Roland Tolan might not be the first prospector to seek out a fortune in California. But it’s knowing where to look, as opposed to revisiting oft-trodden ground, which will ultimately spell the difference between striking gold and coming up empty.
The COO and partner of United Office Technologies Group (United Office), based in Irvine, California, is no stranger to the industry or the Golden State. He has been a fixture among various Southern California dealerships for the past 35 years—Century Business Services, Coast to Coast Business Equipment, Office Digital Solutions and Staples among them. And now Tolan is putting his vast experience to work for United Office as the dealer throws its hat into the M&A ring. It will use California as a launch point to build out an empire of holdings, specifically sized and propelled by unparalleled technical service.
Amid a pandemic and economic uncertainty, United Office is seeking to grow its base by targeting dealers in the $100,000–$300,000 range, with a book of business that includes 100–300 service contracts. The geographic location is predominantly focused on Southern California businesses, with an eye toward more central portions of the state, including Bakersfield and the Inland Empire. However, Tolan noted that United Office will eventually migrate to dealerships under $10 million, as long as they are driven by quality technical service while maintaining a small-business mentality.
“Throughout my 35 years of experience in the business, I’ve seen some of the biggest acquisitions for expansion by many dealers and manufacturers that spent millions on M&A, just to change the core business and operating structure of the acquired entity, then ran in straight into the ground,” Tolan remarked. “I like the $100,000 to $300,000 range because of the fact that these independents have developed a very loyal customer base that they nurtured and took care of on a very personal level of service.”
Tolan’s own experience has shown that this level of dealer is driven by service, but oftentimes lacks the experience and resources to grow their base and gain deeper market penetration. By aligning with United Office, Tolan is offering these operations access to OEM products, IT support and MPS while supporting their employees and admin with 401K, stock options, health care and payroll services.
The organization is taking a measured approach toward M&A growth, and Tolan vows to ensure that each company is fully onboarded before embarking on the next candidate. With a goal of having a lean operation at the top, United Office seeks to ensure its legacy of quality is passed on to each operation within the business unit.
While the company currently consists of just the Irvine facility, Tolan notes his team is in negotiations with three dealerships that fall within his target range. He expects all three deals will be completed by the end of the calendar year.
Laying Foundation
The legacy operation behind United Office is no newcomer, either. Launched as Copier Specialists in 1988 by Said Najjar, the dealer picked up the Copystar (Kyocera) line in the early 2000s. That relationship dissolved, and Najjar refocused on placing used equipment. Fast forward to June 2019, when Mark O’Brien purchased the assets of Copier Specialists. While O’Brien benefitted from an extensive executive management and operations/systems background, he had no formal grounding in the copier space. But that didn’t stop him from forging an alliance to sell the Toshiba line while simultaneously putting the kibosh on the used-equipment model.
Still, O’Brien sought the counsel of an industry veteran to add heft behind his business, and was introduced to Tolan by a mutual friend last November. They agreed to partner, and Tolan set the wheels in motion to position the company for growth.
“Immediately, I created a business plan and brought in some new vendors to enhance our offerings and diversify our portfolio,” Tolan said. “Mark and I attacked the base of used old machines and went full speed into leasing new equipment into the base. We changed our corporate name to United Office Technologies Group to fit our acquisition strategy and goals.”
In a year that has been anything other than ordinary, United Office has enjoyed considerable success under its new regime. The dealer counts many essential businesses among its client base, and while many dealers have seen a 40%–60% reduction in service volume, United Office became inundated with service calls. But it wasn’t just previous book of business requests; United Office experienced an influx of new customers who saw their previous vendors shut down. That also resulted in new hardware placements. Sensing a need to accommodate the growth, United Office turned to FORZA to augment its operating infrastructure. Tolan notes that O’Brien was instrumental in forging that partnership.
In following through on its goal to provide the best service at an affordable cost, Tolan leveraged—through high sales performance—optimal prices for products, parts and consumables, as well as competitive lease rates from Wells Fargo. Having solution sets such as document management and IT support controlled in-house, rather than outsourced, allows United Office to execute on accountability, response time and solving customer problems efficiently.
Empowering Employees
Extending autonomy throughout the organization—one Tolan vows will be free of vice president-laden middle management—also provides optimal results. “We empower key employees to make decisions in being able to assist customers with financial requests such as credits to the account,” he noted. “We have an open-door policy for our customers and our associates, and Mark and I are always available to talk to anyone. We made it a priority to excel and exceed our communication level internally and with our customers. We respond to requests very quickly regardless of what it takes.
“We do execute effectively in all aspects of the business. We didn’t reinvent the process; we are only following it to the T.”
One of the biggest challenges facing any organization driven by acquisition is establishing and maintaining a corporate culture, ensuring that additions—be they entire companies or new hires—are on the same page with management’s core values. Tolan follows the philosophy of noted entrepreneur Richard Branson, who observed, “Take good care of your employees and they will take good care of your customers.”
As that corporate identity takes shape, Tolan believes nurturing staff for the long haul is a matter of following time-tested formulas: compensate well, promote from within, provide a career path with exceptional benefits and, especially, foster teamwork. Monthly barbecues, an employee-of-the-month award and bonuses also help keep United Office team members solidly engaged.
“By sharing the wealth and investing in your staff, it will increase tenure and decrease turnover, which is the costliest of all and the ultimate killer of a company culture and values,” Tolan added.
Tolan believes United Office has aligned itself with quality partners that will enable the dealership to realize its long-term initiatives. They include Toshiba, Konica Minolta/All Covered (including the FORZA ERP system), Clover Imaging, Lexmark and Brother. The dealer adopted a private-label lease agreement with Wells Fargo that is an enabler from a marketing standpoint (as is its United Office-branded hand sanitizer).
The dealer also offers next-day free delivery for the West Coast, backed by its powerhouse large distribution center.
Long-Range Plans
Moving forward, Tolan says the key will be sticking to the company’s game plan “diligently and cautiously” to effectively execute on all aspects of the business—from profitability to maintaining the highest level of customer satisfaction. In the interim, Tolan and Co. will look to expand operations in its Southern California market, which they believe offers unlimited growth potential. But it doesn’t end with SoCal; strategic regional expansion is in the blueprints, particularly in regions where existing customers have additional operations.
“One day, based on our successes and accomplishments, we will be looking at national coverage with our own W2 employees,” he said. “Luckily, we work with the top vendor partnerships that will be able to help us sustain the logistics for supply chain management to help us stay lean and efficient.”
