18 November/December 2012 Jani<strong>to</strong>rial/sanitation distribu<strong>to</strong>r Alpena Paper & Supply Co., of Alpena, MI, located on Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay, services a large swath of northeast Michigan. The company’s offerings also include cleaning equipment, foodservice items and packaging products. “Our service area stretches from Au Gres <strong>to</strong> the south, located just north of Saginaw Bay, <strong>to</strong> Sault St. Marie in the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior,” said AP&S owner Ed Bolanowski. “We service schools, state and county governments, small businesses and small offices. We also offer medical supplies such as gloves, paper aprons, etc. “Two or three larger companies from outside the region have moved in, purchasing smaller businesses; however, of the distribu<strong>to</strong>rships owned by people who are actually from Northeast Michigan, we are probably the largest. “We have always tried <strong>to</strong> offer products that are new and cutting edge. We are looking for something <strong>to</strong> enhance sales that is a little different — something that the competition is not seeing or selling.” While sales of “green” products are not great in AP&S’ area thus far, the company does offer environmentally friendly products and Bolanowski expects this area <strong>to</strong> grow in the future. “We have cus<strong>to</strong>mers who are using green and biodegradable items, such as can liners, etc.,” he said. Bolanowski reported that business has been good and sales are up. Nonetheless, the current state of the economy is not making it easy <strong>to</strong> maintain an upward path. “Our sales numbers have been steady. Overall, business is up. We were lucky <strong>to</strong> be able <strong>to</strong> increase other areas of our business when times got bad,” Bolanowski said. “For example, we concentrated more on the hospitality segment when times started slowing down than we had before.” With the sluggish economy, Bolanowski said sales of big- By Rick Mullen, <strong>Maintenance</strong> <strong>Sales</strong> <strong>News</strong> Associate Edi<strong>to</strong>r In a marketplace of higher costs and lower margins, executives from four distribu<strong>to</strong>rships <strong>to</strong>ld <strong>Maintenance</strong> <strong>Sales</strong> <strong>News</strong> Magazine recently how their respective companies are staying ahead of the game. Hailing from four distinct regions of the country — the north, south, east and west — these companies share some of the same concerns and goals as they aggressively deal with an uncertain economy. ticket items are lagging and municipal and government cus<strong>to</strong>mers are scrutinizing their spending more closely than before. “Governmental agencies are not spending the way they were six or seven years ago,” he said. “Like many companies, we are seeing tighter margins. Even cus<strong>to</strong>mers, such as doc<strong>to</strong>r’s offices and others, that traditionally did not pay much attention <strong>to</strong> how much items cost — if they needed something; they bought it — are scrutinizing prices. “Rising costs of doing business and lower margins are putting us in a spot. Between decreasing margins and the increasing costs of fuel, electricity, etc., we are being squeezed. One of the biggest challenges in the future is going <strong>to</strong> be how <strong>to</strong> weigh out increasing costs with cus<strong>to</strong>mers’ demand <strong>to</strong> be price effective.” Another challenge <strong>to</strong> the traditional way distribu<strong>to</strong>rs do business Bolanowski spoke of is a trend <strong>to</strong>ward privatization. For example, Bolanowski said Michigan schools have been urged by the state government <strong>to</strong> at least consider outsourcing jani<strong>to</strong>rial/maintenance work. “We are seeing this outsourcing more and more with the smaller school districts in our region,” Bolanowski said. “This can either help or hurt, depending on w<strong>here</strong> a distribu<strong>to</strong>r is at on that fence. If the outside contrac<strong>to</strong>r is the distribu<strong>to</strong>r’s guy, it is great. If it is another contrac<strong>to</strong>r, then the distribu<strong>to</strong>r will be pretty much out of the picture. At least Ed Bolanowski of Alpena Paper & Supply Co., Alpena, MI when dealing with individual schools, a distribu<strong>to</strong>r could find someone <strong>to</strong> work with <strong>to</strong> get a foot in the door. With a contrac<strong>to</strong>r, you are either the guy or you are not, and that is the end of the conversation.” To maintain an edge in <strong>to</strong>day’s highly competitive jan/san industry, AP&S is continually fine tuning its cus<strong>to</strong>mer service and sales efforts. “On the cus<strong>to</strong>mer service side, one thing we are stressing is zero <strong>to</strong>lerance for order mistakes,” Bolanowski said. “We want <strong>to</strong> get our cus<strong>to</strong>mers’ products <strong>to</strong> them correctly the first time. Another big area we are emphasizing is the professionalism of our sales people. We want our sales people <strong>to</strong> be knowledgeable. We want <strong>to</strong> make sure cus<strong>to</strong>mers know we are not just selling products, but we are also the answer guys for them.” AP&S offers training <strong>to</strong> cus<strong>to</strong>mers in a variety of ways. The company occasionally conducts seminars at a nearby facility, offering training on stripping floors, how <strong>to</strong> clean a bathroom, carpets, etc. The company’s vendor reps also play an important role in training. “When we have our shows, we bring in manufacturer reps <strong>to</strong> conduct training of products and cleaning methods,” Bolanowski said. Vendor reps also often accompany AP&S sales people on
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