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Chicago, Illinois - In 1996, Tom Klobucher, CEO of Thomas
Interior Systems ®, Inc., a Chicago (Bloomingdale, Illinois)
based full service office furnishings firm, faced a
daunting business task. After 25 years, he had to relocate
his rapidly expanding business, and, he had only 6 months
to do it.
"After
10,000 successfully completed projects, I thought I
knew the industry and the process," said Tom. "Suddenly,
I owned a piece of property, had to build an 80,000
square foot building, and had to select the best contractors
to do it. I needed to make quick decisions based on
referrals and gut instinct, often within a week or two.
I found myself looking at over 25 different disciplines
that any relocating business would have. Having been
in this business area for a long time, I had many good
contacts. But I didn't have enough to perform all the
functions. Finding the rest was difficult. Most CEO's
don't have these connections. They have to determine
what they need and then find suppliers and contractors,
hopefully reputable, to do the work. Maybe they find
them from referrals, or maybe they find them in the
phone book. They can obtain three bids, but how do they
know the quality of work will be good? This is a critical
time in a company's life and mistakes could be costly.
"I
thought that we could help our clients making changes
by offering a package of resources including reliable
and experienced providers to make the process smoother,"
Tom continued. So Tom began calling principals of highly
reliable suppliers who he had worked with for years,
telling them about his concept. They all replied almost
the same way - that they had been looking for this type
of opportunity for a long time.
The
result of this effort was Total Office Resource ™, a
collaborative Alliance to be used by companies that
are changing -- moving, expanding or opening a new business.
Total Office Resource has been trademarked both in Illinois
and nationally. This group of over 20 highly referable,
non-competing businesses will probably grow to over
25 total members by the end of 2000 (See attached member
list). "The criteria for Alliance acceptance is that
each company must have a long time physical presence
in their industry (actual brick and mortar, not just
in cyberspace) with good reputations, easy to do business
with, and be accountable for what they do," said Tom.
"Every Alliance partner is committed to providing high
value at competitive prices. Many are privately owned,
2nd and 3rd generation companies. Alliance members make
personal referrals to other members, and that personal
introduction helps to coordinate services that makes
projects go flawlessly."
"I
knew we needed an Alliance web site to make finding
resources easier. Our first project together was selecting
a webmaster Alliance member and linking all our web
sites. At http://www.totalofficeresource.com, anyone
can find answers to most of their questions. Web site
visitors can go to the "Discussion Room," ask about
anything from banking to office furnishings to architecture,
and be e-mailed an answer by an Alliance member within
24 hours. Total Office Resource makes answers to even
the most complex questions from real estate acquisition
to signage as close as a computer click or a phone call
to any Alliance member.
Total
Office Resource ™ offers services that can help a business
with corporate identity, arrange for installation of
phones and security systems, and add plants and artwork.
Over 350 salespeople from the over 20 member companies
can discuss their own services as well as provide the
value of working with Total Office Resource. The Alliance
recently held a group sales orientation meeting where
each member presented an overview of its company and
its services. Plans are underway now to provide cooperative
educational expos and seminars for customers who are
in transition or soon will be. Alliance members and
their salespeople will be participating in combined
training programs that would be too costly for any one
member, which will ultimately benefit the customer.
Total Office Resource offers companies a free 21-page
book entitled "The Survival Guide To Businesses In Transition."
To obtain a copy or for information on the Alliance
and its members, call Tom Klobucher at (630) 980-4200,
email info@thomasinterior.com or visit the web site
at http://www.totalofficeresource.com.
For
information on the Alliance and its members, call Tom
Klobucher at (630) 980-4200, email info@thomasinterior.com
or visit http://www.totalofficeresource.com.
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