The School-Pak Story, Part 3 (Corpus Christi School)

There comes a time when the neighbors start complaining about semis coming down the block leaving off pallet loads of glue and glue sticks. We knew it was time to move out of the house.

The first idea we had turned out to be the best. I called on the principal at Corpus Christi school, Barbara Nehrbass, and asked to use the cafeteria during the summer. She said that the cafeteria was used for Bingo, coffee & donuts after Mass, etc., and suggested we take the library. And we did.

The problem was that Terri was still working at the hospital and I was out calling on schools so when the trucks were ready to deliver product, they would call us at home and we'd go to the school to meet them. Terri would arrive, dressed for work, and have to help unload the truck and get them to move fast so that she wouldn't be late.

Now at that point, we didn’t own any kind of shelving or work tables. We put the library tables on concrete blocks so they would be easier to work on and started buying some shelving units.

We kept all of our stock in the library and put the finished packs into the gymnasium. As the end of summer approached, we rented a UHaul truck and began delivering the packs to the schools. We kept that up until our growth took us out of the Milwaukee area.

One of the first things we discovered was that teachers really liked the idea of having pre-sharpened pencils. We contacted the pencil makers and asked them about purchasing the pencils sharpened. No one would do it so we bought an electric pencil sharpener and began sharpening them ourselves. Then we bought another one when that one burned out. Then another one. And finally, the summer was over before we needed another one.

Eventually we were told that we could buy them sharpened but we were charged a free for each pencil! After constantly asking, today every pencil manufacturer provides sharpened pencils and it’s become the standard for all kit companies to offer them.

We also would label all the items for the student, including handwriting their names on the Fiskars scissors. It was pretty work intensive and we finally decided to offer a sheet of labels with each pack. That was back in 1994. Now every company provides name labels. This was the second idea that we had that changed the kit supply business.

 It’s also when we started hiring some help. Those first couple of years they came from family friends and our main source of students, Marquette University High School and Divine Savior/Holy Angels High School. Our son, Nick, a student at Marquette, would provide us with his friends and they worked out extremely well.

But, as we continued to grow, it was time to move on. I began looking for a larger place, hopefully a warehouse. Like anyone else, I looked to friends and associates for help. I had my own “Linked-In” program to use.

Next: The early years in the warehouse.

Made in the US?

Wow, the campaigning is just about over. Hopefully everyone voted.

The big topic this year has been the economy and how slow the recovery has been. Unemployment numbers have remained relatively high throughout the summer and hopefully, whoever wins, there are plans to get people back to work.

No big news that jobs being sent overseas has hurt our workers, the GDP, tax collections, etc. Tax breaks for sending jobs abroad has made it attractive to American companies. And it’s somewhat understandable.

Lowering the cost of labor increases profits which increases stock prices which increases individual IRAs and 401Ks. It’s a vicious circle. No one wants their savings plans to lose money but they also want to be able to work so that they can contribute to their plans.

We recently ran a survey with our customers asking if they would be willing to accept a price that reflects the use of products made in the USA.

The results were surprising. A large percentage (67%) responded that they could accept a higher price. That was the good news.

We then wanted to find out if some product names could be substituted with a generic. For example, Kleenex shows up on a number of lists but the schools and teachers use “Kleenex” as a generic term for tissues.

We found that most parents felt that Kleenex, Post-its and Ziploc were brands that could be replaced with a generic product.

But don’t touch my Fiskars, Elmers or Crayola.

Here’s the rub. While Crayola manufactures some items in their Easton, PA plant, most of their products are produced in foreign countries. The same goes with Elmers and Crayola.

So while people want to support American jobs the most popular brands aren’t being made here.

We’re happy to say that, except for these requested brands, most of the items we offer are made in the USA. Maybe it will change someday. One can only hope that companies based here start looking at ways to bring those jobs back to help our economy.

President Obama/Romney, look at the incentives to send jobs overseas and give our unemployed a level playing field.

Random thoughts as school approaches

Kept thinking about the following last night while trying to sleep:

Random Thought 1 

 Our local Walgreens is promoting a free back-to-school supply event. You go into Walgreens, purchase the items (of course Walgreens isn't discounting the items) and place them into a bin. Makes Walgreens look good (and profitable) helping out kids. Why don't they just donate the items?

The same goes for Wal-Mart, now having a special give-away. C'mon. Why not just donate the items and not sell them? It's no different than the food stores that ask for donations at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's not really coming out of their pocket. Every year we're asked by non-profits across the country for donations. We do donate to a number of causes but we don't sell them the items.

Random Thought 2

Just had to deal with a school that was asking for a specific sketch book, a Strathmore one. They were for all students in the school from Kindergarten to Grade 8. We were able to supply (our price is just under $9 for the book) to those who bought School-Paks. But what about those parents that didn't order from us. Where do they find it?

We found them at an art store for $19.95 each. Do teachers realize what some of these items cost? Does a Kindergarten child need that quality? Just wondering.

The same goes for specialty compasses, protractors, pens, etc. What happened to common products? Parents are not going to find some of these specialty items without making numerous trips to numerous stores. Of course, that makes us look good. :)

Random Thought 3

Since we're limited by inventory and workers, we close our final ordering date in late July. So how should we answer "Hi, I see that you are out of stock and don't have any more packs. Can we still order?"

Huh? If we're "Out of Stock" it means we're "Out of Stock".

Most schools start taking orders in March giving the parents up to 4½ months to place their order. I'm not sure why they procrastinate for that long.

I wish we could keep enough inventory in stock for the entire year but it's just not possible. 

Random Thought 4

Without a doubt our economy is still struggling. According to the "economic gurus" we need to stimulate the economy again to propel consumer buying. If enough people buy items, we'll need more workers goes the story. So Terri came up with a brilliant idea. We've tried sending it to elected officials but our campaign donations are non-existent so we never get a reply.

Terri is suggesting that the next stimulus be the issuance of debit cards to citizens. The amount doesn't matter (we didn't go that deep into it) but there would be a 180 day expiration date. The cards could only be used for purchases and could not be used to put money in the bank or pay bills.

Just think of a few hundred million citizens with a $300 - $500 debit card purchasing items. The Consumer Spending Index should go through the roof.
Remember, you read it here first!

What's a Brand name product?

Recently I had a conversation with one of our schools that had been approached by a competitor who had offered prices much lower than ours. I asked for a copy of their list (without their pricing) to see what was being offered. Here's what I found:

The other company used some familiar brands, like Dixon and Fiskars. However, they didn't identify which Dixon or Fiskars product they would be using. While both of these companies offer lower priced items in their lines, we've always used the Ticonderoga pencils (asked for by many teachers) and have always offered the Fiskars For Kids brand of scissors.

We've also found that a number of companies are calling their company brands as Name Brand products. Sorry. Elmers is the name brand for glue and glues sticks, not "S*****S, or *O***** ****t. (I really don't want to promote them. :) )

So what does it mean in the end? If the teachers and parents are looking for the highest quality products from companies they've become familiar with, that's what we do.

"Just keepin' it real" (Randy Jackson)