What kind of company are we?

How many different ways are there to say "What a great company we are?" When you read pages like this you must get tired of the superlatives - great, terrific, fast, quality, low prices, customer dedication and the best service, always the best service. And if its one of the giants you are reading about it's always without fail, "we can do it all, so give us all you have."

Obviously all of the words just can't be true. Every company you do business with knows what they don't do well enough; what they must improve on. Are we calling them liars? Of course not. They are being pragmatic, and quite honestly we hope they continue to do so, because it makes them appear just like everyone else.

The Key is being Different, so you have Choices

We believe we're good too; and it is those things that we do better than the others that make us different. This, we think is the key. Not to be different for the sake of it, but because it gives you choices, sound business reasons that will make you feel good about giving us your envelope and stationery orders.

We have always been a family business, like many of you. Like you we share most of the same issues that family businesses do - financing, succession, who's good (or not) at what, how to have a personal life, and that habit of always looking over your shoulder to see if you are going to be gobbled up (or maybe trying to find someone to gobble you up).

Our Differences

When you deal with us you will quickly learn that two of our differences can be important benefits for you (sorry for the superlative). First, when you need something, a favor, a quick answer, some advice about our products, you will likely be talking to ownership about your issue. Mike Sullivan, Tim Sullivan and even John (if he's not out enjoying his semi-retirement) are decision makers who have been around for generations. They aren't in training, and they're not assistant product managers. You get answers on the spot and your work moves forward rather than landing on your follow-up list.

Second, unlike most of your suppliers, we go against the grain product-wise. We don't specialize because we have been forced to. Over the years the list of product lines and services we have decided not to pursue has become a long one. It always comes down to our firmly held belief that if we know more about envelopes than almost anyone, if we don't face the distractions that come from adding, adding and adding, when we speak about our products it will truly be a voice of authority. If we don't have to tell you, "I don't know but I'll check with the production guys and get back to you." (tomorrow? the day after?) You are going to feel very good about the answer you pass on to your customer.

We’re Not Fancy

Finally, many of you know because you visit us that our overheads are low. We don't hold sales meetings in Hawaii, you'll never hear that we have expanded and redecorated our executive office space, our employees don't drive company cars and we have plenty of space for expansions. You see from the beginning we decided against a "competitive price" strategy. The fact is our prices are low, a fact you will easily learn when comparing quotes from others. We're not radicals, and occasionally you will run across someone who knows more about an issue than we do, BUT we have survived for generations. We think that is because YOU recognize the benefits you receive because we operate differently in a few key areas. We think that's why you come back. Thank you for not hesitating to ask the tough question, thank you for your friendship and particularly your respect, and thank you for being astute enough for realizing our differences are good for your company.

The Sullivans