Brace for Impact: An Award Winning Document Management Company, rules the Industry Centric Business Systems, Inc.

“Relentless pursuit of excellence is what makes us different. We never stop looking for new and better ways to deliver document management solutions that will uniquely fit and energize our customers” Alex Richard Bastinelli

Today’s businesses are up against more challenges than ever in the past. With technology having such a massive influence on just about every aspect of modern-day business, organizations in just about every industry struggle with how to best approach the workday. One of the biggest effects that modern technology has had on business operations revolves around the demise of paper documents.

Paper is expensive, wasteful, far from secure, and has reduced role in the future of business. While some businesses think they don’t need to move away from paper, getting started with this practice has never been so crucial. Knowing how to make the transition from paper to digital documents can be difficult, and there’s no better way to get things off the ground than to implement a well-designed document management system.

In light of the above mentioned, we are delighted to present Centric Business Systems Inc. – a ground-breaking document management company that specializes in providing the most innovative hardware and software office technology. As one of the largest providers in the United States, Centric offers a full range of products from Sharp, Ricoh and HP. Since 1990, the company has grown in double digits every year. Backed by its unwavering commitment to service, Centric continues to grow into the Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and DC marketplace.

The company is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Interview Excerpt: Alex Richard Bastinelli, Founder/CEO  

Why was the company set up? And how did you expand your company and its offerings over the years?

Centric was set up as an office technology company to provide the traditional hardware to copy, print, fax and scan and the software to help businesses migrate to digital workflow and manage documents electronically. Our rapid growth is the result of business processes that fuel organic growth complemented by synergistic acquisitions that expanded Centric into new geographic markets. In addition to our core products, we expanded our product offerings to include production print, wide format printing, managed print services, document management workflow software and scanning services.

About adaptability, how do you stay relevant to the consumer interests and needs in this high volatile market?

Centric stays relevant by offering innovative solutions to our customers. We are centred on workforce technology such as managing and disseminating documents through the cloud, mobile printing and utilizing tools to present, communicate and collaborate. The key is to help companies improve efficiency and increase productivity

“Earning trust and respect of consumers all around the world is through consistent focus on delivering high quality in all of our actions.” How do you interpret this statement?

Our interpretation of this statement is that every employee at Centric must be committed to a ‘Customer First Program’. Customer service is not an event it is a philosophy that must be embedded in our culture to ensure that every customer is provided with outstanding service.

How often do you innovate? Is it only when there is a need in the market?

The office technology industry is constantly evolving and requires dealers to reinvent themselves every few years. We are currently experiencing mega shifts and possibly the greatest level of change in the past 20 years. We innovate constantly to keep pace with the transformation from paper to digital workflow. Developing and hiring talent to integrate professional services is ongoing.

Fostering a culture of feedback is crucial to the success of every organization. How is this true with your company?

We have created a culture of feedback at Centric by instituting several different initiatives. We conduct an annual survey with all employees. The survey results are shared with everyone and managers are responsible for creating action plans based on opportunities for improvements from the survey results. We also create delta teams where employees work together to identify opportunities to improve processes and make recommendations to senior leadership. Finally, we conduct focus groups with all departments so employees have direct access to the President and Senior HR manager and the opportunity to provide feedback and offer suggestions.

How does your company contribute to the competitive global IT platform at large?

We contribute to the global IT platform by integrating intelligent process automation (IPA). Specifically, IPA is revolutionizing how business can make improvements and optimize efficiency with the help of artificial intelligence. From document generation to advance workflow, mobile apps to intelligent routing and archiving, we are providing solutions that advance the IT platform.

Do you have any new products ready to be launched?

Ink Jet technology is gaining traction for color printing, therefore; we are evaluating products for both office and wide format printing.

As a question on sustainability, where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

Regarding sustainability of our company, the future has never been brighter nor the opportunities greater. We expect to double our revenues in the next five years.

Meet the CEO: A Brief Background

Alex Richard Bastinelli: Alex Richard Bastinelli has 40 years of Industry Experience. Starting as an entry level sales representative, he progressed to Vice President of Sales for a regional technology company in South Eastern Pennsylvania. In 1990, he left to start Centric Business Systems where he currently serves as President /CEO. In addition, Mr Bastinelli serves on several boards such as the John Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Living Classrooms, Stella Maris and Sharp Electronics.

“Your organization’s documents represent the ideas, intellectual property, and communications that set it apart. And at the heart of your document workflow is a crucial configuration that keeps it all moving forward. We make it work—with customized solutions backed by unwavering support.”