Challenges & Opportunities in the Service Industry
By: Claudia J. Betzner

The SIA – AFSMI Executive Summit will focus on Challenges and Opportunities in the Service Industry March 2 – 4, 2003 at the Mirage in Las Vegas. We have a full agenda covering subjects and sessions directed to c-level executives in the service industry. The morning session on Monday is more Strategic, the view from the bridge, while the afternoon session is execution of those strategies. The primary session in the morning is the Industry Summit Panel of the top leaders in the service industry with a mix of OEM’s and ISO’s in the IT service industry, business products & high-end copier service. As you can see by the agenda we also have speakers representing the medical service industry. The session will be an interactive between the audience and the leaders with Dr. Ken Siegel as the moderator. Eric Rocco of Gartner, Inc. will provide the overview of the industry. Questions will be gathered at the break for the second half of the session, which can be anonymous.

Sunday night and Monday night the receptions will showcase our Vendors products and services while providing the Networking opportunities for both Associations. The awards for the Golf Tournament on Sunday will be presented at the Sunday reception. The tournament will be at Paiute Golf Course with lunch and transportation provided from the Mirage.

Where else can you visit Paris, Egypt and Rome in the same city—only in Las Vegas.

Tuesday SIA will hold it’s annual meeting separate from AFSMI and has a complete agenda with breakouts for IT and Medical in the afternoon. One of the highlights on the agenda is a recap of the previous day with the SIA Board of Directors panel Assessing the Challenging Market and the OEM’s Thrust into Independent Service. Eric Rocco of The Gartner Group will Moderate the panel.

Tuesday evening participants from both associations, who sign up will attend the Grand Finale, which is a world class fine dining experience at the Venetian’s Zeffrino Ristorante overlooking the Grand Canal with views of gondolas passing by. Participants will receive a four-course dinner with fine wines. Zeffirino’s imports most of its ingredients directly from Italy and bakes its breads on premises. In fact if you visit the kitchen you will have to speak Italian.

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New Sponsor & New Members

New Sponsor’s

Welcome back to D. F. Blumberg Associates as a Bronze Sponsor

D.F. Blumberg Associates, Inc. (BAI) is the oldest, largest and leading management-consulting firm to the High-Technology Services Industry. The firm provides client services in the area of strategic planning, market research, productivity, expert witness, and mergers and acquisitions. Serving clients worldwide since 1969, BAI has pioneered in viewing service strategically and has played a major role in the development of the High Tech Service industry, in general and the promotion of Independent service specifically. The firm continues to create advanced strategies and tactics for improving the profitability, quality, and productivity of service organizations.

Welcome to Rollouts, Inc. as a new Silver Sponsor
Rollouts, Incorporated provides comprehensive installation and maintenance services for a wide variety of customers. We provide a price competitive, just in time workforce, with large variance of skill sets to draw upon. Along with nationwide coverage, Rollouts features total project management services as part of our standard offerings. We deliver a solution to the most challenging problem facing companies with onsite service needs: lack of cost effective, "on-demand", qualified resources. We pride ourselves on our responsiveness and ability to ramp up quickly. We either work as the field force for a project, or to augment our customer’s onsite staff.

New Members This Quarter:
Great Eastern Technology
Brad Porter, President
Woburn, MA
781 937 0300 (IT Service)

First Source, Inc.
Jim Goldner, President
Charlotte, NC (Medical Trng.)
704 845 3049

BIOCORDIS FRANCE
Guy Christian, President
Etiolles, France (Med Service)
33 1 60 75 69 09

Logical Maintenance Solutions
Craig Youngblood, Pres.
Santa Ana, CA (IT Group)
714 549 1608

Microserv, Inc.
Jonathan Scott, Pres. & CEO
Kirkland, WA (IT Group)
425 820 5605

Kinetic Biomedical Servs., Inc.
Jim Graham, Pres. & CEO
Erie, PA (Medical)
814 836 9800

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SIA IT and Medical Groups

Your Board of Director’s continue to hold monthly Conference Calls to discuss concerns in the industry and resolutions from a strategic point of view. On Tuesday, March 4, 2003 Each subgroup will hold it’s annual meeting with the members. The Board of each group will sit on a Panel to discuss topics and actions for the coming year and establish committees for these actions. One of the discussions on the IT side included holding work sessions in conjunction with the SIA Board meetings to discuss such issues as “OEM’s trying to Engineer independents out of the business” and companies like Compaq/HP, who in the past used ISO’s and Dealers as their Service Channel are now actively tying Service to the sale of the equipment. After discussion with the entire Board it was decided SIA will hold three Executive Roundtables next year in conjunction with the Board meetings with invited current and prospective members to discuss important topics in the Medical and IT industries. One of the issues brought up by Dr. Ridgway was to discuss and better focus the mission of SIA, his restated mission follows: “The mission of SIA is to ensure that users of high tech products, dependent on a computer processor, continue to have access to an open, competitive after-market for service and support of those products.” Malcolm went on to discuss the legal ramifications of the Storz case. These are the issues and committees to be formed during the afternoon session. At the conclusion of each of these sessions, a drawing will be held for door prizes donated by NovaMed—for the Medical Group and Northrop Grumman for the IT Group. To qualify you must be present and only completed survey forms will be eligible for the drawing.

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Letter from the President…..John Walker

The Service Industry Association, as a trade association, has a primary purpose to promote the health and welfare of the members it represents and the industry we serve. During this years conference we will be announcing a new program sponsored by SIA which will create an environment by which we, as individual organizations and as an association will be able to contribute positively toward the betterment of the overall services industry.

What better can we do as an industry than to provide our services and support to our customers in a fashion so well-designed and executed that we actually make their lives easier just by doing so? No more late response times or missed deliveries; no more sub-par service performance; no more surprises; and no more excuses! Today’s business environment demands that services organizations get their respective acts together, manage their service delivery processes better, and provide a full complement of the types of services and support that are meaningful to customers. But, how do we do this?

One way is to meet with and network with other industry leaders that face
the same challenges. Hear what their challenges are, and learn of their
successes or failures. Meet directly with an individual or a group. Hear
presentations from Industry leaders, and have the opportunity to ask
questions and receive answers. This is the core purpose of the upcoming
Service Industry Conference being held at the Mirage Casino and Hotel on March 2-4.

As many who attended last years conference understand, the SIA board has been active in finding ways to create new and better opportunities for
networking, growth, and additional benefits to our members and the industry as a whole. Since last years conference we have had several meetings with the leadership of AFSMI and together we have created an environment that we both feel adds value to our respective organizations. The most visible of
this will be our March conference where for the first time we are hosting a joint conference with members and leaders from both organizations coming together to learn from each other.

Additionally this is an election year. Please be sure to attend the conference and cast your vote in support of those members who give of their time and talents all during the year in support of you and the Service Industry. Whether you attend or not, though I encourage you to do so, please be sure to know who your Board members are and communicate with them
often. This is your association and we need to hear from you. I encourage each Corporate member to increase your activeness within the association and to let your voices be heard. As a trade association our responsibilities include promoting the industry - PR, as well as to watch over the industry through both legal and legislative activity, if needed.

Sincerely

John Walker
Board President
Service Industry Association

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Service Industry Association Executive Summit - A cLevel Summit of SIA leaders and AFSMI leaders
Challenges and Opportunities in the Service Industry

March 2, 2003 Sunday

 
March 3, 2003 Monday (Morning Session Strategic, Afternoon Execution)

 
March 4, 2003 Tuesday SIA annual meeting

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Presenting the 2003—2005 Slate of Officers for SIA

John Walker, President TFE Technology Holdings LLC—President, SIA
John began his career with Telos 25 years ago and was named President and CEO of TFE Technology Holdings in September of 1999 when Telos, a publicly held company, spun out it’s service company. John headed the transition team. TFE is a privately held Corporation located in Salt Lake City which focuses on providing services to the Federal Government as well as providing support to such prestigious clients as Lockheed, NASA and NSA.

John has a BS in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and is married with two children. He was born in Maryland and has lived in VA.,GA., and N. C. Prior to Telos, John ran a depot operation for the Federal Government. His company has been a very active member of SIA since the late 80’s, and a Sponsor since the program began

Henry P. Semmelhack is President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Barrister Global Services Network, Inc. Secretary Treasurer SIA
He is one of the founders and former President of Comptek Research, Inc., an engineering company which provides systems and services to the Department of Defense. That company was sold to Northrop Grumman, Inc. in 2000. He formed Barrister Information Systems Corporation as a division of Comptek in 1971 and in 1982, as part of a business strategy, he organized the spin-off of Barrister, an independent company. Under his leadership, Barrister became an American Stock Exchange company and became a large supplier of computer systems and software for large law firms. Recently, he has lead the company to refocus its activities into the computer equipment maintenance market. As part of that process, the company’s name became Barrister Global Services Network, Inc. Mr. Semmelhack holds both Bachelor and Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has also held various positions with Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory. Mr. Semmelhack has been active in a number of community organizations including the Studio Arena Theatre, where he is now a member of the Board of Trustees.

Randy Parks, V.P. Operations TFE Technology Holdings LLC(IT Board)
Mr. Parks has over twenty years of leadership experience in the IT services industry and is currently the Vice President TFE Technology Holdings LLC. Previous positions included serving as CEO of VersaCOM International, a voice and data networking company specializing in the support of “.com” businesses and as Vice President of Services for AlphaServ, an IT services provider with over sixty offices across North America. Mr. Parks has participated in AFSMI and the Service Industry Association (SIA) for over fifteen years. He currently serves as a Director on the board.

Malcolm Ridgway,PhD., Sr. Vice President Masterplan (Medical Service Board)
Malcolm G. Ridgway, Ph.D., C.C.E. is Senior Vice President for Technology Management at Masterplan Incorporated, where his primary responsibility is development of the company’s asset management and internal quality assurance programs. He has been with the company for 27 years, and has seen it grow from a small regional, not-for-profit shared service organization into one of the nation’s premier independent medical technology service organizations, with more than 350 technical personnel. Dr. Ridgway received his Ph.D. degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Edinburgh in 1962 and remained at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for 4 years as a staff biomedical engineer. After moving to the United States in 1966 he spent 6 years working for two aerospace companies (Bendix Aerospace and TRW Systems) where he was involved in the design of a number of biomedical instruments. While he was at TRW Systems he helped design the life detection instrument which was later deployed on the surface of the planet Mars during the 1976 Viking spacecraft mission. In 1972 he became the Assistant Director of the University of Southern California’s Biomedical Engineering Institute. He was there for 2 years before winning a grant in 1974 from the W.K Kellogg Foundation to establish one of the nation’s first biomedical engineering shared service programs at the Hospital Council of Southern California. He has remained with this organization since that time.

Dave DeGeorgi, President EAD Systems (IT Service Board)
Dave is President of EAD and provides value-added display support services to manufacturers, vendors, resellers, warranty administrators and end-users. Services are configured to customer's requirements, from refurbishment, rework and repair-and-return to full turn-key advanced exchange programs (including service contract underwriting through EAD Warranty Corporation) supported by EAD's inventory of nearly 200 different models of monitors. EAD’s existing facilities have an annual capacity of approximately 30,000 units. An ISO 9002 certification process is currently underway. Dave is an avid skier, has two children and lives part of the time in Boston and part of the time in Northern California.

Steve Schwarz, President & CEO Acceletronics, Inc. (Medical Service Board)
Steve began his career with Acceletronics 10 years ago as a service engineer and was named president of an Acceletronics subsidiary in 1993. In 1999, Steve became Acceletronics president & CEO. Acceletronics is a privately held company based out of Exton, PA., with over 40 employees providing radiotherapy, digital imaging and industrial radiography service, installation & sales to hundreds of clients in 22 states, and replacement parts worldwide thru its subsidiary, RadParts.Com, Inc. Prior to Acceletronics, Steve worked for Varian Associates as a linear accelerator service rep., Adage, Inc. as a CAD/CAM systems technician and started out in electronics as a military radar technician. Steve is married with two children.

John Rinas, Director Service Delivery Northrop Grumman IT CIS (IT Board)
John is responsible for providing the Strategic & Tactical leadership, direction and support necessary to insure that 3 Regional Managers, 6 District Managers, 25 Branch Managers, and over 1000 Engineers deliver the highest level of service to more than 6000 customers. He joined Northrop Grumman in 1996 and prior to that was Vice President Customer Services Eastern Region for Storage Technology from 1989 to 1996. During his tenure at Northrop Grumman the business has grown by 35% with an 8% increased net profit per year, with sustained high Customer Satisfaction Survey Scores of 4.4 out of 5. He designed and implemented an automated excel based Desktop pricing model, began a Management Development Program focused on Human Resources Soft Skills training and Designed and Implemented an automated excel based P & L Job estimate program. He was also responsible for implementing the Service Delivery Improvement and Transition Plan. His degree is from Butler University in Indianapolis Indiana where he graduated with a degree in Physics. Affiliations include SIA Director, AMA member, AFSMI member. John has over 20 years experience in Organizational Development, Interpersonal Communications Expert, Employee Development Programs and Financial Management, where he excels. Johns administrative duties at Northrop Grumman include an expense budget of $70 million, control of $5.5 million spare parts inventory, regional operations.

DOUGLAS E. STEPHENS, CBET – FOUNDER (Medical Board)
As founder of Stephens International, Doug has over thirty years of experience in the clinical equipment maintenance industry. Doug’s niche in the market, his business and military contacts, and in-depth knowledge of the industry provide the basis and cornerstone for the Stephens International business to continue to flourish. Doug retired from the United States Army as a Chief Warrant Officer Four after twenty-six years on active duty. His last military assignment was as the Director of Biomedical Equipment Maintenance and Consultant to the Surgeon General of the United States Army Health Services Command. While serving as the Chief, Medical Maintenance US Army Hospital in Tehran, Iran, he was held hostage by Islamic Revolutionaries from Feb 1979 until June 1979. After retiring from the military, he served in several national management positions for health care corporations and service organizations. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Technical Management from Regis College and has been certified by the International Certification Commission as a Biomedical Equipment Technician.

David J. Reihl, COO, NovaMed Corporation (Medical Board)
David J. Reihl, CBET serves a the Chief Operating Officer for NovaMed Corporation, a comprehensive multi-vendor medical equipment service company based in Trumbull, Connecticut.  David has been in the medical equipment service industry for over 17 years occupying various technical and managerial positions for a major equipment manufacturer, two large teaching hospitals and most recently NovaMed.  During his 14 years with NovaMed, David has shaped operations as the company evolved from a small regional player into a national service provider doing business in 24 States.  David has an Associates Degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology, a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and is certified by the International Certification Commission for Clinical Engineering and Biomedical Equipment Technology.

Jon Scott, President & CEO, Microserv (IT Board) 
Jon Scott joined Microserv as Executive V. P. in 1998 and became President and CEO in January 2001. Scott brings 20 years of experience in the high-tech industry. He was most recently the founder of New Venture Associates, a firm providing strategic advisory services to early stage venture funded high-tech companies. In this role Scott advised company management and their boards of directors in corporate strategy, operations and in raising additional capital for expansion. Scott also served as president, chief operating officer and a director of Traveling Software, Inc., a leading PC communications software company. He holds a BA degree in business administration from San Francisco State University. Scott serves on the Advisory Board of Jamboa Learning Technologies and the Advisory Panel for the program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the School of Business Administration at the University of Washington. He also serves as an instructor in the University of Washington's program on software product management.

James A. Graham, President & CEO Kinetic Biomedical Corp. (Medical Board)
As CEO, Mr. Graham has the accountability to the Board and stockholders to generate and implement a long-term strategic vision and the tactical methodologies to realize the defined vision of the company. He has held senior leadership positions in two other industries prior to entering the Healthcare Industry. He spent many years in the Specialty Chemical Industry as R&D Manager, Division Manager and International Business Manager for Lord Corporation. Recently, he spent several years as President and G. M. in the Composites Molding Industry for Molded Fiberglass Companies. He led the efforts in the Specialty Chemical Industry to gain national recognition in introduction and acceptance of advanced adhesives technology providing adhesively bonded composite and metal automotive body closure panels, commercially, worldwide. Quality Certifications at all major automotive companies were achieved as required. Mr. Graham led the efforts in the Composites Industry to gain significant market share in composite assemblies in the Heavy Truck Industry while gaining the nationally recognized ISO-9002 third party quality registration from Underwriters Laboratories for his firm. He joined Kinetic as President and CEO in May of 1998. He holds several patents and has multiple international publications in the Specialty Chemical Industry. He has served as National Secretary of ASTM D-14 on adhesion, Board of Directors of the Adhesives and Sealants Council, presented lectures on adhesives science at MIT, University of Detroit, University of Wisconsin as well as in Kyoto, Japan; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Mexico City, Mexico; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Frankfurt, Germany and other locations worldwide. He is a 35-year member of the American Chemical Society, Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineers, past President of the Erie Engineering Societies Council, past Chairman of the Board of Union City Memorial Hospital, member of the Board of Incorporators of St. Vincent Health System and Corry Memorial Hospital, present Chairman of the Board of University Services Inc. of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and also participates in additional trade organizations such as AFSMI and SIA. Mr. Graham did undergraduate work at the U. S. Air Force Academy, University of Colorado and graduated from Gannon University with a degree in Chemistry, and a minor in Physics. He received an executive MBA certificate from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.

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Service Industry Association

518 San Andres Drive
Solana Beach, CA 92075

Phone: 619 221 9200
Fax:858 720 8201
Email: cbetzner@aol.com

The Network for High Technology Service Promoting Customer Choices
___________________
Www.
servicenetwork.
org

Sponsors & Board

Sponsors

Masterplan
Malcolm Ridgway,Sr.V.P.
Bruce Cree, President
Maintech
Frank D’Alessio, Pres.
Carole Greene, Sr.V.P. Mktng & Sales
Northrop Grumman
Hugh Taylor, Pres. IT CIS
TFE Technology Holdings LLC
John Walker C.E.O. & Pres.
Acceletronics
Steve Schwarz, Pres.
& CEO
The Thomas Group
Paul Thomas, Pres. & CEO
RadParts
Carl “Randy” LaFoone, Pres.
Stephens International
Doug Stephens, Founder & Pres.
Barrister Global Services
Hank Semmelhack, Chairman
Dr. Bill Bray, Pres. & CEO
Novamed Corporation
David Reihl, Pres.
Rollouts, Inc.
Stephen Johnson, V.P.
D.F.Blumberg Associates
Don Blumberg, President

Board of Directors:
President: John Walker, Pres.
TFE Technology Holdings LLC
Sec-Treas: Mac McBride, Pres.
Red Lion Med.Safety
Gen’lCounsel:Ron Katz, Principal
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP
Exec.Dir. Claudia J. Betzner

Computer Service Group
EX V.P. Randy Parks, V.P Ops
TFE Technology Holdings LLC
Sec. Hank Semmelhack, Chairman & CEO
Barrister Global Services
V.P. Benefits: Dave DeGiorgi, Pres. EAD Sys.
V.P. Membership
John Rinas, Dir. Serv. Del.
Northrop Grumman IT CIS
Business Products
Exec.V.P.Lee Carr, Pres. STI
Medical Service Group
Exec.V.P. Dr. Malcolm Ridgway, Sr. V.P. Masterplan
V.P. Membership Steve Schwarz, President Acceletronics
V.P. Benefits: Doug Stephens, Pres. Founder Stephens Int’l
V.P. David Reihl, President NovaMed Corporation
Advisor to Board: Paul Thomas, President & CEO
The Thomas Group