The Top Office Solutions Companies in the Greater Washington DMV Area
Here at ImpactOffice Technologies, our goal is to offer customers full transparency about our business and the office technology industry more broadly. We want customers such as yourself to understand all of your options, without any bias, so that you may make the right decision for yourself or your company.
This article highlights 5 of our strongest competitors in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia markets. In the interest of sharing an unbiased approach with you, we will not be including ourselves in this list. All information in this list is available for customers to discover online, however, the ultimate goal of this article is to make your decision easier by including important information in one space.
Criteria:
Since the task of ranking copier companies is a subjective one, you may be wondering how exactly we made our list. We focused on a few different criteria aimed to make this process as objective and honest as possible.
- Location: Our list focuses on office technology companies in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) areas. Therefore, any companies not located in the DMV area are not under consideration for this ranking. While some of these companies may have offices in other states or even other countries, their primary operations must be located in the DMV.
- Company size: Company size can be indicative of a company’s broader mission. Is this a large company that focuses on the bigger picture? Is this a small company with employees that will focus on their individual clients? Company size will be analyzed based on the number of years the company has been in business, the approximate number of employees it has, and its estimated revenue.
- Programs and Customer Protection: While this parameter is not as objective as the others, we wanted to provide as much helpful information to customers as possible. Customer guarantees and programs (such as a 6-month warranty or a trial period) greatly improve the customer experience. This criterion might be the most helpful for you because it highlights the concrete ways in which each company is unique.
- Brand: How has this company built its reputation? How well do they market
themselves? We are assessing each company’s brand based on a number of factors, including their internet presence, blog posts, website functionality, customer feedback, and Google reviews. - Dun and Bradstreet ESG Rating: Dun and Bradstreet is an established corporation that provides data and analytics for businesses. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governmental. The ESG rating varies based on industry and uses public data to rank companies out of 5 based on their compliance with various ESG goals. All the ESG ratings we use in this post can be accessed by anyone online. You can read more about how the rating system works here. For reference, the average rating for the office technology sales industry is 2.41/5.
- Manufacturer rating: Not every company on this list sells copiers from the same retailer. The manufacturer rating is based on the most recent (2021) market statistics about the top-grossing copier manufacturers. Simply put, the manufacturer that sells the
largest percentage of copiers is ranked #1. The image above offers a visual representation of the market for office technologies. While this source comes from Canon, it offers unbiased, empirical data about the industry. Companies that do not occupy a significant market share are not pictured.
2023 Top 5 Office Supply Companies in the DMV Area
(This list in is alphabetical order)
Advance Business Systems (ABS)
“We live and breathe this stuff”
Location: Advance Business Systems is headquartered in Cockeysville, Maryland. They serve the greater Baltimore area as well as Annapolis, Frederick, and their surrounding counties (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Queen Anne’s, and Washington). ABS is currently the exclusive distributor for the Baltimore Ravens front office operations.
Company size: Founded in 1964, ABS has been in operation for more than 58 years. In 2021, their revenue was estimated to be between $50 and $100 million USD. According to Glassdoor, Advance has around 51-200 employees. Manufacturer rating: ABS distributes office technology products from Canon and KIP. Canon is the #1 provider of office equipment, occupying 21.4% of the market share. Canon is known for its innovative and reliable technology. KIP specializes in wide-format printers and is therefore not listed as a top provider.
Dun and Bradstreet ESG Rating: The ESG rating for Advance is 3/5 stars. This ranking is higher than the industry average, which is about 2.41/5.
Customer Guarantees: Advance offers 24/7 emergency customer service over the phone or email. They offer remote solutions to technical issues every day of the year. ABS advertises its in-house leasing as a way to increase flexibility for customers. The company occasionally hosts security awareness seminars and training, which are available on their website.
Brand: The Advance Business System website is easy to navigate and has a number of helpful tabs for finding information. Their website also includes a blog, which has numerous articles about cybersecurity, printer types, and more. However, said blog has not been updated for over a year. While customer reviews are not easily accessible on the ABS website, they have a number of case studies that speak to their success. Google reviews give ABS a 3.8/5 star rating out of 17 total reviews.
Capitol Office Solutions (COS)
“We Create Digital Workplace Transformations”
Location: Capitol Office Solutions has its headquarters in Colombia, Maryland. The company serves the greater Baltimore area, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC.
Company Size: COS has been in business for about 47 years. One of the larger companies on this list, Capital has 201 to 500 employees. Their estimated annual revenue is comparatively lower, ranging roughly from $25 million to $50 million.
Manufacturer Rating: Capitol Office Solutions exclusively uses Xerox, a company that is well- known due to its former monopoly over the office supply industry. Xerox is rated #2 for manufacturers, occupying 17.9% of the market share.
Dun and Bradstreet ESG Rating: Earning an ESG rating of 2/5 stars, COS is slightly below the industry average of 2.41/5 stars.
Customer Guarantees: COS offers a comprehensive security program, analytics, digitization, and cloud technologies along with office supplies. They also offer remote service.
Brand: The COS website is visually appealing and offers lots of helpful information on the homepage alone. The website could benefit from a search bar, which could make searching for individual issues. COS could also consider adding a blog and creating content that answers any
questions customers may have. Google reviews give COS a 3.6/5 star rating out of 8 total responses. There are also three anonymous reviews available on the COS website.
Centric Business Systems (CBS)
“Integrity, Dedication, Partnership”
Location: Centric Business Systems is based in Owings Mill, Maryland. The company has offices in other cities in the DMV area and Pennsylvania (Glen Allen, VA, McLean, VA, Frederick, MD, Salisbury, MD, York, PA, and King of Prussia, PA).
Size: Centric Business Systems has been in business for the past 32 years. CBS has a larger number of employees and revenue compared to some of the other companies on this list. They have an estimated 201 to 500 employees and an approximate annual revenue of $50 to $100
million USD.
Manufacturer Rating: CBS is partnered with four different companies: Ricoh, HP, Kyocera, and Sharp. Ricoh is ranked #3, occupying 16.4% of the market share. Sharp is #5 at 9.9% of the market share, followed by Kyocera at #7 (7.4%), and HP at #8 (4.7%).
Dun and Bradstreet ESG Rating: Centric is slightly below the industry standard of 2.41/5 with
a rating of 2/5 stars.
Customer Guarantees: CBS offers security, user tracking, cost recovery, and document recovery programs as some of their software offerings. Their website offers forms for customers to describe any issues or concerns they have, as well as to make constructive suggestions for
the company.
Brand: CBS has an impressive website that offers helpful videos, content, and visuals regarding their products and services. Centric’s blog appears to be updated regularly, providing customers with relevant information. While a search bar might improve functionality, CBS has a comprehensive website with quality information. Centric has a 3.4/5 star rating on Google reviews out of a total 25 responses. Reviews and customer testimonials are not easily accessible on their website, however.
Commonwealth Digital Office Solutions (CDOS)
“One Source – One Invoice – One Responsibility”
Location: Based in Sterling, Virginia, Commonwealth Digital Office Solutions serves the greater Northern Virginia area and the Washington-Baltimore metro area. Their secondary office is located in Greenbelt, MD.
Size: Founded in 1977, Commonwealth has been serving the DMV area for the past 45 years. They are estimated to have between 51 and 200 employees, making them a small to mid-sized company. Their revenue ranges from between $50 to $100 million annually.
Manufacturer Rating: Commonwealth primarily sells products from Konica Minolta, which is currently ranked as the #4 manufacturer. Konica Minolta occupies 14.2% of the market share. Commonwealth also sells some wide-format printers manufactured by KIP, who are not
included in the market share analysis.
Dun and Bradstreet ESG Rating: With a 1/5 star rating from Dun and Bradstreet, Commonwealth has the lowest ESG rating on this list. For reference, the industry standard is 2.41/5 stars.
Customer Guarantees: CDOS offers a program called All Covered Care, which is geared towards making your technology run smoothly and securely. Commonwealth also has an automatic “We Care Program”. The We Care Programs allows your machines to tell CDOS when they are running low on supplies or have an issue so that you can avoid calling altogether.
Brand: Commonwealth has a comprehensive website, complete with helpful tabs, a search bar, personalized customer testimonials, and simple navigation. However, CDOS’s blog leaves something to be desired, with only two articles currently available. Google reviews give Commonwealth high praise with a 4.3/5 star rating and 48 total reviews.
United Business Technologies (UBT)
“Personalized Solutions. Guaranteed Satisfaction”
Location: UBT is based in Gaitherburg, Maryland and serves the Washington, DC metro area. They have a second office in Columbia, MD.
Size: United Business Technologies has been in the industry for the past 44 years. They are estimated to have between 51 and 200 employees with an approximate annual revenue between $50 and $100 million USD.
Manufacturer Rating: UBT is partnered with Canon, HP, and Toshiba. Canon is ranked as the #1 manufacturer, holding 21.4% of the market share. Toshiba is ranked #6, occupying 7.6% of the market share. Lastly, HP is ranked #8 and currently holds 4.7% of the market share.
Dun and Bradstreet ESG Rating: UBT has an ESG rating of 2/5 stars, slightly below the industry average of 2.41/5 stars.
Customer Guarantees: UBT has a number of customer guarantees, including their One Year Unconditional Money Back and Exchange Guarantee, 15 minute telephone-response time, and 95% first call fix rate. The One Year Unconditional Money Back and Exchange Guarantee allows customers to replace or refund any equipment they are unhappy with within the first year.
Brand: United Business Technologies has an impressive and visually appealing website, featuring an updated blog, user-friendly navigation, and links to their other social media presences. Their website also offers personal testimonials from customers. Out of a total 14 responses, Google reviews gives UBT a 3.9/5 star rating.
Still looking for the right office supply company? Look no further than Impact Office Technologies
