Ten years ago, our responsibilities as distributors, manufacturers and suppliers seemed concrete. Today, however, our prescribed roles should not be set in stone. They should be shaped by end users' specific needs.
What's best for the end user? That's the one question each member of the supply chain should ask itself--and each other--when manufacturing or delivering products and services. When you're doing what's best for the end user, you're also doing what's best for your own business. As partners, we should never let our customers' demand for value outpace our ability to provide it.
Active change is better than antiquated convention, and that holds true when discussing prescribed roles in the document management industry. For instance, if an end user wants to learn more about a printing method or technology, a joint meeting might be the best option for education. Is that customary? No, but it's common sense. On the other hand, if an end user needs a product that a distributor can produce in house, that route might be more efficient than sending the job to a manufacturer.
One of the most obvious attributes we have as independents (and certainly one of the biggest advantages we hold over the majors) is our flexibility. So when an end user's business method, application, time frame, budget or technology drives us away from old-fashioned roles, we should embrace the chance to be flexible. We should focus on the opportunity to offer a true solution.
At DMIA's recent CEO Summit in Tucson, Ariz., I was impressed by Robert Nadeau's educational session entitled "Don't Sell Stuff--Add Value." Nadeau is managing principal of Industrial Performance Group, which specializes in research designed to help distributors, manufacturers and suppliers improve their relationships, sales and profitability. He said something about end users that has stuck with me: Their money fuels the whole chain.
Their needs should drive our business decisions. If an end user tosses and turns at night, I guarantee it's not because a supply-chain member expanded or diminished its conventional role. Most end users don't care much about the nitty-gritty (who did what and how). They just want results: high-quality products, good prices and dependable customer service. It's our job to give them those results in the best way possible. Sometimes, that doesn't mean the way we're used to doing it.
Everyone in the supply chain needs to work better as a team. We need to increase our communication and collaboration, defining our goals in terms of what customers want. When shared goals are based on end users' needs, operational efficiencies and growth increase for everyone involved. But when communication is poor and trust is lacking, relationships among distributors, manufacturers and suppliers become stagnant.
Have a healthy attitude about the future of your business. There's a daily infusion of new technology, new competition and new ideas in our industry. Old rules are being broken, and fresh standards are being born.
Remember: It's their money that fuels the chain. We'll see more of that money if we work better as partners.
J. Buster Weinzierl, CDC, is president of Belknap Business Forms Inc., Mayville, N.Y., and vice president of DMIA.
