MPSA News and Announcements

(Cedar Rapids, IA) – CEO Juice, a provider of automated best practices for copier dealers, and GreatAmerica Financial Corporation jointly announce a new technology integration allowing office technology dealers who use e-automate to securely and easily import their lease information from GreatAmerica into CEO Juice for better, more timely business decision making. The tool also enables detailed portfolio management and reporting, ensuring all leases are managed by the sales team properly.

“Our integration road map is a top priority to help our dealers create efficiencies and better serve their customers; connecting systems with an innovator like CEO Juice was a no-brainer for GreatAmerica,” said Jennie Fisher, SVP and GM for GreatAmerica Financial Services. “Dealers will now be able to proactively manage their portfolio with actionable data. They’ll miss fewer opportunities to keep and upgrade customers with less effort since the technology does the heavy lifting for them.”

Gary Lavin, Partner, CEO Juice, is pleased GreatAmerica is making lease data available via this technology integration, “It’s great to see GreatAmerica take the lead and give partners like CEO Juice access. Being able to pull real-time data from GreatAmerica really helps us ensure there is accurate data in e-automate for our joint clients.”

The CEO Juice and GreatAmerica reporting tool allows users to immediately identify which leases are not actively being managed and which leases are at a heightened risk, due to lack of activity, in order to take proactive action. Items such as upgrade information, delinquency data, vendor buyout and remaining term for the contract can now be proactively viewed and reported on using data automatically updated daily for timely insights. Previously, office equipment dealers had to manually import spreadsheet data, which was often out of date, causing salespeople to make decisions using inaccurate information.

CEO Juice and GreatAmerica have plans to continue enhancing their integration, including the addition of subscription data alerts and the ability to access lease data in other tools such as Compass Sherpa.

Office equipment dealers interested in using this integration should contact GreatAmerica at integrations@greatamerica.comto get an authentication key which will grant permission for portfolio data to be pulled by CEO Juice. Click here for more information on other GreatAmerica integrations.

About GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation
GreatAmerica is one of the largest independent small ticket national commercial equipment finance companies in the U.S. and is dedicated to helping manufacturers, vendors, and dealers be more successful and keep their customers for a lifetime. A family-owned business, GreatAmerica was established in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1992 and today is organized into seven business units. It has a staff of over 500 employees with offices in Georgia, Minnesota, and Missouri. Our commitment to understand the office equipment industry has positioned us as the unparalleled leader in single invoice solutions (MPS, Managed IT, and other specialized billing options). We also offer innovative non-financial services to help our dealers evolve their businesses.www.greatamerica.com

About CEO Juice
CEO Juice provides automated processes and best practice sharing for copier dealers running e-automate. We are industry experts and we share best practices learned from working only in this industry and from the 85% of large copier dealers who use us. We help them with managing and motivating sales, to service performance and communicating with customers. Juice ensures nothing falls through the cracks. www.ceojuice.com

Fort Lauderdale, Florida [March 6, 2018] – ITEX has confirmed the educational courses that will be offered at the show in May 2018. Since ITEX began in 2001, the Imaging and Technology Education Exposition (ITEX) has provided top-notch, vendor-neutral education. Attendees who register for the Conference or Certificate Pass will have access to 25 education courses led by industry experts spanning from Managed IT to VoIP.

The educational tracks offered at ITEX 2018 will be divided into 5 tracks:  Marketing & Lead Generation, Managed IT & Cloud, MSP Strategies, MPS/Print, and Security. New this year, the MSP Expo will be leading education on the MSP Strategies track. This education line-up exemplifies this year’s slogan: Own the Office, Piece by Piece. There will be courses for each member of an organization: Dealer Principals, CIO, Sales, Marketing & Service Managers.

Marc Spring founded ITEX in 2001. After re-acquiring the show in 2016, Spring is proud to offer courses hosted by industry leaders, and led by successful resellers. He notes, “ITEX education is presented by industry experts, vendors and Successful dealers. We emphasize that vendors and industry experts must present vendor-neutral education - always co-presented with Business Solution Providers, (BSPs), - so that the audience can get real world stories from dealers, rather than a vendor presentation masquerading as education. Our education is designed and shared by the innovators, movers and shakers in our space.”

ITEX 2018 will be held at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, on May 15^th through May 17^th. Educational courses will be offered from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on May 16^th, and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on May 17^th, with allocated breaks for attendees to explore the show floor. ITEX is anticipating hundreds of exhibitors with expertise in various areas while offering networking opportunities, face-to-face meetings with vendors, co-located events, and educational sessions discussing the latest products. For more information about the show, please visit www.itexshow.com. For more information about ITEX 2018 education, please visit www.itexshow.com/education.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 22, 2018 –  The Imaging and Technology Education Exposition (ITEX) has confirmed that Compass Sales Solutions, the company behind Sherpa ERP, will hold their highly attended Executive Sales Summit at the annual ITEX event. The Summit will focus on sharing best practices, how-to classes, and the opportunity for Compass partners to share ideas with Compass, along with other partners nationally.

Troy Casper, President of Compass, believes that ITEX is the perfect Co-location for his event. “I have been taking part in ITEX as a vendor for over ten years. We want to support this event as we believe the industry needs a vendor agnostic event like ITEX. We are excited to bring some of the brightest talent in the industry to our summit.”

As a result of the co-location events, ITEX is anticipating 1,500 attendees at this year’s event. Marc Spring, ITEX owner, explained “We’re excited to host Compass and their dealers at our event…Compass users are among the most successful dealers in our industry.  We have an array of educational sessions to offer alongside Compass’ Summit, to help build on their success.”

The Executive Sales Summit will be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 15^th, one day before the opening of the ITEX show floor, on May 16^th and May 17^th.   The Summit consists of one general discussion, along with two breakout sessions. Dealer principals and senior sales leadership will be discussed in one session, and an administration forum will be held in the other session. The Summit format will enable a powerful exchange of ideas between the industry’s elite. As the event is rapidly approaching, ITEX is anticipating additional partner agreements leading up to the show.

St. Louis, MO – January 16, 2018 – Supplies Network is pleased to announce the addition of Primera to its product line. This vast line of specialty printing equipment and supplies spans a wide range of applications including professional-quality labels, high-quality graphics, photos and bar code labels. Primera products represent an opportunity for resellers serving customers with specialty printing needs in a variety of markets.

“We are happy to add Primera to our extensive offering of printing and imaging products. The specialized applications in color inkjet label printing and disc duplication are a marketplace differentiator for Primera and make them a good fit for our business,” said Monte White, Supplies Network’s Vice President of Product Marketing. “This new partnership is another great example of our commitment to maintaining our leading position in the market as the single source for all things printing and imaging.”

“We’re very pleased to have Supplies Network as our newest distribution partner for Primera’s range of desktop color label printers, label applicators and CD/DVD/Blu-ray™ Disc Publishers,” said Mark D. Strobel, Primera’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We’re looking forward to leveraging the vast logistics and product management expertise and experience within their organization. Supplies Network will also expand our presence in the USA, allowing us to provide an even higher level of service and support to our valued resellers and integrators in a wide range of industries where Primera’s products are utilized.”

The addition of Primera products to Supplies Network’s offering complements one of the most comprehensive imaging supplies and equipment product lines available. Resellers receive marketing support, category expertise and branded dropship services to create an exceptional experience for their customers.

(Cedar Rapids, IA) – GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation announced today that it surpassed the $2 billion mark in assets and concurrently reached its 25^th year of uninterrupted organic growth. The two milestones are the latest installment of the remarkable journey of a young immigrant’s dream to build a company that would be the best in its field.

“Tony [Golobic] changed the paradigm in the leasing business,” said Carol Mitschke, Owner of Frontier Business Products and one of the first GreatAmerica customers. “He understood that he needed to partner with the office equipment Dealer on the financing piece, and be invested together to make sure customers were happy and stayed with their Dealer.”

As GreatAmerica grew, it applied its Dealer-centric approach to other industries, averaging annual double-digit asset growth since its inception. GreatAmerica also drew on the knowledge base of its customers to build tools and systems to help them grow. FleetView®, PathShare®, SnappShot®, DocEase® and Collabrance® are just a few of the GreatAmerica non-financing initiatives created to help build the businesses of their channel partners.

“Our longevity and success has had everything to do with the bond between our loyal partners and our exceptional employees,” said Tony Golobic, Chairman and CEO of GreatAmerica. “We’ve been fortunate to have strategies in place that drive us to constantly re-evaluate where we are in providing the best value-add services for our customers. Their needs have changed over the years, and we continue to evolve to create a frictionless platform to help them become more successful and differentiate.”

At the GreatAmerica Annual Awards event this summer, employees celebrated the 25^th Anniversary and saw for the first time the GreatAmerica origin story. “There are a lot of elements in our origin story that are woven into our culture,” said Jennie Fisher, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Office Equipment Group and the third person hired at GreatAmerica. “The “why” of what we are doing becomes very clear, especially after seeing how the foundation stones have been laid.  Most, if not nearly all of our 525 employees make that connection and strive to live up to our “Hard Work. Integrity. Excellence.” motto. 

About GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation

GreatAmerica is among the largest independent small ticket national commercial equipment finance companies in the U.S. and is dedicated to helping manufacturers, vendors, and dealers be more successful and keep their customers for a lifetime. A family-owned business, GreatAmerica was established in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1992 and today is organized into seven business units. It has a staff of over 500 employees with offices in Georgia, Minnesota, and Missouri. We also offer innovative non-financial services to help our customers be more successful. For additional information, please visit the GreatAmerica corporate website: www.greatamerica.com

August 7, 2017 —The Managed Print Services Association is pleased to announce its new Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Elections were held in July, with two-year terms beginning in August. 

The newly elected MPSA executive committee consists of:

Executive Committee: 

President: Doug Bies – Complete Document Solutions
Vice President: Tawnya Stone – GreatAmerica Financial Services
Treasurer: Brian Stevenson – footPRINT Managed Services 
Secretary: Ann Priede – Canon Solutions America

“I’m honored and thrilled to remain part of the MPSA and have the opportunity to serve as President,” said incoming President Doug Bies.  "The MPSA continues to provide its members with the ability to learn, network, and market themselves and their companies to a broad audience.  We have grown as an association under Kevin DeYoung and his predecessor’s leadership, and have a long-term vision that will continue to position us as MPS experts for years to come.  Great things lie ahead!” 

The newly elected board of directors consists of eight members: Seven members were chosen during the elections, while the outgoing President, Kevin DeYoung, will hold the eighth position.

Board of Directors:

Sarah Custer – Supplies Network
Kevin DeYoung – Qualpath
Mitch Filby – First Rock Consulting
Jennie Fisher – GreatAmerica Financial Services
Bill Ford – Clover Imaging Group
Kevin Morris – OneDOC Managed Print Services
Ron Alphin – Parts Now
Annie Willert – LMI

The 12 members that will guide the MPSA for the next two years have some of the most extensive experience in the imaging channel and represent a wide span of the industry from independent dealers and financial services to OEMs and consumables manufacturers.  

The new officers will be welcomed to their new positions at the board meeting in August 2017.

If you are not currently a member of the MPSA, this is a great time to get involved and help shape the dialog. Join an international group of professionals from every aspect of the imaging industry: http://www.yourmpsa.org/join

About the Managed Print Services Association

The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that serves the MPS industry. Its focus is on the development of standards, education and industry guidelines that unite the different segments of the industry that bring value to all those participating. For more information about benefits and memberships, visit www.yourmpsa.org.

Chicago, Ill. – July 10, 2017 – Clover Imaging Group (CIG) is excited to announce the latest updates to cloverimaging.com including new navigation, freshly launched blog, and more. The CIG team is dedicated to continuous improvement of its web technology and ordering functions in order to simplify and improve business for its customers.

“In this latest website release, we launched several enhancements to further streamline navigation and new functionality features to increase user efficiency,” said Mike Posch, SVP E-Commerce, Product Management, and Merchandising for Clover Technologies Group. “Our team will continue to develop and deploy new tools and functionality to ensure cloverimaging.com fulfills our commitment to provide our dealers with the best level of service in the industry.”

Recent updates to the website include:

• New Navigation: It’s now even easier to browse CIG’s world-renowned suite of products, brands, services, and solutions.  
• Price Change Notification: Registered cloverimaging.com users can now view and download price changes in advance. Registered users can simply login and look under the notifications section of their dashboard for updates.
• Blogs: There will be new blogs published every week covering topics such as MPS, innovative business solutions, industry tips, and more.
• Social Media: Are you following CIG on social media? Website visitors can now conveniently follow CIG on LinkedIn and Twitter from the website homepage.

To read CIG’s latest blog posts and check out the other new website features, please visit us at: cloverimaging.com

The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) is now holding open nominations for positions on the board of directors and executive committee by members of the MPSA. The nomination period is open until June 30 for candidates to serve on the MPSA Board of Directors and Executive Committee two year terms beginning July 2017. Learn more here, or email elections@yourmpsa.org.

The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) is pleased to announce that 9 members of the MPSA have been named “Difference Makers” in the document imaging industry by ENX Magazine. Each year, ENX contacts dozens of respected folks across all segments of the document imaging industry for recommendations and profiles the difference makers that result from those efforts and responses.

This year’s list of Difference Makers includes the following MPSA members.

• Lindsey Bohon, Vice President and Managing Director of Sales, Office Equipment Group, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.
• Ed Crowley, CEO, Photizo Group
• Jordan Darragh, CEO and Founder, PrintReleaf
• Aaron Dyck, Vice President, CIG Solutions, Clover Imaging Group
• Luke Goldberg, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing, Clover Imaging Group
• Josie Heskje, Director of Strategic Marketing, Office Equipment Group, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.
• Doug Johnson, Chief Strategy Officer, LMI Solutions
• West McDonald, Vice President, Business Development, Print Audit and Owner, FocusMPS
• Greg VanDeWalker, Senior Vice President, IT Channel and Services, GreatAmerica Financial and Collabrance, LLC

The MPSA is proud to recognize these members who volunteer their time and energy to the association while making an impact on their organizations and the imaging industry.

About the Managed Print Services Association

The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that serves the MPS industry. Its focus is on the development of standards, education, and industry guidelines that unite the different segments of the industry and bring value to all those participating. For more information about benefits and memberships, visit http://yourmpsa.org/Membership.

Are you an existing MPSA member interested in getting more involved with the MPSA? You can find out more about all the committees and the MPSA here or contact us at info@yourmpsa.org.

Chicago, Ill. – May 18, 2017 – Clover Imaging Group (CIG) is excited to release refreshed Axess Managed Print Services (MPS) SalesPro training. Axess MPS SalesPro Training is the most comprehensive e-learning MPS sales training curriculum available. Consisting of thirteen web-based video modules, the MPS training includes multimedia content, real world examples, field implementation tools, and knowledge checks to keep sales teams engaged and to ensure mastery of material. The course overview and module one are available online for free today. 
  
“There are lots of moving parts that go with implementing, running, and maintaining a managed print services program,” said Aldo Spensieri, Vice President of MPS Solutions. “Our MPS experts poured all of their hard-earned MPS experience and knowledge into creating these exhaustive MPS training modules. Everyone can benefit from this comprehensive training.” 
  
The Axess SalesPro MPS Training modules cover topics from creating an initial go-to-market strategy, assessing the print environment, making the close, and proactively managing the account. The self-paced setup is great for busy imaging staff who are eager to master MPS and who can’t take much precious time away from the field. The training is available 24/7 online. Current Axess clients should reach out to their CIG sales representative to get access to all the training modules. New and prospective clients should watch the course overview and reach out to support@axessmps.com to get started with Axess MPS today. 
  
Axess MPS is CIG’s comprehensive, fully integrated suite of software and services designed to help dealers deliver more profitable MPS solutions. Axess MPS is designed with the flexibility and scalability dealers need to provide MPS solutions to their customers. For more information, please visit www.cloverimaging.com. 
  
About Clover Imaging Group 
Clover Imaging Group offers a complete imaging and solutions platform for independent dealers, OEMs, and retailers. From remanufactured printer cartridges and computer/server parts to managed print services tools and marketing support, a comprehensive suite of products and services is available, all utilizing intelligent technology, proprietary engineering, and sustainable innovation. From its early beginnings as an ink and toner remanufacturer, CIG has grown into a global powerhouse that manufactures more than three million cartridges a month and offers world-class products, branding, distribution, and support that provides the perfect portfolio to fit each customer’s needs — let’s go even further, together.