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MARCH 2010 Edition

Welcome to STARFISH , the concise informational digest of the Purdue University Office of Supplier Diversity Development. The purpose of this short communication is to share with the Purdue staff charged with making purchasing decisions, information about women and minority-owned businesses that are currently meeting university needs. In some cases they are operating under a Master Agreement and are ready to provide products and services to you with minimal effort on your part. This will be a monthly communication.

Why the name STARFISH? Many of you may remember the story of the young boy who was tossing the thousands of starfish found washed up on the beach back into the ocean one at a time. When informed by an adult that his noble effort was useless and wouldn’t make any difference at all, the youngster’s reply was profound, “It makes a difference to this one”. The wisdom from that youngster’s retort is being applied to our efforts to increase the opportunities for women and minority businesses here at Purdue University. We will make a difference one opportunity at a time and it very well could be a significantly positive difference to the firms we help access opportunities throughout the four Purdue campuses.

But we need your help. We need you to keep these diverse firms in mind as you make decisions about purchases for your unit. In order for you to include these firms you first must know of their existence. As you request quotes for your various needs, simply include these companies in your computations and compare their service/product prices along with delivery capabilities and customer service needs in your final decision-making process.  We will provide you with background information on the 3-4 businesses spotlighted each month and will include whether the firm is currently working on a contract along with the university unit the company is working with. If they are under a master agreement, we will give you the information associated with their respective agreement.

We are pleased to be able to provide this information to you and accept suggestions enthusiastically. Remember, with STARFISH each contracting opportunity presents a chance to strengthen diverse businesses one firm at a time.

Purdue’s Online Supplier Directory for MWBE's

Purdue's Goldmine is a website to assist Purdue Employees to search for Minority and Women-Owned businesses easily. You have the option to search three different ways: --Search for Goods and Services Offered by Keyword;
--View Suppliers by Category; or
--View an Individual Supplier.

The website can be accessed by clicking "MWBE Gold Mine" on our homepage at www.purdue.edu/supplierdiversity.

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Guy Brown Products - Diverse Business Solutions Delivered

In 1997, long before "green" was a buzzword, Guy Brown started as a manufacturer of recycled toner cartridges for laser printers. Since then, they have expanded their offering with the goal of being a single source of a business' office needs. Today, their offerings have expanded to include office products, print solutions, medical supplies, promotional marketing and technology needs through their national infrastructure. Guy Brown is a 100% minority-owned business certified by the Tennessee Minority Supplier Development Council and a member of over 35 regional and state minority business councils, including Indiana.

In partnership with Purdue, they have worked to support initiatives important to the University. Guy Brown was among the first to test and go live with campus ordering systems, including Ariba and SAP. They have worked in cooperation with Purchasing Staff to develop and implement programs such as Green Monday to reduce their impact on the environment. Green Monday compresses 5 delivery work days into 4 which reduces delivery miles driven and associated emissions, reduces truck traffic on busy freeways and streets and reduces order processing costs for both Purdue and Guy Brown.

In a further effort to provide opportunity to their Diversity Suppliers, Guy Brown continues to host a Diversity Showcase on campus. This allows the Suppliers an opportunity to display their products available through the online catalog, as well as providing the Purdue associate the chance to “touch and feel” these products and discuss their supply needs.

www.purdue.edu/purchasing/Buying/Suppliers/guyBrownProducts.html

Testimonial:

It amazes me that you can place an order at 5:30pm one day and have your order the next day!

Sue Provo, Operations Clerk
Freehafer Hall of Administrative Services, Purdue University

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Netwise Resources, LLC/Lafayette Office Systems

Netwise Resources, LLC/Lafayette Office Systems (LOS) considers it a pleasure and honor to be serving one of the most prestigious universities in the nation. They currently provide MFP/Copier sales as well as IT Services. Netwise currently have over 150 installed Konica Minolta MFPs on campus. LOS has also added Sharp and Canon as additional product offerings. Their goal is to assist each department to make cost effective purchases for all printing, copying and IT needs. The ability to offer multiple product lines provides each department the ability to do a one stop shop approach. LOS can also help departments consolidate service contracts if there are multiple copier and print products.

Please look forward to meeting and working with Lisa Westall as she has been recently assigned to the Purdue account as a Business Development Manager!

In her role, Lisa will be managing the Purdue University account and will work to expand product offerings, resolve client issues, as well as provide solutions to reduce your costs and increase your productivity. Lisa is responsible for ongoing opportunity analysis, demonstrations and value proposition presentations, as well as working closely with the Lafayette Office Systems Manager to ensure effective implementation and post-sales support.

Lisa is a native of Lafayette and the daughter of the late Del Knevel who taught medicinal chemistry in the School of Pharmacy at Purdue, as well as having served as Associate Dean for several years. Lisa brings with her over ten years of experience in the sales and communications industry and has a son Blaire who is a freshman at McCutcheon High School.

In her spare time she enjoys watching her son play baseball, she enjoys golfing and of course, following the Purdue Boilermaker football and basketball teams.

Challenge her, look for her, and expect nothing but the best from her!

www.netwiseresources.com

Testimonial:

I have worked with Lafayette Office for the past six years and prior to that I know they provided the service to the University Development Office. In particular, I have worked directly with Dick Terry and his staff to evaluate the needs of our department in regards to copying and printing to network options and lease vs. purchasing. The entire staff at Lafayette Office have been wonderful to work with and very knowledgeable about the products and services they are able to provide the various departments on campus. The exceptional service doesn’t stop at the pre-sale level either, anytime I have had any questions or concerns about the leased products, Lafayette Office is readily available to assist. I have not had to wait more than 24 hours on any service call made. Lafayette Office is a great company to work with and I would recommend them to anyone looking for copier/printer/fax equipment.

April Headdy, Facilities Coordinator
Dauch Alumni Center, Purdue University

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