"What a great, fun trip it's been!" Since I've "borrowed" thoughts, ideas and columnists throughout this year as DMIA president, why not begin my last column by paraphrasing the Grateful Dead?
Wow, what a year! The phrase, "Time goes by quickly when you're having a good time" has never been truer. It's hard to believe my year as DMIA's president is ending. And what a great and exciting year it has been.
From a personal perspective, serving as your president was tremendously rewarding. Traveling around the country and renewing old friendships, meeting new friends, and working with fellow DMIA Board members and our excellent staff have given me enjoyment and insights I will cherish.
Some of our members occasionally indulge in "doom and gloom" attitudes about our business in general or their role in it. Some negativity can be written off because our industry is mature, but a lot of it results from unwillingness to change. If you're focused on the difficulties of landing that new order for 50,000 3-part continuous forms, you may be justified in thinking that business is lousy.
But most DMIA members I've met in the last year see a world of opportunity. To have this kind of vision, you have to look at the complete picture and act as a problem-solver for your clients' document and promotional needs. That big-picture view and that consultant-sales posture have to be sharpened and polished and re-engineered. Which is where DMIA enters the picture.
DMIA is here to help the independent segment of our industry move forward, learn, change and be that problem-solver. But DMIA helps you most when you participate. Just ask the people who do participate.
The first ever DMIA-sponsored Small Distributor Summit was held this year and was a huge success. I attended that meeting in Kansas City, and was extremely impressed with the job Dick Gray, the summit sponsors and DMIA staff did. The next Small Distributor Summit, to be held March 12-14 in Dallas, will be bigger and better.
At the Print Solutions Conference & Expo in Chicago earlier this month, we held a meeting exclusively for the young leaders in our industry. You'll be seeing and hearing more from these young men and women--they have fresh ideas and perspectives about the future, and it's a future they anticipate with incredibly positive attitudes. This was an excellent meeting that I hope will be the start of an ongoing program.
Another milestone this year was the independent's fantastic performance in winning significant portions of the Novation contract, the nation's largest volume purchasing agreement for health care group purchasing organizations. This is an awesome ratification of our ability to compete on a national scale. Congratulations to IBSA and American Solutions for Business for securing this business!
With membership input and participation, DMIA is in a great position to help all segments of the supply chain. This year, for the first time, the DMIA Board had representation from all three segments of our industry--distributors, manufacturers and suppliers. This Board composition is a positive reflection of the true nature of the independent segment of the printing industry.
We are very fortunate to have Jeff Long take the gavel as the new DMIA president. Jeff will be the first DMIA president to come up strictly from the manufacturing side of our industry. (Rumors abound that some distributors manufacture and some manufacturers distribute. Such blasphemy!) Jeff is an inspirational and articulate leader who will be a tremendous president.
With the input and participation from membership and our outstanding staff, DMIA will continue to be an asset every member should use and be proud of. Thanks for allowing me to serve as your president this year. It has been a blast!
Phil Schmidt is president of distributorship Advanced Systems & Forms Inc., Livonia, Mich., and president of DMIA.
