible by styleor product type and also includes a comprehensive system fur-niture and panel components library. Because the program isWeb-based, users can access their account from any location.Sales reps can print 2D/3D drawings or save them as PDFs for e-mailing. The system can be customized with a dealership’s con-tact information and logo for branding. It can even be added tothe dealership’s Website for lead generation.

In action: Tops Ltd. is afull service dealership inBermuda that sells of-fice furniture, equip-ment, and supplies.They started using Vi-sual Planner aboutthree years ago afterfinding the CAD systemprovided by their furni-ture manufacturer diffi-cult to use and too high end for their customers’ needs.

Speed is of the essence when it comes to satisfying customersand that’s what Tops gets with Animated Vision, says Jim Fergu-son, Tops’ president. “We can get a phone call, do a measure-ment, and have a drawing back to the customer within 24 hours.”

Ferguson likes the ability to reconfigure the space, move desksaround, and send those changes back to the customer exactlythe way they want with prices.

“We can use fabrics, take them to the customer, lay them down infront of them, show them the drawings, so it’s a nice touch and feeloperation. It allows us a real quick turnaround whereas before wedrew it by hand and then had to come back and make changes.”

Asked how easy the system was to learn, Ferguson replies, “Sim-ple, it’s very easy.”

� CHI-LLC Z-Axiswww.chi-llc.com

Software Synopsis: CHI-LLC (Computer Human Interaction, LLC)Z-Axis 3D configuration and visualization software is designed tocreate photorealistic renderings of designs. Users can choose froma variety of settings and output size specifications to render a designwith realistic lighting, subtle shadows and detailed fabrics and fin-ishes. Users can also select from the smallest output (e-mail 240 x320 pixels) to the largest (16" x 20" 3840 x 4800 pixels). Design ren-derings can be e-mailed to clients, or users can generate poster-sized renderings for presentations and demonstrations.

In action: BiNW (Business Interiors Northwest) of Washington andAlaska has been using Z-Axis for going on 10 years and has seen

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it morph from aspecification toolinto a visual soft-ware program thatallows not onlyBiNW’s designersand space plan-ners to use thetool but also theirsales people.

“It provides us with fast and accurate specifications and its ren-dering capabilities have made it more impactful in our proposalprocess,” says Sean O’Brien, president. “Working in and out ofan AutoCAD environment is seamless, and from a dealer principalstandpoint, it does not allow you to specify the product incor-rectly, which is a huge benefit in terms of protecting the integrityof the furniture specification.”

Adding Z-Axis has also been helpful for growing the business,particularly when servicing certain verticals, such as the federalgovernment.

“Some projects require that we have things, once awarded, completely specified, designed, ordered and installed within fourweeks and this is the only software that allows us to do that,”states O’Brien. “We’ve secured large government projects be-cause of this tool.”

� Configura CET Designerwww.configura.com

Software Synopsis: After manufacturers’ products are loaded intoCET Designer extensions, users can drag and drop products into2D and 3D space, building an office as they go. The software al-lows users to place, stretch and replicate panels and apply ma-terials as well as finishes, electrical components, work surfaces,and storage. Chairs and accessories can also be added and thenrendered to produce photorealistic images of the space. Partsand prices are automatically calculated by the software and anaccurate bill generated, which can then be presented to the client.

In action: NBS, a Steelcase dealer with offices in Detroit and otherlocations in Michigan and Ohio, has been using Configura’s CETDesigner software with the Steelcase SmartTools Extension for

nearly three years.

“Our primary manufacturer,Steelcase, got behind thetool and has really taken aninterest in ensuring that thesoftware supports theproducts they’re bringing tomarket. It allows the dealerto be more effective and ef-

ficient with the output they’re creating and in turn tie it back intothe business system so we could ultimately process orders,”states Heather Lanier, vice president of corporate resources atNBS.

What stands out for Lanier and NBS’s designers is the program’svisualization output.

“Designers live in the world of plan view and isometrics and ele-vations, but our customers don’t do this day in and day out,” ex-plains Lanier. “With CET Designer we’re able to help ourcustomers understand what we see in a 2D format and presentsomething to them in a 3D application that really allows them toget a sense of what they’re purchasing. This has really helped usshorten the process because they’ve come to a quicker under-standing.”

Simply put, NBS’s designers are more efficient than ever beforethanks to CET Designer, particularly on large-scale projects thatinvolve multiple duplications of workstations and layouts. Theprogram has also changed the way designers interact with cus-tomers.

“It’s put us more in an elbow-to-elbow approach so customerscan sit alongside a designer as changes are being made veryquickly and intuitively, versus the old way where we would take adrawing out, get their response, come back and make changes,”says Lanier. “The new way is more engaging and the customerenjoys being part of the process.”

� ICE Edge Business Solutions’ ICEwww.ice-edge.com

Software Synopsis: ICE merges video game technology with de-sign. The interactive, real-time 3D platform supports design,specification and manufacturing. It seamlessly integrates withother software, including AutoCAD, thereby protecting and im-proving legacy technology in-vestments. During the designphase, the software automat-ically creates and validates in-teractive 3D experiences,while updating a comprehen-sive parts lists, elevations andprice quotes.

In action: Agile OFIS (OfficeFurniture Interiors Solutions)in Houston began using ICEin 2005 for specifying the DIRRT product they were selling. Sincethen they’ve seen its applications broaden beyond just the spec-ification process.

“It’s become more of a sales tool than a specification tool,” saysBrian Crawmer, principal.

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“The thing I love about it is, it’s smart,” says Crawmer. “It auto-matically fills in the connection details based on the design intent,so it takes human error out of the equation.”

It has also brought increased speed, simplicity and accuracy.“Speed is a big deal for furniture when you have to go back andaudit,” explains Crawmer. “There’s no real audit process with ICEbecause it’s all visual. If there’s a fabric that should be red andshows up on your report as brown, you automatically see visuallythat something’s wrong.”

Everyone at Agile uses the program to some extent from salespeople, designers and project managers. The bottom line is thatit’s helped the company win business.

“ICE differentiates us from our competition,” concludes Crawmer.And that’s a big deal for a company looking to land big deals.

� ProjectMatrixwww.projectmatrix.com

Software Synopsis: ProjectMatrix offers solutions for contract fur-niture CAD design and electronic specification. The company’s

ProjectMatrix site li-cense can reportedlysave a dealer thou-sands of dollars ayear in softwarecosts. The software’sUniversal Data cre-ates a single Auto-CAD library to use inall ProjectMatrix de-

sign tools. The data works with multiple applications such as Pro-jectWorkspace, CET Designer and Google SketchUp.

In Action: Workplace Solutions in Dallas switched to ProjectMatrixtwo years ago and they haven’t looked back since.

Vice president of operations Joe Cunningham and other Project-Matrix users at Workplace Solutions say they enjoy its simplicityand the vendor’s willingness to enhance the program based onuser feedback.

“The Panel Builder is real simple and easy to work with,” he says.“And they’re very good about taking our suggestions and fixingor adding something to the software.”

Adds Cunningham, “We’re not a very big company but we do afair amount of sales and it allows us to turn projects aroundquickly and get it to the customer before anybody else does.”

Business & Marketing Programs� Channel Dynamix’s

Matrix for Business 3.0www.channeldynamix.com

Software Synopsis: Matrix for Business (MxB) 3.0 is a Web-basedprogram that provides business intelligence, reporting, and ana-lytics and can run on top of a furniture dealer’s existing businesssystem. The programconsolidates critical in-formation and makes itaccessible in real-timefor anyone in an organ-ization. Managers canforecast, fact check,and track using real-time data while execu-tives can review performance across all departments.

In action: Five years ago Creative Office Environments in Ashland,VA, was searching for an easier way to do job costing.

“We were looking to generate reports that would help us deter-mine the overall gross profit on a project and it was very difficultdoing it with Hedberg,” recalls Martha Goodman, vice presidentof quality assurance for Creative Office Environments.

The solution to their problem was software from Channel Dy-namix, which also included a new tool—Matrix for Business. Theprogram is used by all the sales leaders at Creative Office Envi-ronments as well as the company’s management team. It’s par-ticularly useful for special requests or whenever there’s a specialreporting need.

“You can build a report fairly quickly and don’t have to have Crys-tal Reports parsing your information in order to create somethingvery simple to give you the data you need,” says Goodman. “It’seasy to use and you’re able to select exactly what you want toand export it to an Excel spreadsheet very quickly, and then youcan use Excel to manipulate the data.”

She also likes the fact that when she does a quote in Hedberg, itupdates Matrix for Business immediately.

“It’s not like I have to wait until the next day to be able to pull thedata,” says Goodman. “I can get reports as I’m entering quotesand orders into the system.”

For demanding customers, Matrix for Business has become CreativeOffice Environments’ go-to program. When a customer wants toknow how many chairs they purchased in the year 2000, for example,Goodman can find the answer through Matrix for Business.

“It’s a life saver,” she says.

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� Dealer Choicewww.dealer-choice.com

Software Synopsis: Dealer Choice software is a Web-based pro-gram designed for the contract furniture industry that allows users

to access project information from any lo-cation. The program guides users intuitivelythrough the proposal process, facilitatesinter-departmental communications andlinks all project information to a proposal.

An integrated fax and e-mail terminal allows users to place ordersand send documents from within the program. It automates cus-tomer and vendor discounting; proofreads each proposal; gener-ates customizable reports; stores key charts, drawings,photographs and any other documents pertaining to a proposalin a file vault and features an accounting system that builds andmaintains information in real time without the need for posting.

In action: Atlantic Corporate Interiors in Beltsville, MD, holds the dis-tinction of being the industry’s first Dealer Choice user, which is onlynatural since it was developed by one of their in-house employeeswith an IT background. After creating that software, the employee leftAtlantic to form his own software company and the rest is history.

For David Todd, Atlantic’s CFO, the speed of Dealer Choice is a

big plus. “With our previous system, there were some reports thatI literally would set to run before I went to lunch and hope they’dbe finished by the time I got back,” he recalls. “With DealerChoice, those very same reports will run in a matter of seconds.”The program is also a lot more user-friendly, Todd contends.

If there’s any limitation in the program, Todd sees it on the ac-counting side, which is only natural since he’s Atlantic’s CFO andnotices those kinds of things. However, he’s been able to workaround those limitations and expects to see this aspect of theprogram improve over time.

“From an operations standpoint I don’t think there are any defi-ciencies,” adds Todd. “What’s nice about the program is becauseit did start from scratch, we and other users have made sugges-tions that the developers have incorporated into their updates.”

� ECI’s TeamDesignhttp://team-design.net

Software Synopsis: TeamDesign enables electronic ordering, e-mail notifications, Internet shopping applications, project man-agement, accounting and Internet customer communications.

TeamDesign Version 14 is the latest release of the program andwill be rolled out in two phases. The first phase will include new

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reporting capabilities, data dictionary, the ability to enter payablesfor all vendors on one screen, an option to use standard or aver-

age cost for bill of materials components,global PSN, an enhanced proposal changefunction that allows the salesperson’s percent-age to be automatically updated when a differ-ent salesperson is assigned to a proposal,automated client software installation and in-crease sales tax code field length.

In Action: Intereum in Plymouth, Minnesota hasbeen using TeamDesign since 1994. At that time the companywas transitioning from a mainframe to a PC and an outside consultant examined the various systems available and ultimatelysettled on TeamDesign. Fast forward to 2011 and Intereum is stillusing TeamDesign. The difference, however, are the changes thathave come about after ECI acquired TeamDesign in 2006.

“Since ECI became involved they’ve really focused on improvingtheir product,” says Mark Lorensen, network administrator withIntereum. “They regularly release updates with improvements andtake suggestions from users for improving the program.”

Speaking of improvements, Intereum developed a Web reportingpackage using TeamDesign data in collaboration with CIT (Com-puter Integrated Technologies), which has led to a business rela-tionship with CIT and TeamDesign.

“We just released that and are doing Web demonstrations now,”notes Lorensen. “After seeing the value in this capability, Team-Design decided to become a partner with us and we’re now selling that to other TeamDesign users.”

On the update front, Lorensen identifies some that have been par-ticularly helpful.

“The biggest for us is integration with Herman Miller, our primaryvendor,” he explains. “It allows us to submit orders to TeamDe-sign, so the two databases are talking together without the needfor us to export out of TeamDesign to the Herman Miller side andimport that order. Now it’s all done electronically. We also haveautomatic acknowledgement, so with the click of a button our ac-knowledgements are pulled in whereas before we had to be onthree or four different screens in two different systems. It’s beena huge time saver for us internally and that’s had the biggest im-pact on the way we do business.”

� IQ Groupwww.theiqgroup.com

Software Synopsis: IQ is a Web-based program designed to helpoffice furniture dealers manage their professional services. Arange of packages are available to manage spe-cific areas of a dealer’s business, including in-house design, estimation, project management,installation, and outsourcing.

In Action: It was love at first sight when David Wells, vice presi-dent of IT strategies with McCoy Workplace Solutions, was in-troduced to IQ at a meeting of industry peers a year and a halfago. Wells has a background in software development so heknows a good thing when he sees it. McCoy Workplace Solu-tions has been using the program for about a year, primarily forlabor estimation.

“The one thing we really needed was the ability to track the laborfrom when the furniture comes in, mapping all our costs, and thentracking the actual labor for the build at the client site, includingtravel time,” explains Wells.

McCoy has 12-15 project managers and they all do things a littledifferently, which isn’t always the most efficient way, particularlywhen it comes to estimating labor costs.

“As we began using the program we found the software was in-credibly flexible and we had the ability to change it in terms ofhow we function,” notes Wells. “IQ was very open and willing toassist us in making those changes, providing the education andwhatever guidance we needed.”

� Khameleon Version 7.0www.khameleonsoftware.com

Software Synopsis: Khameleon Version 7.0 is a Web-based sys-tem that manages daily dealer operations, automates accuratecosting, and also provides revenue recognition and flexible billingof products and services. The system is deployable across mul-tiple sites and remote locations, and is accessible by anyone withInternet access and the proper permissions.

In action: FLUID Interiors in Min-neapolis has been using the sys-tem for about 2-1/2 years. CFOSteve Schmalz says some of hisfavorite things about the system are some of its simplest features,particularly in the order entry area.

“Reports today are also extremely fast versus the hours we hadto wait on our old system and that’s meant major productivitygains,” beams Shmalz.

Khameleon has also made a difference with FLUID’s customers.“When we invoice a customer, it’s all done automatically, so you don’thave to touch it,” explains Schmalz. “In the old system you could cre-ate a PDF, but it was a manual process and there was a chance youcould grab the wrong invoice and send it to the wrong person.”

Khameleon is also effective for dealing with RFPs from large cus-tomers and prospects.

“Occasionally they have a question as to what accounting systemwe use, and when I say Oracle versus a non-branded system, Iget instant credibility,” Shmalz notes.

Another benefit is integration with Exactor, a sales tax system.

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“This is a big plus when dealing with na-tional customers across the United Stateswhere every sales tax code is different andit’s helpful for a small company to have atax service that integrates with your ac-counting system. We went from the threeto four days it took before to doing every-thing in less than an hour.”

� RPC’s SoftwaresCORE BusinessSystem

www.rpcsoftware.com

Software Synopsis: TheCORE Business System isan Enterprise ResourcePlanning (ERP) solution thatintegrates an organization’sbusiness processes into asingle software application.The program was de-

signed for small and medium-sized busi-nesses that need to centralize functionsinto a single, easy to use, and affordablesystem. Because the CORE software wasdeveloped in widely supported and popu-lar programming languages and opensource products, it easily adapts to theuser and allows RPC to create feature-rich,scalable solutions that cost a fraction ofother proprietary products.

In action: Goodmans Interior Structures inPhoenix has been using RPC’s COREBusiness System and all of its variousmodules for a little more than a year astheir enterprise business system for quot-ing, order entry, all the way through deliv-ery of work orders, and invoicing as wellas accounting. They also use CORE’s newinventory management module, which isdesigned for larger furniture dealers.

Virtually everyone in the company uses thesystem, reports Doug Klein, CFO, and sofar, so very good.

“It’s a contemporary system, built on a Javaplatform,” explains Klein. “The technology isextremely up to date and it was an easy sys-tem for us to support internally. From a userinterface point of view, all the typical thingspeople were used to in a Windows or Mac

environment were there so they didn’t haveto re-learn a lot about how to navigatearound the system. It was intuitive to them.”

The biggest change at Goodmans sinceimplementing CORE is that there are fewersystem support requirements. “WithCORE we have one system with one data-base, and we train everybody on that onesystem so our employees have access toinformation in real time. They have infor-mation at their fingertips whereas beforethey would have to look for it in variousplaces.”

CORE has also had a positive effect onGoodmans’ customers.

“Our customers like it because we’re ableto do some really cool things with COREsuch as group together line items in morecommon descriptions,” explains Klein. “In-stead of having 20 different lines for a podof workstations or a private office we couldnow put a quote together with a drawingof that area. And when the customer givesus those purchase orders, CORE allowsour invoices to look exactly like their pur-chase orders.”

� StructuredWebwww.structuredweb.com

Software Synopsis: StructuredWeb pro-vides a suite of Web-based sales and mar-keting automation solutions, which aredelivered on an on-demand basis. Thesuite of solutions encompass Websitecontent management, online product cat-alogs, ecommerce, CRM, sales enable-ment, search engine marketing, e-mail,advertising, demand generation and directmarketing programs.

In action: It’s been nearly eight years sincePioneer Workspace Solutions in CedarRapids, Iowa, discovered StructuredWeb,thanks in large part to a recommendationfrom one of their primary furniture suppliers.

“We knew we had to update our site,”recalls John Wasta, COO. “It was in itssecond generation and we were strug-gling with paying the same amount we

paid before toupdate it.”

StructuredWebgave Pioneer more bang for their buck. Al-though StructuredWeb’s CRM capabilitiesappealed to Wasta, what sold his partnerand brother was the ability to integrate fur-niture catalogs with Pioneer’s Website.

“Our incentive programs are also totallybased around using StructuredWeb,” ex-plains Wasta. “In order for our salespeopleto get credit for the calls they make, theyhave to go into StructuredWeb and inputthe key information—who they talked to,what they talked about and if they’re sup-posed to get back [to the prospect]. Ittracks all of our furniture opportunities.Now we have six years of information onall of our clients and none of it goes out thedoor if a salesperson leaves.”

Pioneer now has more than 5,000 con-tacts in the system. The program has metall of Wasta’s expectations and is limitedonly by how much Pioneer wants to dowith it. For now, Wasta remains pleased bythe program’s CRM capabilities and thefact that the catalogs are kept up to date.

“There’s a lot more we can do if we wantedto,” he concedes. “We did a promotionone year where StructuredWeb created acampaign for us that worked really well.The challenge is we have trouble dedicat-ing the time it takes to put those programstogether. You still need to come up withthe ideas.”

No doubt that StructuredWeb has made ahuge difference at Pioneer and Wastacouldn’t imagine switching.

“The catalog is the piece that got us there,CRM is the piece that keeps us there,”says Wasta.

Scott Cullen has beenwriting about the officefurniture, office products,and office technologyindustries since 1986.

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projectprofile

BrainstoBrawn:Stiles Office Solutions Has Southern Illinois University CoveredBy Alicia Ellis

When Southern Illinois University (SIU), Carbondale, neededfurnishings for a new athletic center and renovated library,they wanted products that would blend well between private offices, reception areas, student workstations andformal and casual meeting spaces. The products neededto represent the professional identity and style of eachbuilding, yet offer customizable solutions that would meetthe changing and growing demands of student and facultylife on campus.

Working from a 15-year relationship that included an exist-ing copier/printer contract with the University, BeckyPhillips, president of Stiles Office Solutions, set out to provethat her family-owned company was worthy of the task.

“We did mock ups of the furniture needed for both areas draw-ing primarily on product from two different manufacturers,” ex-plained Phillips. “We then took the dean, associate dean andproject manager to both manufacturers’ facilities, so they couldsee and actually compare products side by side.”

Once the decision to utilize Kimball Office as the primarysource of its office interiors was made, the difficult part ofplanning and executing the project began.

According to Phillips, Stiles went to work talking to every-one involved in the project from academic deans to staff,finding out how the spaces would be used and what theparticular needs were of each department.

“Our in-house designer, Jen Matthews, who has been withStiles for the past 14 years, was able to take the informationand find the right products for each space while keepingthe university on budget,” said Phillips.

The recently renovated library was an opportunity for Stilesto tailor furnishings to the space and coordinate furnishingsacross four floors and planned shelving. The library servesas the epicenter for several university functions, includingstudent workers, faculty, administrative, and professionalstaff.

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Previous page: University of Southern Illinois Basketball Arena and Saluki mascot.

Top: The University of Southern Illinois head basketball coach’s office includes customized Kimball Office |interstuhl Axos seating, with the Saluki logo, along with a Footprint desk.

Middle: The head coach’s office conference room at the University of Southern Illinois includescustomized Kimball Office | interstuhl Axos seating, with the Saluki logo and Fluent storage.

Bottom: The Morris Library conference room at the University of Southern Illinois includes Kimball OfficeStature seating and universal casegoods.

One of the challenges of the space waschoosing pieces that would coordinate be-tween private offices, cubicles, and studentmeeting spaces.

“We needed furniture that was functional,but would blend well together, so when youwent from one office into another it clearlytied together,” said Susan Tulis, associatedean at the library. Tulis explained that a person’s responsibilities could easily shiftfrom requiring significant storage one day toa large work surface the next. “Our officeseach have different uses and purposes andwe wanted furniture that could mix andmatch depending upon what was beingdone in a particular office.”

In an effort to match furniture with the use ofthe space, private offices were furnishedwith Kimball’s Transcend wood casegoodsand complemented by Footprint laminateand metal casegoods. The Cetra panel andTraxx wall systems were used in worksta-tions and student offices.

“The beauty of what we chose was we couldput a wood desk where select staff worked,and then integrate laminate tops on thecommon tables in other areas to protectthem. The flexibility between lines was key,”added Tulis.

“The library took several months to plan andwas installed in stages per floor,” saidPhillips who said the saving grace was thatthe library was closed during the entire renovation so they didn’t have to deal withstudents and faculty actually utilizing thearea.

The new 50,000 sq. ft. SIU Boydston AthleticCenter was another story however. Home tothe university’s football and basketballteams, tight deadlines and constructionwork kept Phillips and Stiles Office Solutionson their toes.

“The University really wanted the center toreflect its commitment to athletics and im-press potential student athletes,” saidPhillips. “We accomplished this in the bas-ketball and football suites which were de-signed to serve both as individual officesand collaborative areas for team meetingswith 10 to 20 student-athletes.”

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The University chose the Kimball Office | inter-stuhl seating line Axos for executive and sideseating. The remainder of the athletic facilitywas furnished with Fluent and Footprint case-goods, Pose lounge and Hero. Just for Youseating. Custom-embroidered logos on theheadrests of Axos reinforced the University’sbrand and showed their pride.

With three weeks to complete the install and thefirst football game as the deadline, the Stiles in-stallation team worked side by side with con-struction crews to complete the project on timeto kickoff the season with function and stylethat the University could be proud of.

Above: The public relations office in the Morris Library at theUniversity of Southern Illinois features Kimball Office Wish taskseating and Stature guest seating, Footprint desk and storage andthe Traxx wall system.

Below: The student writing center in the Morris Library at theUniversity of Southern Illinois includes Kimball Office Footprintworkstations with the Traxx wall system and Event guest seating.

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Optimistic Outlookat NeoCon 2011

JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 23

HaworthBeside StorageFiles & Storage

This year’s NeoCon World’s Trade Fair held just a fewweeks ago brought thousands of office furniture man-ufacturers, dealers and design professionals to theMerchandise Mart to learn about the latest productsand trends in the office interiors industry.

Classes were well attended and the exhibit floor rela-tively busy for at least the first two days of the showwith showroom parties and events keeping attendees“talking furniture” into the evening hours. The majorityof office furniture dealers that OFDealer spoke to wereoptimistic about the show and the industry as a whole.Equally as exciting as the new product introductionswere enhancements to existing product lines includingnew fabrics, colors and materials that expanded applications and vertical market opportunities.

Trends such as increasingly collaborative work styles,smaller workspace footprints and, of course, environ-mentally-friendly materials and manufacturing wereagain front and center. New this year was bigger,bolder retro colors and an increase in the use oftranslucent materials, especially in regards to hospi-tality seating and tables.

The Best of NeoCon awards program highlightedsome of the more interesting new products on display.A total of 325 products were entered in 40 product andfurnishing categories in the competition. On the follow-ing pages, we showcase just a few of the seventy-twoawards that were distributed to Gold Winners fromsome of the key office furniture categories.

HaworthIntegrated Palette featuring Reside, Beside and BelongFurniture Systems

SteelcaseBivi by TurnstoneFurniture: Benching

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Andreu World AmericaSailSeating: Stacking

CoalesseSebastopolTables: Occasional

KILearn2 MobileEducation Solutions

NeoCon continued from page 25

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Davis Furniture IndustriesKontour Lounge SeriesSeating: Sofas & Lounge

Vitra Inc.ID Chair ConceptSeating: Ergonomic Desk/Task

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HalconMotusTables: Training & Work

Nemschoff, a Herman Miller Healthcare CompanyOasis OverbedHealthcare Furniture

Davis Furniure Industries, Inc.Ekko Tables SeriesConference Room Furniture

Andreu World AmericaSit WoodSeating: Guest

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HaworthLTBSeating: Benches

Davis Furniture IndustriesSola Chair SeriesSeating: Conference

NucraftCavaraCase Goods

One question we are allhearing too often thesedays is, “I haven’t heardmuch about Company XYZrecently … anyone knowhow they’re doing?”

At a dinner with some business associatesrecently, one person shared that she wasabout to make a big purchase but decidedagainst buying from one company be-cause their proposal and supporting doc-uments were tired, old looking and theinformation was not presented in a partic-ularly professional manner. I think sheused the word “lame.”

She also commented—and this is impor-tant—that they gave the impression theyweren’t going to be around much longer.

The information she was given could easilyhave been just as on-target as the othercompanies she considered, but all thingsbeing equal, the company with “lame” ma-terials was quickly eliminated because ofthe weak impression it projected.

After all, why would anyone want to dobusiness with a company that by all ap-pearances seems to be struggling or evengoing out of business?

It continues to amaze me when I hearcompany principals talk about wanting in-creased visibility in the market and howmuch they admire another company’sbrand, but then they fail to take action todevelop a powerful identity for their owndealership.

Most owners understand that a strong iden-tity in the community promotes business,helps attract prospective customers andopens doors for sales people, yet manychoose to do nothing but talk about it.

Using dated materials, throwing informa-tion together on letterhead and hoping itpasses as a professional overview, orworse, expecting sales people to createsomething new for each presentation orbid response often seems to be the normthese days.

Some dealers assume customers will viewthem as professional problem-solvers andexpect them to invest money in their busi-ness by awarding them projects, yet they failto invest in their own business to promote it.

I can’t help asking where this attitudecomes from. Is it all too much trouble? Tooexpensive? Don’t they know how? Don’tthey have time? Are they just too busy? Or

is it simply not that important?

Do dealer owners and managers reallythink that approach makes for a morecost-effective, attractive and consistentcommunication vehicle? And who do theythink is calling on customers if their salespeople are spending valuable time sittingat their computers putting their own salesmaterials together?

In this age of information, it’s easy for cus-tomers to compare you to your competi-tion. Are you doing all you can to makesure the comparison they make comes outin your favor? Let’s review:

Your materials project yourdealership’s image.

Right, wrong or indifferent, it’s true. Is itthe image you want? As you talk aboutyour ability to offer superior products andservices over your competitors and part-ner with your clients now and into the fu-ture, do your materials support yourclaims? Are they well designed, tell yourdifferentiating story and compel buyers tofollow your lead?

An old corporate brochure talking about

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How VisibleAre You?By Trish Brock

how long you have been in business or bidresponses that look like everyone else’smay be sending the wrong signals andweakening your credibility.

Are your materials inform-ative and relevant to yourcustomers’ needs?

What is important to you may not be toprospective customers. Telling them howgreat you are is fine, but more importantly,how does this translate into benefits tothem? Why does it matter? And how doesthat make you different and presumably bet-ter, than your competitor down the street?

Sales support materialsare NOT a waste ofmoney!

Too often, dealer principals believe thatspending money on sales support materi-als is a waste of money because, I havefrequently heard, the materials quickly be-come outdated and/or the sales peopledon’t use them. If this sounds familiar,please keep reading.

Materials can be designed so that theycan be continually updated, especiallywhen developed and used electronically.

If sales people aren’t using the materialscurrently available to them, it’s likely thematerials simply aren’t relevant.

Sales people want and need all the helpthey can get.

Ask them what they need and then give itto them. They want to be as successful asyou want them to be.

Don’t wait until your sales somehow get bet-ter before developing new materials. Ex-pecting your sales people to competewithout the tools they need is like telling afootball team that when they win a few moregames, you will buy them helmets and pads.

Sales materials shouldsupport the consultativesales process.

Do sales people have a variety of piecesto access when discussing the multipleaspects of furniture projects? Or when var-ious topics are brought up by prospects,

are sales people expected to develop theirown with which to respond?

It’s interesting to note that a large percent-age of sales people admit to altering salesmaterials given to them in order to makethem more functional and pertinent.

If materials are developed without theinput of the people who are going to usethem, then it could be a poor investment.Unless you have been in the trenches withthem and are clear about the obstaclesthey face daily, don’t assume you knowwhat they need.

Differentiate your dealer-ship.

Your sales materials represent a wonderfulopportunity to set yourself apart, both vi-sually and with your messaging. Make astatement. Be bold. Be creative. Be fun.Your sales people are dying to be differentfrom the folks down the street—give themthe tools to do so.

With single-digit margins and buyers’ per-ceptions of furniture as a commodity thesedays, it is more important than ever to setyourself apart.

If you don’t believe you are different andtherefore better, then why should prospec-tive customers? And how would they knowif you don’t consistently broadcast your dif-ferentiating message to the marketplace?

Make them beautiful.

This industry has a fashion element to it soit’s important to look the part. You have animportant message—make your audiencewant to read it.

The A&D community is automaticallydrawn to visually stunning materials andso are many of your customers. Your ma-terials can and should be inspiring.

No one wants to look at ugly, and it’s guar-anteed that the white, three-ring binderwith letterhead slipped into the plasticcover will be the last one picked from theconference table full of bid responses.

It signals boring, status quo and “don’t ex-pect innovative ideas here,” even if it maywell come chock full of them.

There is no question that this is a difficulteconomy for dealers. But some are doingwell in spite of the challenges.

Many say that their aggressive marketingefforts have made the difference in theirability to be top of mind in the market andwin business.

Often it is because their competition isn’tas visible and engaged in projecting astrong image. By default, they create aperception of being less viable, much likethe company described in the above storythat lost business as a result.

Unless you are in a market where there isno competition or your business is sogood that you might as well be mintingmoney, powerful and supportive sales ma-terials are not optional—they are a require-ment.

They are part of being in the game anddoing business in this era, and certainly inthis economy.

If all of this sounds like a lot of work, askyourself this: How much will it cost mybusiness not to be visible and am I leavingmy market to wonder how we are doingand if we are still around?

Trish Brock,Principal of TrishBrock &Associates, is awell-knownindustryconsultant. Hercross functionalconsulting group

specializes in increasing sales througheffective differentiating brands andmaterials that support the strategicsales process. TB+A also conductsMentoring Circles for groups wanting toaccelerate new business development.She can be reached at 720-747-5547,via email attbrock@trishbrockassociates.com orvisit her on the web atwww.trishbrockassociates.com

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JUNE 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 30

Jaynie Smith

Uncover Your Competitive AdvantageRealign Marketing and Management Strategies to Transform your Business for Future Success

Jaynie Smith’s customized keynote for this year’s OFDA Dealer Strategies Conference will focus on helping you uncover and clearly define your true competitive advantages and realign marketing and management strategies to “transform your busi-nesses for future success” – the theme of OFDA’s 2011 event. In an industry and general economic environment characterized by unprecedented competition and extreme margin pressures, her focus on differentia-tion of your organization from the competition will help your company close more sales, improve margins and retain more customers.

OFDA Dealer Strategies ConferenceKeynote Speaker Jaynie Smith

Keynote Speaker

Founder & CEOSmart Advantage, Inc.

www.ofdanet.org/conference

Jaynie Smith Highlights: 15 Top Performer Awards for CEO Coaching

Contributing Business Expert Columnist to Affluent Magazine Featured in telecast with Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerrilla Marketing Association Guest on Bloomberg Radio, WABC Radio "Brinker Show,"& NPR affiliate WLRN

Featured in Entrepreneur, IndustryWeek, Investors Business Daily & Business Strategies Author of the best-selling Creating Competitive Advantage (2006) - now in its 10th printing Radio host of Mind Your Biz Today on The Biz - South Florida’s only business radio station