Above: The SOS management team (left to right): Bryan Ammons, president, Bernie Schom, VP of Sales, and Kevin Kendall, VP of Service and Operations
As our 2017 tour drew to a close, our final stop of the year at Standard Office Systems in Duluth, Georgia, was seven years overdue.
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In April 23, 2010, I was returning home from a Ricoh Convergence meeting in Las Vegas. After a short respite, I was scheduled to go to Norcross, Georgia, and visit with old friend Bryan Ammons, president of Standard Office Systems (SOS). During that period, we would stop in to visit dealers about three or four times a year.
That evening I suffered a heart attack that put me in the hospital for two weeks. For Carol, CJ and the rest of my family, it was a harrowing and surreal experience. I have no recollection of anything that happened during the entire time I was in the hospital. I was placed into an induced coma, which tends to cause short-term memory loss after you emerge from that state. When I woke up in the hospital, Carol then told me I had been there for 11 days. Because of that short-term memory loss, I had completely forgotten that I had promised to visit Bryan that year.
When I ran into Bryan at a CDA meeting in early 2017, he reminded me of my 2010 promise to visit with him. For those of you who know Bryan, you already know he is as fine a gentleman as you can find. As we spoke, he said something else that truly exemplified his character.
“I owe you; thanks,” he said.
I was taken back and couldn’t recall what I had done for him. Then, he explained, “In 1989 you wrote me a letter and said SOS should become a member of the CDA. For you to take the time to write me a letter to encourage me to do something that would help me and my business is something special.”
With those words on my mind, I flew into Atlanta on October 24, 2017, and traveled to Duluth (SOS had moved from Norcross) for a long-overdue visit.
Copier Business Career
Bryan Ammons’ career in dealer copier business began in 1973, the year I became a district sales manager (DSM) after three years working in Saxon’s direct operation.
At the time, Bryan was a high school student working part time for SOS, which was owned by Lowell Fox. After graduation, he started working full-time for SOS in service. In 1973, the dealership had 10 employees, and Bryan was doing just about every task one could do in a copier dealership.
By 1985, SOS had grown to become a Mita dealer with $2 million in revenues. When Fox promoted Bryan to president that year, he also entered into a 10-year buy-sell agreement with Fox.
As I sat listening to Bryan’s story, it was apparent he was the kind of person who never believed he knew it all. That may be why he hired Tom Johnson of Global Imaging Systems in 1994 to learn more about Johnson’s business model for copier dealers .” Later in the same year he partnered with Mike Riordan to utilize his philosophy about hiring the “right” people.”
SOS prefers to hire and train their own people their own way, another process learned from Mike Riordan.
In 2003, SOS moved its business from Norcross to Duluth into a beautiful building in a well-situated area. The business has continued to grow and prosper and today, SOS has $30 million in yearly revenues and employs 110 people. While all of the growth SOS has experienced has been organic, Bryan also remains open to acquisitions.
“I am very interested in acquiring a contiguous dealer for obvious reasons: expanding the geography and increasing the MIF,” he told me. “However, I believe it is more about the former.”
As a Canon dealer, I don’t think Bryan will get an argument from his major supplier if he wants to expand his footprint.
Positive Workplace, Client-Focused Strategy
During our visit, it was obvious that SOS’s employees enjoy working there.
As the company states on its website, the primary company focus is on its clients. Every employee is working to solve business issues in an efficient and cost-effective manner, using the technological solutions and services SOS offers.
The positive atmosphere is apparent in the smiles of SOS’s employees and their key leaders in sales, service, and IT. Former SOS CIO Mike Kirkpatrick who has since left SOS to join CEO Juice, put it this way, “I [worked] full-time for SOS for 22 years and all I can say [is that] it [was] like working with your best friend.”
And Bryan has a high degree of confidence in his team.
The company emphasizes a balanced approach to the market and understands the need to provide IT services. SOS has its own NOC, and Bryan reports 8% of SOS’s revenue is derived from IT services.
“The company is doing well and I don’t need to be here 24/7,” he said. “I have no interest in selling and I am still enjoying the business.
As a company that prides themselves on being early adopters, Bryan and his team are convinced they are on the right track. The target for SOS is to eventually derive 50% of its revenue from IT services.
It sounds to me like they know exactly where they are heading and how to get there.
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