It's gratifying when a company my clients recommend for their high level of customer service and/or product excellence turns out to be a company whose actions show that it also cares about its environmental stewardship.   Funny how companies who genuinely care about the environment also have a tendency to take care of their clients as well.   These things seem to go hand in hand.  

Like Office Supplies, Business Machines have long been viewed as one of businesses' disposable commodities, replaced every 3 years by the latest greatest technology and the general wear and tear of 8-10 hour days of office use and abuse.  In a crowded and competitive industry with challenging margins, companies that devote significant resources and are serious about becoming more sustainable and ecologically sensitive are rare.  

Beyond all copier and printer models being Energy Star qualified, Sharp Electronics' use of external heat fusing technology makes their machines among the most energy efficient in the industry.  Opting for reusable airbags in their packaging materials and eliminating polystyrene for all products under 11bs, and printing all service and owner's manuals on recycled paper are all steps that Sharp has taken that show them to be a company moving in the right direction.

And back at the source of the supply chain river, Sharp's production facilities have been ISO 14001 certified since 2004, and they have a strong record of expanding solar energy in the use of solar cells and reducing greenhouse gas emissions across their worldwide business activities, earning several awards from the GSA and EPA.   

And lastly, in one of those lesser-publicized, but still deserve our attention areas, the Logistics & Supply Chain Planning team deserves recognition for their initiative to begin shipping copiers and printers on corrugated cardboard "honeycomb" pallets.   Far lighter (7 lbs. vs. 60 lbs.!) than conventional wood pallets which are heavy and difficult to recycle, honeycomb pallets are 100% recyclable.   The best part of all is they still support as much as 3,000 pounds, easily handling all of Sharp's current MFP products double-stacked.

The centerpiece of DocuTeam’s philosophy is “Premiere Service, No Excuses”.     As one of Sharp’s largest distributors in the U.S.,, DocuTeam’s clients Bill of Rights include 4 hour service response time guarantee that is more often than not the window within which the issue has been resolved and the machine is back up and running.   In addition to their client partnership program, DocuFree, their new web-based Document Management and Workflow solution combines the strength of a central content store house with the flexibility of an on-demand web application.   Along with helping companies store, retrieve and share documents, this solution helps companies significantly reduce the need to print documents in the first place, reducing paper costs and reducing pressure on our forests at the same time.

For more information on how these solutions can help you and your business, contact Rich Simons at 404-304-5177 or rsimons@docuteam.com