(Photo above: Solutions YES new storefront on Empire | provided by Solutions YES)
As Solution YES celebrates their five-year anniversary, Corporate President Sean Bell reminisces the early days, shares recent successes and the company’s outlook for the future.
“We started Solutions YES in June 2011,” says Bell, “with ten employees that averaged 20 years of industry experience and no customers. We launched with the intention of delivering the very best customer service experience in our industry. Fast forward five years, and we now have 40 employees and nearly 1000 customers.”
The company’s offerings as a supplier and servicer of copiers, printers, faxes and wide format machines generated over $8 million in revenue in 2015. The PortlandBusiness Journal named Solutions YES one of the 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in Oregon in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In addition, for the same three years, they earned Oregon Business Magazine’s award for being one of the 100 Best Companies in Oregon to Work for.
Bell says there were several iterations which preceded Solutions YES and led to their present success. “For most of us at Solutions YES, this is our third chapter in the office equipment industry. Most of us started with local dealerships in the 1980s and 1990s that merged to form what was called Ikon Office Solutions. Nearly all of us left Ikon for Associated Business Systems (ABS) and after ABS was acquired by Ricoh, joined Solutions YES.
“We are repeating what we did well at ABS, and have continued to modify our customer service model so that we are continually delivering a better experience for our customers. The customers we work with understand that our service levels are unique, and that’s allowed us to earn over 90 percent of the business we compete for and retain over 98 percent of our customers.”
Solutions YES is proud to serve Umpqua Bank, Hooker Creek, Hayden Homes, Nosler, Kirby Nagelhout, Keith Manufacturing, Jefferson County EMS and Jack Robinson and Sons. Bell says recently a customer shared with him, “I can’t say enough about the Kyocera devices or the support of Solutions YES. It was one of the best changes we have ever made as a company.”
Bell has found that, “Generally customers choose Solutions YES after comparing technology, pricing and service. From a technology and price perspective, there’s very little difference between us and our competitors. However, from a service standpoint, there are many factors that allow us to deliver the best service. A few include local staff, local office, local inventory and local delivery. Our staff is empowered to resolve issues for our customers, but if I need to get involved for some reason, I live in Sisters and can quickly help.”
Jack Myers, Central Oregon marketplace manager encourages interested parties to visit their new showroom on Empire in Bend. “We are investing in local,” says Myers, “I live in Redmond and our service and sales team all live work and play here in Central Oregon. Our families are here; our future is here. It has been my privilege to work with many of the members of this team for most of the past 18 years and we bring local, no nonsense customer-first service to our customers.”
Company name: Solutions YES
20370 Empire Suite C-2, Bend, OR
541-306-2222
Jack.myers@solutionsyes.com
www.solutionsyes.com/bend
