For the last 26 years, BEI services has been providing dealers in the document imaging industry with a comprehensive suite of actionable business data and solutions. That is until recently. In April, BEI Services merged with Business Systems Consultants (BSC) — a consulting firm that helps companies in the office automation channel “implement business plans and human resources while creating a customer-centric culture and promoting a supportive work environment that is coaching in nature” — forming the newly branded NEXERA.
BEI and BSC are two sides of the same coin. Combined together, they offer a highly-complementary portfolio of solutions and consulting services that dealers can ride into the future. In the press release announcing the merger and rebrand, Wes McArtor, President of NEXERA, said that the melding of BEI Services and BSC “will allow NEXERA to address every aspect of a dealers’ operation.”
Not long after the news broke, I ran into Wes McArtor and CFO Richard Elixman. We sat down for an hour and talked about the merger, where they see the document imaging industry is heading, and how NEXERA is going to help dealers thrive in the next era of imaging.
What’s with the new name, anyway?
It’s not every day that successful businesses change their name. But the amalgamation of BEI and BSC forms a completely different kind of business model, which McArtor and Elixman dubbed the people-development model.
Talking with McArtor and Elixman, it seemed like the BEI Services name recognition was too effective. At events, groups of people wouldn’t stop and chat. “They would say, I know what they do–they’ve been doing it for over 20 years,” said McArtor. But with the rebrand, engagement is up. “They engage in a conversation that we would not have otherwise gotten, because they didn’t pigeonhole us into what they thought we did.”
Helping dealers thrive in the next era of document imaging
Most people realize that big data and analytics are a big deal. There is a general understanding that we need data. Everybody sees it. Everybody gets it. But according to Wes McArtor, most folks don’t understand how to execute on this data–how to interpret that data and how to create and implement plans based on that data.
Before the merger, BEI Services learned that you can’t just present users with data and a plan to put it into action. A big part of the problem, according to McArtor, is that in most cases, dealers want to change, but they just don’t know how to go about it. This is what makes the merger with BSC so valuable. Now, NEXERA isn’t just about metrics and best practices–they can also coach management to effectively act on that data and get results. “One of our key focuses, is changing the role that we have in the organizations to developing and helping their people execute on a plan that involves our data and the solutions,” said Elixman.
Take key performance indicators (KPI) for service departments as an example. At the end of the day, they are just metrics. They’re virtually worthless if managers don’t know how to use that metric to improve worker productivity in the service department. But with the merger, NEXERA doesn’t have to rely on their customers to execute. “We can execute on their behalf in order to make the change happen,” said McArtor. NEXERA isn’t just going to tell you about best practices or which benchmarks to set. They also bring coaching and consulting resources to the table, that can help businesses act on that data. “We show and coach the managers how we present that to the employee. How we get the results through to others,” said Elixman.
Culture shock
“As an industry we’re changing. If you want to thrive in that industry, you’re going to have to evolve, and that evolution is difficult,” said McArtor. As dealers ditch the transaction model for a subscription one, they’re going to need to change their approach. And perhaps one of the most important things that needs to change is also the most difficult to change: their culture. “Sometimes having a coach and having an outsider help develop your people separates the emotional component that becomes so difficult for people to actually engage,” said McArtor. But that’s what NEXERA can offer: they have the difficult conversations and coach the dealers most valuable asset, (their people) to create the right culture that is conducive to growth.
Sometimes I’ll read about a merger and think to myself, “this makes so much sense.” The BEI/BCS merger is one of them. It brings together tried and true solutions and consulting and coaching services that not only reveal a dealerships problems and how they’re performing, but also helps them take action to get their ship pointed in the right direction.
Patricia Ames is president and senior analyst for BPO Media, which publishes The Imaging Channel and Workflow magazines. As a market analyst and industry consultant, Ames has worked for prominent consulting firms including KPMG and has more than 15 years experience in the imaging industry covering technology and business sectors. Ames has lived and worked in the United States, Southeast Asia and Europe and enjoys being a part of a global industry and community.
