Success Stories

National Toner Warehouse Elects to Serve Government Customers with ChannelOnline™; Contributes to Company's 5X Growth

What's in a name? Much more, in the case of National Toner Warehouse, Inc., reseller of a wide range of computer and printer-related technology. The Mocksville, N.C.-based business began by offering printer consumables, such as toner and ink cartridges, and has grown quickly to offer much more to its mostly federal government customers. Today, National Toner Warehouse sells everything from computer systems and software and networking equipment to office machines and professional video and camera equipment.

"We own a GSA contract, and we're a one-stop shop for our government customers," says Patrick Burke, CEO. But the company's incredible growth in just 12 months didn't come from simply following to the letter the requirements put forward by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) for government vendors.

From Order-Takers...

According to Burke, the primary sources of customer traffic have been Internet search engine results, as well as sourcing sites and lists used within the federal government. Although acquiring prospects and customers required little effort on the company's part, the order process was very labor-intensive.

"We fill orders by drop-shipping products - that is, the products are shipped directly to customers from multiple distributors nationwide," explains Burke. "So every time we received an order, we had to call each distributor or log into its Web site to find out product availability and then compare that information to find the best price."

Sourcing, pricing, and shipping origin were important factors in choosing the most cost-effective and profitable solution for a customer. Nevertheless, Burke and his team were aware that the amount of time spent on processing an order also contributed to the cost of doing business. Furthermore, Burke's research confirmed that it would cost tens of thousands of dollars to build, update, and maintain a proprietary database capable of pulling in the necessary information from each of the distributors in a format that was useful to National Toner Warehouse personnel.

... To Order-Makers

The search was on for a sales automation solution. Burke's criteria for selection were that the solution had to be updated on a regular and consistent basis, including not only product data but also availability and pricing. "Since we drop-ship from multiple distributors, availability and pricing are deciding factors each and every time, so there had to be a way to aggregate this data from each of the distributors," says Burke.

At the suggestion of a supply chain services vendor, Burke evaluated CNET Channel's ChannelOnlineT solution and found it met these requirements and more. National Toner Warehouse went live with ChannelOnline in May 2005.

"Implementation was simply a matter of letting distributors know that we needed access to their FTP sites, and then ChannelOnline tied everything together to the point where our staff could simply plug in a part number to get everything required to process an order - and cut a half-hour or more of research down to just minutes," Burke explain

No Speed Limits on Faster Order Processing

Burke observes, "ChannelOnline played a significant role in the growth of our company, from the ease with which we can get the information we need to the speed with which we can put it to use. That's really important when each employee wears multiple hats to get the job done." Improved productivity has proven vital to National Toner Warehouse's growth, as employees must address customers' needs while sourcing from among an ever-growing selection of products. As a result, the reseller's business has grown five-fold (a 400% increase) to approximately $1.5 million in the year since implementing ChannelOnline.

"We would not be where we are today if it hadn't been for what we've done with ChannelOnline," says Burke. "Everybody needs to have ChannelOnline - anybody in this industry would be crazy not to have this service."

Continued Success for National Toner Warehouse Includes ChannelOnline in its Future

"We've started building various franchises and are committed to using ChannelOnline with each new company as they grow," stated Burke. From our own franchises, we've taken on a consultation role building and developing existing companies and have successfully recommended the use of ChannelOnline. Some examples are Zee Technologies, United Technology Warehouse and ABS Technology Warehouse.

About National Toner Warehouse

Based in Mocksville, NC, the National Toner Warehouse offers an expanding array of toner cartridges and other supplies for laser printers, copiers and fax machines as well as a wide variety of other office supplies at discounted prices making the National Toner Warehouse your most cost-effective source in the industry today. For more information, call 1-888-662-6670 or visit www.nationaltonerwarehouse.com.