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Learn how we pick our vendors – and what the latest breakthroughs in the industry are
There exists a lot of misconception and misguided truths about what is really available out there for you as an end user. Because we are brokers and not manufactures of any products, we only have an allegiance to you the client. So our job is to research, find, and always present the absolute best possible solution for you.
When it comes to OEM, Compatible, Remanufactured, or Refilled toner cartridges, there are about 120 manufactures. Only of which about 12 are worthwhile, the rest make a decent to sub par product. Meaning, some get the job done, some don’t, and in some cases, unless you are trained in the manufacturing of toner cartridges, you won’t be able to tell the difference. However, it’s those subtleties that are not necessarily apparent to the “naked eye” that might make a huge difference in the performance of your toner cartridge. It would be comparable to having airbags, antilock breaks, and super gripping tires in your car, or not. They might not make a difference until it counts.
So how do we decide who is good and who is not. Well, the market place does some of it for us by weeding out for us of those who are not very good - word gets around and you know who to stay away from. Of those that are left, we have 7-prong approach to classifying them, after they are ranked we use the top 3.
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1st they must meet is our quality requirements. The cartridge must meet or exceed the OEM specifications. The print yield must be the same, or slightly higher, the darkness, graphic, and grayscale must be as good or better then the OEM.
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2nd the manufacture has to use the highest quality of new components in the right cartridge. For example, a manufacture of drums might make the best drum for an HP IV, but not for the HP 4000. So we look for the optimal synergistic combination to be used in each cartridge. This insures that each cartridge will perform or out perform the OEM.
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4th we visit the facility and get to know the staff. The company is only as good as the people who run it. We make sure that they take pride in their craftsmanship, and in their company. They must run a clean facility, and comply with industry standards on safety. Further, we do judge the character and integrity of the owners and management staff.
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5th how fast and effectively can they supply our needs? Because we keep stock in 6 major warehouse, so are clients can get the product next day at ground rates, it’s important that they can fill and ship our order to any and all of our warehouse within 3 days. This way we will always have product for you.
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7th we consider their vision and innovation for the future. We want a company that will always try to improve their product, production, and constantly innovate to supply a larger line of products so you have more choices.
So of those few that meet these requirements, we choose the top three. Incidentally, last year when we revised our vendor list, only 4 made it.
So for the latest and greatest breakthroughs in toner cartridge technology, click
here.
How we pick our main OEM, and compatible distributors is somewhat different.
Let me first explain what we mean by a distributor. We are brokers that sell to you, the end user. It would be virtually impossible to supply everything you need from every manufacture if we had to go directly to each one. There are literally thousands of them, from HP, Sony, IBM, Lexmark, Tektronix, Xerox, to the most unheard of like Abbot and JetFill. So what the manufactures do is warehouse their products with distributors who stock and distribute their product for them. We then, as wholesale brokers, have the advantage of buying directly from the manufactures and having it dropped shipped directly to you.
In choosing distributors we have to have at least 10, with 1 as our primary. Not because more is necessarily better but rather because some may carry remote items that others don’t. In order to pick our top distributor we use a 7-prong approach.
We have had the same main vendor for over 3 years, and each year they are the only one to meet all of our criteria’s.
To find out the latest and greatest new developments in this part of the industry, click
here.
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