{"id":19959,"date":"2016-08-28T04:24:30","date_gmt":"2016-08-28T11:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=19959"},"modified":"2016-09-01T11:01:08","modified_gmt":"2016-09-01T18:01:08","slug":"change-is-good-for-national-business-equipment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/enx-features\/service-excellence-winner\/2016\/08\/change-is-good-for-national-business-equipment\/","title":{"rendered":"Change is Good for NATIONAL Business Equipment"},"content":{"rendered":"

NATIONAL Business Equipment (NATIONAL) CEO and President, Scott Mueller, points out that it was important to establish a specific culture at NATIONAL because he knew they were going to experience rapid growth. Mueller says, \u201cThe first thing I spoke to our team about was the core philosophy of our company: Change is Good<\/strong>. Within Change is Good<\/strong> is another core philosophy:\u00a0Change Provides Opportunity<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

NATIONAL is no stranger to change. The company traces its origins to Camera Exchange, which began in Albany, New York in 1927. Although initially focused strictly on camera supplies, the company expanded its divisions to include graphics supply, newspaper supply and even law enforcement supply. In the 1950\u2019s, NATIONAL began selling Kodak Verifax photocopiers.<\/p>\n

\"Scott

Scott Mueller President CEO<\/p><\/div>\n

Mueller has been in the copier industry for over 20 years. He spent his early career in Cincinnati, Ohio, building ProSource, a small local office equipment dealer, into a nationally recognized office solutions provider. In 2007 he decided to sell his equity position in ProSource and move back to his hometown of Albany, New York. In 2008 he acquired NATIONAL Business Equipment and Supply. NATIONAL at that time was comprised of five employees with revenues of less than $1 million per year. Today NATIONAL has grown to over 75 employees with annual revenues in excess of $15 million. They are a full line Kyocera dealer and production line Konica Minolta dealer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re growing at a very rapid pace,\u201d says Mueller. \u201cWe expect that growth to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

NATIONAL has a wide variety of clients ranging from enterprise accounts to SMBs. NATIONAL is also very diversified through many vertical markets including banking, education, government and retail. In New York, NATIONAL provides coverage to the entire area known as \u201cTech Valley\u201d, which stretches just north of New York City to the Canadian border. Their New York locations include Albany, Plattsburgh, Kingston and Glen Falls. In Vermont, their Burlington office provides service to the entire state of Vermont.<\/p>\n

NATIONAL has 25 factory-trained technicians servicing over 5,000 devices. Their technicians are consistently recognized for the outstanding quality of service they provide to their customers. Most recently, NATIONAL has been recognized as a BEI and ENX Magazine\u2019s Office Technology Service Excellence Award (OTSEA) Platinum Level service provider with over 50% of their technicians receiving national recognition for their individual performances. This includes three technicians who achieved Platinum level status and two technicians who achieved Diamond level status. This outstanding achievement ranks these technicians in the top 5% and 1% respectively of over 13,000 service technicians across the Country.<\/p>\n

\"Scott

Scott Mueller at Kyocera Dealer Council<\/p><\/div>\n

When asked about NATIONAL\u2019s growth, Mueller said that in 2015 sales grew 62% and they are currently 51% ahead of last year\u2019s results. He points out that the growth is not attributable to any one particular factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of our growth is organic,\u201d he explains. \u201cThis has been accomplished by hiring more sales professionals which in turn allows NATIONAL to successfully compete for more market share. When I acquired NATIONAL, they had only one salesperson working out of one office in downtown Albany. We currently have 26 sales professionals working out of five offices servicing New York, Vermont and Massachusetts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mueller has always been an advocate of promoting from within. To help provide the leadership to manage the growing company, NATIONAL spends a considerable amount of time and effort grooming many entry-level employees to eventually grow into managerial positions. Mueller says that the development of the management team is an important part of their growth objectives as they transition into a different phase of NATIONAL\u2019s organizational structure. \u201cWe\u2019re moving from an entrepreneurial company into a management company,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Mueller credits CFO Chris Shersky, a former colleague in Cincinnati, who relocated to Albany to work for NATIONAL, as another important factor of the company\u2019s growth strategy. \u201cShersky has 25 years of experience in our industry,\u201d he says. \u201cWith him being responsible for the operational and administrative areas of the organization, it allows me to focus more on sales, acquisitions and ultimately growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growth is the operative word. NATIONAL expects to double the size of its organization in the next few years. Mueller believes that the foundation for that growth is quality service. He cites the 95% plus retention rate of their customers as a prime example of that outstanding service. The catalyst of this service achievement is delivered through their GOLD Alliance program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe GOLD Alliance program reflects our commitment to providing quality service and improving our customer\u2019s business,\u201d explains Mueller. \u201cIt is a partnership that offers our preferred clients priority service response, a cost containment strategy and guaranteed service performance. The cornerstone of the GOLD Alliance is superior customer service, backed by the GOLD Alliance 100% satisfaction guarantee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott Mueller with his Service Team members at corporate headquarters in Albany NY<\/p><\/div>\n

Mueller emphasizes that in order to provide outstanding service, it\u2019s important to ensure that their best technicians are matched up with their best opportunities. He points out that this could never be achieved without a method of measuring performance. NATIONAL turns to BEI Services, Inc. (BEI) for that method.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been using BEI since the mid-1990s,\u201d states Mueller. \u201cIt\u2019s a tried and true system. It provides the performance analytics to properly manage technician results as well as giving the technicians a great tool to assist them in managing their territory. Those technicians who are the most passionate about doing great things can do great things here. The BEI system helps us recognize those performers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adds Mueller, \u201cWe also believe that our top performers should be rewarded. We reward our technicians by using a Technician Incentive Compensation Program utilizing BEI results. We also give technicians bonuses for improving their service level ranking as recognized by BEI.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company culture of offering growth opportunities extends to the technical staff as well. At NATIONAL, entry-level setup technicians have the opportunity to develop into printer technicians, MFP technicians and production print technicians. They can also transition into other technologies such as telephony or IT services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a career path for any and all individuals on the NATIONAL team,\u201d explains Mueller. \u201cThere\u2019s no ceiling on the opportunities. The employees at NATIONAL are excited to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mueller says that the overall goals for 2016 and 2017 are the same: continuing down the current path of executing their growth strategy while creating an environment that encourages hiring and retaining great employees. Specific goals include achieving the highest level of service recognition, Diamond, for the entire service operation as well as becoming the largest Kyocera dealer in the country. He believes that they have the right people and tools to achieve it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of passionate people,\u201d says Mueller. \u201cThere\u2019s always a buzz going around the building. It\u2019s a great place to be.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

\"National-logo\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About the Dealership:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Owner and President\/CEO: Scott Mueller<\/li>\n
  2. CFO: Chris Shersky<\/li>\n
  3. Service Manager: Shawn Saville<\/li>\n
  4. Number of Techs: 25<\/li>\n
  5. Number of Devices Serviced: 5,000+<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Information provided by BEI<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. First Call Effectiveness: 53-56%<\/li>\n
    2. Hold for Parts Rate: 12%<\/li>\n
    3. Ranking: 15th overall of the 200 dealers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      OTSEA Platinum award winners rank in the top 25 of all dealers evaluated. \u00a0The evaluations are based on Call Back percentage, Hold for Parts percentage, MCBV (Mean Copies Between Visits) and Technician Grading. \u00a0Tech Grading encompasses Time Accountability and Time Management along with individual HP, CB and MCBV rates as well as parts expense as it relates to parts CPC compared to world stats.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      NATIONAL Business Equipment (NATIONAL) CEO and President, Scott Mueller, points out that it was important to establish a specific culture at NATIONAL because he knew they were going to experience rapid growth. Mueller says, \u201cThe first thing I spoke to our team about was the core philosophy of our company: Change is Good. Within Change is Good is another core philosophy:\u00a0Change Provides Opportunity.\u201d NATIONAL is no stranger to change. The company traces its origins to Camera Exchange, which began in Albany, New York in 1927. Although initially focused strictly on camera supplies, the company expanded its divisions to include graphics supply, newspaper supply and even law enforcement supply. In the 1950\u2019s, NATIONAL began selling Kodak Verifax photocopiers. Mueller has been in the copier industry for over 20 years. He spent his early career in Cincinnati, Ohio, building ProSource, a small local office equipment dealer, into a nationally recognized office solutions provider. In 2007 he decided to sell his equity position in ProSource and move back to his hometown of Albany, New York. In 2008 he acquired NATIONAL Business Equipment and Supply. NATIONAL at that time was comprised of five employees with revenues of less than $1 million per year. Today NATIONAL has grown to over 75 employees with annual revenues in excess of $15 million. They are a full line Kyocera dealer and production line Konica Minolta dealer. \u201cWe\u2019re growing at a very rapid pace,\u201d says Mueller. \u201cWe expect that growth to continue.\u201d NATIONAL has a wide variety of clients ranging from enterprise accounts to SMBs. NATIONAL is also very diversified through many vertical markets including banking, education, government and retail. In New York, NATIONAL provides coverage to the entire area known as \u201cTech Valley\u201d, which stretches just north of New York City to the Canadian border. Their New York locations include Albany, Plattsburgh, Kingston and Glen Falls. In Vermont, their Burlington office provides service to the entire state of Vermont. NATIONAL has 25 factory-trained technicians servicing over 5,000 devices. Their technicians are consistently recognized for the outstanding quality of service they provide to their customers. Most recently, NATIONAL has been recognized as a BEI and ENX Magazine\u2019s Office Technology Service Excellence Award (OTSEA) Platinum Level service provider with over 50% of their technicians receiving national recognition for their individual performances. This includes three technicians who achieved Platinum level status and two technicians who achieved Diamond level status. This outstanding achievement ranks these technicians in the top 5% and 1% respectively of over 13,000 service technicians across the Country. When asked about NATIONAL\u2019s growth, Mueller said that in 2015 sales grew 62% and they are currently 51% ahead of last year\u2019s results. He points out that the growth is not attributable to any one particular factor. \u201cThe majority of our growth is organic,\u201d he explains. \u201cThis has been accomplished by hiring more sales professionals which in turn allows NATIONAL to successfully compete for more market share. When I acquired NATIONAL, they had only one salesperson working out of one office in downtown Albany. We currently have 26 sales professionals working out of five offices servicing New York, Vermont and Massachusetts.\u201d Mueller has always been an advocate of promoting from within. To help provide the leadership to manage the growing company, NATIONAL spends a considerable amount of time and effort grooming many entry-level employees to eventually grow into managerial positions. Mueller says that the development of the management team is an important part of their growth objectives as they transition into a different phase of NATIONAL\u2019s organizational structure. \u201cWe\u2019re moving from an entrepreneurial company into a management company,\u201d he says. Mueller credits CFO Chris Shersky, a former colleague in Cincinnati, who relocated to Albany to work for NATIONAL, as another important factor of the company\u2019s growth strategy. \u201cShersky has 25 years of experience in our industry,\u201d he says. \u201cWith him being responsible for the operational and administrative areas of the organization, it allows me to focus more on sales, acquisitions and ultimately growth.\u201d Growth is the operative word. NATIONAL expects to double the size of its organization in the next few years. Mueller believes that the foundation for that growth is quality service. He cites the 95% plus retention rate of their customers as a prime example of that outstanding service. The catalyst of this service achievement is delivered through their GOLD Alliance program. \u201cThe GOLD Alliance program reflects our commitment to providing quality service and improving our customer\u2019s business,\u201d explains Mueller. \u201cIt is a partnership that offers our preferred clients priority service response, a cost containment strategy and guaranteed service performance. The cornerstone of the GOLD Alliance is superior customer service, backed by the GOLD Alliance 100% satisfaction guarantee.\u201d Mueller emphasizes that in order to provide outstanding service, it\u2019s important to ensure that their best technicians are matched up with their best opportunities. He points out that this could never be achieved without a method of measuring performance. NATIONAL turns to BEI Services, Inc. (BEI) for that method. \u201cI\u2019ve been using BEI since the mid-1990s,\u201d states Mueller. \u201cIt\u2019s a tried and true system. It provides the performance analytics to properly manage technician results as well as giving the technicians a great tool to assist them in managing their territory. Those technicians who are the most passionate about doing great things can do great things here. The BEI system helps us recognize those performers.\u201d Adds Mueller, \u201cWe also believe that our top performers should be rewarded. We reward our technicians by using a Technician Incentive Compensation Program utilizing BEI results. We also give technicians bonuses for improving their service level ranking as recognized by BEI.\u201d The company culture of offering growth opportunities extends to the technical staff as well. At NATIONAL, entry-level setup technicians have the opportunity to develop into printer technicians, MFP technicians and production print technicians. They can also transition into other technologies such as telephony or IT services. OTSEA Platinum award winners rank in the top 25 of all dealers evaluated. \u00a0The evaluations are based on Call Back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2195],"tags":[2733],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19959"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19959"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20026,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19959\/revisions\/20026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}