Continued combination of HP and its Personal Systems Group expected to deliver greater customer and shareholder value
PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 27, 2011 – HP today announced that it has completed its evaluation of strategic alternatives for its Personal Systems Group (PSG) and has decided the unit will remain part of the company.
“HP objectively evaluated the strategic, financial and operational impact of spinning off PSG. It’s clear after our analysis that keeping PSG within HP is right for customers and partners, right for shareholders, and right for employees,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “HP is committed to PSG, and together we are stronger.”
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Board of Overseers
The Daniel C. Gainey Conference Center of the University of St. Thomas recently welcomed two new members to its Board of Overseers. Mary Hazzard, Osceola, Wis., and Dr. Victoria Young, of St. Paul, both bring extensive business and personal experience to the board.
Hazzard is president and owner of Business AdvantEdge, a small-business professional association member-benefit provider. She has worked in group travel sales and incentives and previously owned two travel companies Full story here
Longstanding BA Member, Wingspan, Named Top 100 Workplace
Wingspan is pleased to announce that we were named one of the Top 100 Workplaces in Minnesota based on an employee-based survey project from the Star Tribune. The Star Tribune Top Workplaces special section was published in the Star Tribune on Sunday, June 19. Read about it on-line at Top 100 Workplaces.
Top Workplaces recognizes the most progressive companies in Minnesota based on employee opinions about company leadership, communication, career opportunities, workplace environment, managerial skills, pay and benefits. The analysis included responses from over 60,500 employees at Minnesota public, private and nonprofit organizations.
"At Wingspan we are very grateful for our employees and the excellent, dedicated, and loving care they provide to the vulnerable people we serve. Our employees are our largest and most valued resource, therefore we focus on giving them the tools that they need to provide the quality of service we expect and the recognition they deserve," said Executive Director, Patricia Moore. "We are honored that they believe that Wingspan is a great place to work!"
Get Better Customer Service — Fast!
Of the 100 big retailers tested in a new study that service ratings firm StellaService, OfficeDepot.com responded fastest to emails, sending most within 48 minutes
UPS No. 1 Shipper on 'Climate Counts' Scorecard for Third Year in a Row
For the third year in a row, UPS (NYSE: UPS) has earned the top score in the consumer shipping sector on the annual "Climate Counts" scorecard. UPS also shared the 11th highest score across all industries alongside Sony, Nokia and AB Electrolux among 144 ranked companies. Read the release.
UPS Corporate Office First in Industry to Earn Both LEED Gold Status and Energy Star Certification
UPS (NYSE: UPS) has become the first major package delivery and logistics company to earn Gold Status certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) along with an Energy Star certification for its corporate headquarters complex.
ARC Launches Business AdvantEdge to its 18,000 Members
Do you get tired of watching your earnings fly out the window because of overhead costs? Do you want to keep more money in your pocket? Of course you do. Join ARC and Mary Hazzard, CEO of Business AdvantEdge, to learn how to reduce your overhead and increase revenue.
- Discover ARC’s New Agency Benefits Program and its member discounts.
- Learn how to save money on office supplies, computer equipment, payroll processing, telecom and shipping.
- Find out how the New Agency Benefits Program can help you uncover new revenue opportunities.
- Find out more about program-participating vendors including Office Depot, OfficeMax, ADP, Sprint, and UPS.
My Take
Sept. 23, 2009 Minneapolis
Area Association Realtors (MAAR) Expo
Business AdvantEdge and HP partnered to exhibit at the recent MAAR Realtor Expo attended by hundreds of MN and WI realtors. HP was promoting their full line of real-estate-friendly equipment and the mini-notebook line created quite a buzz! Also on hand was model and entrepreneur Cheryl Tiegs seen here with Mary Hazzard, CEO Business AdvantEdge. Other recent tradeshows for include the Las Vegas Vacation.com show and the Twin Cities MSAE shown. Upcoming tradeshows and Expos include the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors (SPAAR) Fall Forum, the Financial Planning Association (FPA) Annual Conference and Chicago-based MAST “Sales Sensation.”
Strength in Numbers
Stillwater's Business AdvantEdge bulks up the Purchasing Power of Small Businesses by Pooling Their Orders
By Jennifer Bjorhus
Pioneer press photo by Craig Borck
Pioneer Press, (December 10, 2006) – Anyone who has carried home a three-pound box of Cheez-Its from Sam's Club understands the basic principle behind Business AdvantEdge Inc.
The Stillwater, MN company pools purchases for tens of thousands of small businesses around the country to score better deals from vendors such as Hewlett Packard and Visa. Substitute toner car-tridges or payroll processing for Raisin Bran and you get the idea.
"It's a new wrinkle on some old, tried-and-true familiar formulas," said President Mary Hazzard.
Hazzard would know. Business AdvantEdge is Hazzard's third company, and her previous ventures helped her fine-tune the model.
Hazzard, started out as a tourist coordinator while attending the University of Minnesota. After graduating, she launched her first company representing car rental agencies, tour operators, hotels and airlines to travel agencies. Working for herself provided the flexibility she needed as a single mom, she said, back when the concept of flextime wasn't well accepted.
"I never missed a parent-teacher conference," said Hazzard.
After selling that operation, Hazzard joined a Minnesota-based consortium of 500 travel agencies called AURA, eventually becoming part owner. Hazzard negotiated volume-based contracts with cruise lines, carrental agencies and airlines so members could turn around and offer better deals to their retail customers. Hazzard sold AURA to a venture capital group in 1999 that rolled it into Vacation.com, headquartered in Alexandria, VA.
Hazzard already had business No 3 plotted out. There was no reason she couldn't repeat AURA'S success with companies in other industries, she figured. Business AdvantEdge would negotiate volume-based deals on a variety of office products and services for businesses in real estate, mortgages, construction, insurance and finance. Vendors are very willing to offer discounts and other benefits if Hazzard can deliver the bodies and a flow of orders, she said.
The trick was for Business AdvantEdge to sign up enough small companies to have strong leverage. She also had to have a big enough stable of vendors to differentiate her company from the few competitors in the field, Rather than knock on doors one by one, Hazzard decided to market Business AdvantEdge to trade organizations to which small businesses belonged. After all, the trade associations already had well-developed channels to communicate fast with their members via newsletters and Web sites.
But so far her strategy has worked. Business AdvantEdgenow has 60,000 individual businesses signed up through various groups such as the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Builders Association of Minnesota. Its list of vendors includes Office Depot. UPS, Hewlett Packard, Visa and payroll company PayChex.
Hazzard signs three-year contracts with associations whose members agree to buy from her vendors. Hazzard pools members together so that individual companies don't have to meet high sales goals. She selects vendors willing to bid on discount packages, plug- ging their bids into a spread-sheet for what she jokingly refers to as a "beauty contest." She recently negotiated a cell-phone deal for the Builders Association of MN, which wanted satellite phones for members who hunt.
Business AdvantEdge's discounts range from 5% - 75% manufacturer suggested retail prices. Each time a member buys something from a vendor, Business AdvantEdge keeps a certain percentage of the order to pay itself, as well as a royalty to the association. That's an attractive source of non-dues revenue for trade groups.
Hazzard's negotiated rate with credit card companies, for instance, is a charge of 1.8% - 2.8% per transaction. That’s significantly less than the 5% small businesses typically pay on their own, she said.
Member companies can either use their credit card for automatic discounts at a participating vendor's store, or buy on- line through a password-protected connection from their association's Web site to the vendor’s special BA Web site.
Hazzard's biggest challenge is a familiar one to any small company: managing cash flow. There always is churn with members and vendors, she said, which means her revenue stream is difficult to predict. To manage it, Hazzard works with associations already signed up to boost the number of its members actively using her program. In some groups, as many as 35% participate; in others it’s as low as 1%.
Hazzard targets them. If the association holds trade shows, Hazzard sets up a Business AdvantEdge booth. If there are speaking opportunities at breakfast seminars, she takes advantage of them to pitch the program. She works with some groups to increase the number of newsletters they distribute, or to shoot off e-mail blasts - anything to assure the association's member companies understand how Business AdvantEdge can help them.
"It just takes a while to get on their radar screen," Hazzard said. "The small-business owner has so much in front of them all the time."
Mary Hazzard, photographed in her Stillwater office, runs Business AdvantEdge, a company that arranges bulk buying for other small clients with major vendors such as Office Depot, UPS, HP, Visa and payroll company Paychex. Mary Hazzard decided to market Business AdvantEdge to trade organizations to which small businesses belonged. The trade associations already had well-developed channels to communicate fast with their members via newsletters like those shown above and Web sites.
Jennifer Bjorhus can be reached at jbjorhtus@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2146.
Kathy Hazzard, Business AdvantEdge, is Elected to the American Association of Microbusinesses Board
Stillwater, MN – In a recent election, the American Association of Microbusinesses (AAM) tapped Kathy Hazzard, of Stillwater based Business AdvantEdge, to serve on their Board of Directors. AAM is a national non-profit professional association and resource for microbusinesses and entrepreneurs headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. Originally founded 10 years ago as the Minnesota Home-based Entrepreneurs Association (MHEA), the organization changed their name two years ago when it became apparent that micro businesses in other states were interested in joining MHEA. AAM’s mission is to serve the emerging and small business owner with a variety of support services and affinity benefits such as legal advice, micro-loans, networking opportunities, etc. In addition, AAM actively promotes the visibility and viability of microbusinesses and entrepreneurs as a vital part of the local economy of the neighborhood, the city, state and country.
Ms. Hazzard will be a strong addition to the Membership Committee as well as the Benefits Task Force, a committee that will assess member needs, priorities, and preferences, gather and analyze information, explore options, outreach to current and prospective partners or providers (as appropriate), and advise the board and membership on pertinent aspects of the association’s comprehensive benefit package. The task force will also be involved in the delivery, registration process, and administration issues which relate to the benefits package.
Business AdvantEdge, also headquartered in Minnesota, is a trade association member benefit specialist that has discount and other benefit programs with a variety of Fortune 500 companies as well as other specialty vendors. These include HP, Office Depot, DHL, UPS, Paychex, ADP, FirstData/Discover Financial Services, Alamo and National Car Rental.
In addition to AAM, BA also provides member benefit programs to national as well as local trade associations representing several verticals such as financial planners, commercial and residential builders, mortgage brokers, realtors, medical and non-profits. BA aggregates sales across multiple associations and industries eliminating the risk of an individual association not meeting their revenue goals with a preferred vendor.
Office Depot NASCAR Vendor Showcase
Office Depot hosted several Business AdvantEdge clients at their annual "NASCAR Customer Appreciation Picnic and Vendor Showcase." Attendees included Association heads from groups as diverse as the Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC) to the Youth Intervention Program Association (YIPA). See NASCAR photo to top left.
Outside Consultant
Star Tribune (August, 2006)
As an aggregator/bulk buyer, we target small businesses within business trade associations through their member benefit program. How can we maximize participation in our discount buying program using the associations' marketing vehicles? These generally include their association newsletters, broadcast e-mails, direct mail, faxes, trade shows and conferences.
First, make sure that your direct marketing activities are achieving optimal results. Ensure that you are targeting the right customers with the right products and that you are using the latest mailing lists and contact information. Direct marketing often fails because the right messages do not reach the intended audience at the right frequency.
Customers typically go through five stages while making purchase decisions: problem recognition, information search, evaluating alternatives, purchase and exhibiting post-purchase behaviors. The nature and duration of these stages differs from consumer to consumer and product to product. You must use your existing marketing vehicles to remain "closer to customers" and guide them through each stage. Once they see you as someone who provides a solution to their problems, it will induce trial purchase.
Lastly, tailor your marketing activities to various subsegments. A careful analysis might reveal that your market comprises the following three subsegments: those who need your products/services but are not purchasing from you; those who are buying similar products/services exclusively from your competitors, and those who need your products/services but have not purchased them yet from anyone. With each subsegment, focus on creating awareness and inducing trial purchases; differentiating yourself through exceptional service and relationship building -- trade shows and conferences are great venues for such activities -- and creating demand.
HP Selects Business AdvantEdge as Partner for Financial Service Professionals Group
STILLWATER, MN (August, 2006) – HP has selected Minnesota based Business AdvantEdge, Inc., a leading member-benefit provider for associations, to manage their affinity program with the Society of Financial Service Professionals (FSP). The Newton, PA based Society of FSP chose Hewlett-Packard (HP) as their preferred technology partner because they recognize HP as the industry leader for security, storage and mobility solutions in hardware and related services.
For example, as part of their program, HP will offer FSP members notebooks with docking stations that have a separate hard drive for easy storage and back up, as well as the HP Finger-print reader, which acts as a security password, helping to keep customer records safe.
The Society of FSP, with 20,000 members in nearly 200 local chapters across the United States, is a multidisciplinary network of credentialed financial service professionals, whose core values are “Ethics, Education and Relationships.” Its mission is to promote professionalism among its members by delivering top-quality continuing education programming, establishing and rewarding the highest standards of ethical conduct, and cultivating mutually beneficial relationships among credentialed financial service professionals. These same standards are also applied to their member benefit vendor relationships such as HP.
HP offers Society members a comprehensive inventory of business-grade equipment and services including specially priced desktops, notebooks, tablet PCs, handhelds, digital cameras and projectors, plasma TVs, multi, laser and inkjet printers, and printer accessories such as cartridges and toner, etc. HP will provide other value-added benefits such as a proprietary member-shopping site with a live, on line help feature, special phone lines, plus monthly promotions.
Business AdvantEdge, Inc. is a member benefit provider and aggregator for trade associations and non-profit organizations serving these sectors: financial planning, commercial and residential construction, agricultural and horticultural enterprises, mortgage brokers, realtors, medical and non-profits. In addition to HP, BA has contracts with well-respected industry leaders such as: Office Depot, UPS, DHL, Paychex, ADP, First Data and others.
HP, headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, is an $86.7 billion technology solutions provider to more than one billion customers in more than 170 countries on five continents. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. HP has approximately 150,000 employees worldwide and ranks at No. 11 in the 2004 Fortune 500 ranking and is a leader in providing smart business solutions to vertical partners such as trade associations.
Contact Business AdvantEdge, Inc. at 450 Main Street North, Stillwater, MN 55082, Tel: (888) 734-EDGE; E-mail: mhazzard@business-edge.net.
NFIB Awards Presentation
Local entrepreneur exemplifies commitment to small-business issues
CONTACT: Mandy Minick, (614) 221-4107
ST. PAUL, MN (March, 2006) – Minnesota's largest small-business advocacy group, the National Federation of Independent Business, today presented the "Small-Business Champion" award to Mary Hazzard, owner of Business AdvantEdge, Inc. in Stillwater.
The NFIB Small-Business Champion award program identifies a small-business activist in each of the 50 states. These small-business owners have distinguished themselves through their involvement and participation in NFIB programs and activities that promote the issues important to Minnesota's small businesses. Five regional winners will be honored at the 2006 National Small-Business Summit in Washington, D.C., June 18-20.
"Mary is a leading businesswoman who has devoted her time and efforts to championing the cause of small-business in Minnesota for almost two decades," said NFIB/Minnesota state director Mike Hickey. "She's provided leadership to this organization by serving on our state's Leadership Council, chairing her local Area Action Council and participating as a small-business advocate at the Legislature. The impact of her work to create a supportive environment for small businesses is evident from St. Paul all the way to Washington, D.C."
"I recognized early in my career that small businesses created jobs and goodwill in a community, and provided the best customer service on a consistent basis. On a micro or local level, they were the glue that held commerce, schools, neighborhoods, and even families together. On a macro, or national, level. they were the jobs engines that fueled growth in the economy," Hazzard said. "I joined NFIB because I wanted more exposure to other small-business owners outside my own industry. Being a member has provided me with an outlet for volunteerism and political activism while also educating me on small-business issues. Receiving an award from this organization means a great deal to me and my business. I look forward to continuing to work with NFIB well into the future."
Hazzard owns Business AdvantEdge, Inc., that serves as a resource for other small- to medium-sized entrepreneurial businesses and non-profit trade associations. She started Business AdvantEdge in 1998 to coordinate purchasing discounts and business-to-business services for member companies.