Imaging VAR Scores An ‘A' With Testing Company
Working with its vendor partner to solve a major imaging issue helped this VAR double its business in two years.
Inception Technologies is the only document imaging hardware VAR in New England that has a Kodak high-volume testing facility. The testing facility, which includes a Kodak i840 high-volume scanner (i.e. capable of scanning more than 80 pages per minute), has been an important avenue for forming partnerships with other VARs. Recently, Inception Technologies' testing facility was instrumental in its winning an installation with educational testing company Measured Progress.
Measured Progress is a nonprofit company based in Dover, NH that specializes in K-12 aptitude testing. The company processes more than 100 million paper tests per year. However, Measured Progress believed its growth was stunted by its legacy test-scoring machines. The machines used basic optical mark recognition technology (similar to punch card templates) to process test results and could only process about 40 tests per minute. Desiring a faster test-scoring solution, Measured Progress contacted one of Inception Technologies' partners to explore high-volume document scanning possibilities. The VAR partner brought in Inception Technologies and two other hardware imaging VARs to speak with the client. "There were a couple of factors that helped us win the scanner hardware installation over our competitors," recalls Ray Feoli, president of Inception Technologies. "One differentiator was our support package, which guaranteed a Kodak service technician would be available on-site in the event of a machine malfunction. The other two VARs' partners didn't have a local presence and therefore couldn't make the same promise." The second differentiator was Inception Technologies' experience, which was evident to the client by the VAR's Kodak Gold Reseller status and its testing facility.
Scanner Malfunction Puts Imaging VAR In A Jam
Measured Progress initially purchased three Kodak i840 high-volume scanners from Inception Technologies. Prior to implementing the scanners, Inception Technologies offered its testing facility to its VAR partner to create and test a customized scanning program. The application was built using Kofax' Adrenaline 650i SCSI controller and Adrenaline Image Processing Engine. The controller and image engine enable the VAR to configure the scanners to read images at a specific resolution (e.g. 150 dpi), capture images in full color or black and white, and configure shortcut buttons. Application development and testing took two months. "Everything worked flawlessly during testing, but there were major problems when the system went into production," recalls Feoli. "The original tests had eraser residue that built up on the scanner lens and imaging guides." Scanning operators had to stop the scanners every 15 minutes to clean the lens and roller guides, which was no easy task. The equipment was very hot, which meant that the scanner operator had to wait for it to cool down before cleaning it. Also, the heat from the scanner caused the rubber eraser residue to melt onto the lens and image guides, making it much more difficult to remove.
Your Imaging Vendor Partner Can Be A Valuable Asset
Inception Technologies contacted Kodak, which sent a team of eight engineers and executives to address the problem. Over the next five months, Kodak worked with the client to develop an add-on to the i840 scanner that cleans documents before they pass through the scanner, thereby eliminating residue build up. "Since then, Measured Progress purchased six additional Kodak i840 scanners and processed 20 million test scores in February 2005," says Feoli. "Recently, the client won a three-year contract to scan aptitude tests for the state of Massachusetts, and it expects to purchase several more scanners within the next year." Inception Technologies' success with Measured Progress has helped the VAR land other clients. The VAR estimates as many as 25 new clients came in as a result of referrals from the Measured Progress implementation. This business played a big role in the company's doubling its sales revenue within the past couple of years.