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In 1970, Tom James was just 27 when his father, Bob James, handed him the reins of Raymond James, the St. Petersburg-based investment services firm the elder James had founded [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Last year Steve Matyas, president of Staples Canada, had big ideas for 2008 and 2009. The plan was to open 20 stores during 2008 and another 15 during [...]

This Big Interview section is usually devoted to an industry heavyweight, a leader who is instrumental in shaping and developing the market. However, in response to the reaction to the [...]

Love them or hate them, reverse auctions are a fact of business life today. Having begun as a sidekick venture of consultants and/or software providers during the boom or bust [...]

These are defining times for US independent dealers and is.group. What is.group thought would give it and its members a crucial edge in the eternal battle against the power channel, [...]

OPI: You became managing partner of PBS Deutschland after Kanzenel & Beisenherz was brought into the newly launched German business of PBS Holding. Can you tell me a little bit [...]

Common themes recur when a corporation moves to harvest the untapped potential of its supply chain. Witness the case of Office Depot (global supplier of office products and services, with […]

Conducting employee surveys can be a good way to create a more engaged and productive workforce, but only if the employees receive feedback on their answers and see their comments [...]

Rick Tillotson is a student of best-practice telecommunications. He has to be. As telecom manager for the nonprofit Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), his hands are full keeping TASB […]

IN CHINA, CULTURE COUNTS. AND FOR U.S. manufacturers seeking success in this 26th year of China's experiment with modern capitalism, no aspect of culture counts more than guanxi, the ages-old […]

OPI: Paolo, to kick off with, Gruppo Buffetti is a famous name in Italy, but not too many elsewhere may be aware of its history. Perhaps you can give us [...]

Visit Michael Critelli, the chief executive of Pitney Bowes, in his office and ,you'll learn a lot about the man and the company. For starters, Pitney's six-story headquarters in Stamford, […]

While a common practice in many mass markets, especially among fast-moving categories such as food, cosmetics and detergents, category management is still a comparatively alien concept in OP circles. But [...]

The image of Corporate America has taken something of a battering in recent times. Where once US capitalism was the envy of the world, it is now being viewed with [...]

He has one of the most powerful roles in the industry after stepping into the shoes of the legendary Tom Stemberg. Yet he drives an 11-year old Toyota Camry! Staples' [...]

OPI: Colin, to start let's begin with Iangstane's history. CC: It was formed in 1947 by my father and two uncles, John and Jim. The name Langstane came from the [...]

OPI: Jim, if we can start by finding out a bit more about yourself. How did you get into the sector? JP: Forty years ago I began working weekends cleaning [...]

Life's not been easy for wholesalers recently. Distributors of IT products and consumables have been losing ground to office products wholesalers in the last few years, as these have introduced [...]

From humble beginnings, The Supply Room (TSR) has grown swiftly through acquisitions to become one of the USA's leading, regional, independent dealers. Is its hunger sated? OPI: Hello Yancey. I [...]

This is an interview of E. H. (Trace) Devanny III, President of Cerner Corporation, on the company their specialized health services business, their track record and future growth.

Jan Dawson owns a retail operation, Party Land, and a wholesale operation, American Carnival Mart, with housing in one location in St. Louis, MO.

Gadsden, AL-based Party Central was established in Feb 2002 by Randy and Debra Gunter. The Gunters recommend other new retailers to computerize as soon as possible and ask for advice from other business owners.

Waterville, ME's Are You Ready to Party? offers party items and rental items.

These six leaders stepped into their top jobs at a time of enormous challenge: worried workers, scarce resources, demanding customers. Here's what each of them has to say about their [...]

Imagine for a moment that you are the CEO of a mature, worldwide producer of high-tech products or services. You have developed a clear vision of the future for the [...]

Crystal City, MO-based Celebrations Unlimited has 50% of its business in balloons. The store also offers customized wedding products.

Party retailers can utilize several methods to sell birthday party items. They can conduct their own market research to find out what customers want and design an employee incentive program to ensure the sale of birthday party products.

Walter Erwin operates 28 party and paper stores called Card and Party Factory. The advantages of operating as a chain store include centralized purchasing of products and advertising.

Susan Glenn has operated Party and Wedding Corner in State College, PA, for nine years. Her marketing and management techniques are provided.

Green Bay, WI-based Paper Heaven specializes in merchandising wedding party and paper products.

Gene Hatcher, who joined Danka Business Systems as corporate VP and CTO in Aug 1998, is working at the distributor of office imaging equipment to create a unified IT infrastructure capable of supporting a fiscal turnaround. When Hatcher arrived, he was confronted by a diverse mix of hardware and software, a nonexistent IT strategy, and financial turmoil. He had to deal with morale difficulties, and at the same time, establish credibility for the company's IT department while helping Danka get control over its finances. Prospects for both IT and finances are improving.

Customers and suppliers have been establishing logistics partnerships to solve a specific problem in the effort to enhance competitive advantage. During such a partnership, Avery Dennison and United Stationers formulated a program that drastically simplified and facilitated receiving and put-away of shipments. The program's target was to decrease workloads, enhance service and improve profitability. The program required the optimization of order quantity increments to full-pallet, layer and case volumes depending on demand and warehouse layout.

The total quality management (TQM) process undertaken by Xerox Corp played a vital role in making the company a leader in the manufacture of copying machines. The TQM process undertaken by Xerox takes into consideration three strategic aspects, namely customer focus, total involvement and process improvement. From its initial implementation during the early part of 1970s, the company's TQM process has transformed from a special emphasis to a fundamental business principle.

The Print Engine Development Unit of Xerox Corp's Production Systems Group carried out a concurrent engineering program to enhance product quality and promote faster development. Leadership team members carried out a quality function deployment scheme to facilitate interactions and communications among teams. The firm's designers also utilized CAD tools to evaluate various check factors related to interference fits and mechanical parameters.

Office Depot's extensive deployment of information technology systems has allowed the company to effectively monitor and control its inventory. The company's system now allows customers to use a single order-entry system and warehouses to operate under a unified inventory, transportation and routing system. The philosophy of the company is to eliminate warehouses, excess inventory and disappointed customers and the company hopes IT will help it achieve its goals.

Rank Xerox Ltd. has undergone transformations at a more rapid rate and from more directions than have a majority of firms in all but a few industries. It has survived adversity including near bankruptcy in the 1980s because of its pioneering leadership in quality management. The company, now known as Xerox, has quietly embarked on a tightly focused approach to empowering and developing its workers in the 1990s that company insiders say has kept the company ahead in its markets in terms of innovation and expansion. Xerox's management model reflects the company's philosophy that focusing on the customer will produce excellent financial results. The model employs three crucial mechanisms to achieve this focus, namely business process management, information/quality tools and human resources management (HRM). Leadership is a key element of its HRM.

Building products that are consumed by the mass public can be a nerve-wracking endeavor. Tastes can change. New models are constantly needed to keep consumer interest. To top it off, […]

There's been a lot of people watching this little company. Now C-Phone has to show it can turn profits as well as heads. Tina Jacobs could barely contain herself. Fifteen [...]

UK-based Regus, the biggest provider of fully serviced business centers worldwide, overcame problems ranging from exorbitant real estate costs to language barriers to successfully manage its first Chinese facility. The center in Beijing, though only roughly half the size of a normal facility, is the company's most lucrative operation. The company marketed its services by networking with expatriates rather than using direct-mail or newspaper advertising.

Self-management teams are entities that take responsibility for their own work, monitor their own performance, and alter their performance strategies whenever conditions warrant it. However, some self-managing teams fail to boost organization performance and adaptability. To find out whether either high-quality coaching or high-quality team design makes a self-management team effective, the design features and daily actions of team leaders of 43 self-managing teams at Xerox Corp. were examined. Results showed that the quality of a team's design, more than coaching, had a larger effect on the team's level of self-management. Seven features were seen as common factors among superb teams, including clear, engaging direction; a real team task; rewards for team excellence; authority to manage the work; basic material resources; team goals; and team norms that promote strategic thinking., Which has the greater impact on team performance, team design or effective coaching? The answer may surprise you. Self-managing teams are fast becoming the management practice of choice for organizations [...]

Xerox has continuously pursued total customer satisfaction through quality improvement since winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1989. Several initiatives have been developed to achieve company objectives and foster customer relationships. The company's total satisfaction guarantee on a three-year planning process called Xerox 2000 aims to ensure the company's future success by focusing on strategies in increasing employee empowerment and facilitating decision-making processes.

Proxima, a San Diego-based manufacturer of desktop projectors, decided to install an integrated management systems (IMS) replacing the old manufacturing resource planning II system. The move was prompted by the rapid development in the industry and the increased sales of the company, resulting in problems in system selection and in the implementation process. The IMS ultimately failed because of poor personnel performance, bureaucratic problems and a shallow knowledge of the technical aspects. The company concluded that the success of the program lies in maintaining a good working atmosphere, streamlining company bureaucracy, and hiring contract help.

A participatory method of strategic planning is given focus in the light of the changing business environment and demands. The Search Conference method enables the organization to elicit the participation of a large group to collectively plan a business strategy which will be implemented by the members themselves. Xerox has undergone a major restructuring of field operations which resulted in downsizing. The organization established a Search Conference participated in by management and staff to evaluate performance and develop action plans for improvement.

Tarrant Interiors, a specialist in store fixtures, has broken into the home office furniture business. Its 'The OFFICE,' a fully equipped and self-contained workstation in a cabinet, was successfully launched at the NeoCon96 World's Trade Fair. Pres Bob McCarthy established the company in 1983 with a $3,000 loan from his father and has steered it into a $25 million corporation employing 220 in 1997. 'The OFFICE,' especially its flagship models CEO and Professional, is made of hardwood and veneer with a superior quality finish.