In 1992, Allied Office Products was a corporation with annual sales of $900 million
in business forms and specialty paper products, such as writing paper, envelopes,
note cards, and greeting cards. In 1988 the company had expanded into
business forms inventory management services. This was an area where Allied
believed it could offer value-added services to differentiate it from other business
forms manufacturers. The forms manufacturing business was mature by
1988, and all competitors were seeking ways to generate sales growth. Allied
embarked on a campaign to enroll its corporate clients in a program which it
called "Total Forms Control" (TFC).