If there’s anyone who understands the special things that go on behind the scenes at Datamax, it’s Justin Harper.

Justin knew next to nothing about copiers when he entered the industry about 20 years ago, but he turned an instant fascination with the broken ones into a successful career that’s led him to the role of Director of Operations for East Texas.

He started his career by delivering toner and unboxing machines, but soon found his way on the delivery truck. Justin the moved to the shop to learn how to set them up, where his curiosity and propensity for fixing copiers only grew. From the shop, he moved to the field as a service technician, where he excelled until being named a Field Service Manager in 2015.

“By the time I moved into the shop, my fascination really grew with this business and these machines, and I started to realize the potential this could have for me professionally,” Justin said. “It’s also given me a deep appreciation for everything that goes on behind the scenes once a sales order is submitted.”

As Justin says, once a sale is complete, the work is far from over.

Special Team units may not grace the covers of sports mags, but they’re critical to team success. The outcome of a game may very well rest on their shoulders. Do you know what goes on once sales orders are submitted? A collection of teams work Synergetically (1 + 1 = 3) behind the scenes (before and after delivery) to orchestrate a seamless experience and a special day for our clients.    

In East Texas, here’s the Step-by-Step process from Sales Order to Delivery Day.

1. Submitted sales order goes to admin.

When an order is submitted, specific admin folks are assigned to certain reps. The respective admin representative will create a sales order. Once that’s created, it populates into eAutomate for logistics to see it.

2. That document reaches the warehouse.

The Warehouse Supervisor (Michael Snow) looks it over, makes sure it’s correct, and places the order. The warehouse tracks to see if we have one in inventory. If we do, we allocate the item to the sales order. All other necessary orders are made through the manufacturer.

Then, a packet is printed and equipment is pulled. That equipment is unboxed, put together, and rolled into the shop.

3. Then, the shop tech takes over.

At that point, the shop tech gets it set up, putting accessories together, and configuring the machine to match the sales order. They run it, test it, put toner in it, and prepare it to customer specs.

It’s also important to note that once that machine gets to the shop door, the warehouse supervisor will go ahead and put it on the schedule for dispatch to confirm delivery. Once a delivery date is confirmed, the machine set up. Also at this time, a remote service technician will call the customer, introduce themselves, and do a pre-install (that includes logging into their system, backing up their old machine, and dumping that data into the new machine so that it’s plug and play on delivery day).

4. Then, it’s a “wrap.”

That machine returns to the warehouse, gets wrapped up and on the day of the installation, the delivery team will sign off on the machine, load it, and take it to the customer. A technician will accompany the delivery driver to complete the installation and train the customer on the new machine.

This is how Raving Fans are being created, well before delivery day occurs. That’s how special teams work, often behind the scenes, and often in critical moments of every competition.

What’s so Important about Better Understanding Special Teams ‘Play?’

“In my opinion, everyone should know every aspect of our operation, about what everyone is doing for the organization. I think it’s important for people to know that after we receive a customer's signature, the job is not over. That’s where a lot of work begins,” Justin said. “A lot of people carry a lot of weight around here to make it all happen.”