ASA chief executive Calderon unveils new ASA programs, benefits

BY MARY JO MARTIN
Editorial director

Inge Calderon

After 21 years with the American Supply Association, executive vice president Inge Calderon is still enthusiastic about the strength of the PHCP distribution channel and her role within it.

Calderon spends a great deal of her time with ASA’s volunteer leaders to develop new programming and benefits for member firms. She also serves as with ASA’s voice at meetings involving related industry associations. Today’s with ASA represents approximately 400 wholesaler member companies that range from multi-billion-dollar national firms to single-location independent operations, along with a vendor division of about 175 manufacturers, suppliers and reps.

For the past few years, ASA has placed tremendous focus on further development its of Education Foundation, Government Affairs program and Center for Advancing Technology. Calderon and the ASA staff, along with volunteer leaders, have worked diligently to fine-tune existing programs and develop new ones that will offer exceptional value to members.

She also places a great emphasis on strengthening the annual ASA Convention and affiliated bi-annual ISH-North America trade show. This year’s events are just weeks away, scheduled for September 26-30 in Chicago.

Calderon graciously took time out of her convention preparations to discuss some of ASA’s newest developments with editorial director Mary Jo Martin.

MJM: We’re fast approaching the ASA Convention and ISH North America. Are you pleased so far with the advance registrations for both attendees and exhibitors? Have you done anything differently this year in marketing and building interest for the events?

Calderon: Yes, I’m very pleased with the reception for both the Network ’06 program as well as ISH-North America. We started our marketing earlier this year than before, and judging from early returns, we should have a very good turnout. In terms of ISH-North America, Chicago has always been a very strong draw. There is a substantial trade audience within driving distance of the city, and a number of wholesalers are organizing bus trips for their customers. Show management is also focusing a greater emphasis on direct mail promotion, combined with advertising and other audience development efforts. The show floor will be quite busy, I’m confident.

MJM: What will be some of the highlights we can look forward to at the convention and trade show?

Calderon: The convention this year is again paired with PHCC’s annual event when it comes to our Opening Reception and keynote sessions. The Opening Reception will be a very gala affair, co-sponsored by Elkay Manufacturing and InSinkErator. We’ve also booked two keynoters to add value to the program — undersea explorer Dr. Robert Ballard who discovered the wreck of the Titanic, and James Bradley, author of Flags of our Fathers.

A new benefit that’s been added to the ASA member registration “package” is the University Outreach program, made possible by the ASA Education Foundation Endowment Fund. We’ll have about 25 students — seniors from industrial distribution programs around the country — in attendance, and potential employers can set up meetings with them on an individual basis. This has already drawn a great deal of interest, and I think it’ll be something that will grow from year to year. We’ve also beefed up our seminar content to appeal to more hr professionals who will be in town to recruit.

Another new event that I think will be well received is our “Cross Industry Networking Roundtables,” where we’ll have wholesale distributors from other product lines (ie electrical products, floor coverings, etc.) to discuss, in an informal way, areas of interest with our plumbing and PVF wholesalers, such as sales compensation, inventory control and other topics. All in all, I’m really pumped about this year’s program.

MJM: What was your impression of the regional conventions this year?

Calderon: I’m happy to have seen that the wholesaler turnout for these events was quite strong, and that the programming is being geared to offer value not only to the wholesalers, but also to the factory execs and manufacturers reps in attendance. These regional events are still critical to a member’s ability to get the most value out of belonging to their associations — both regional and national.

MJM: I know building a stronger relationship between ASA and the regionals was a big goal of yours last year. How has that bond been strengthened and in what ways are you seeing greater communication/interaction?

Calderon: You know, all of that conflict has been put behind us for several years now, and we’ve come to a point where we are all on one “page,” singing from the same hymnal, as it were. We communicate regularly and are working together on a regular basis to plan educational programs and coordinate our calendars. And of course, we work together to promote the value of membership in our organizations — it’s a symbiotic thing and, from my perspective, whatever problems we had in the past are no longer an issue.

MJM: There continues to be ongoing consolidation among wholesalers in our industry, and among ASA’s membership. How are you working with these wholesalers to ensure their continued support of ASA?

Calderon: Our value proposition is strengthened every time we introduce or improve a new member benefit (such as refining the Operating Performance Report, publishing a compensation report, etc.), or educational program, including all of the new tools and resources that are being developed by the Education Foundation, thanks to the Neupert Endowment Fund. As more of our existing members increase their use of these programs, which we’re witnessing, we believe that they’ll continue to support the association that is working on their behalf to strengthen their own value in the channel.

That said, we still have a lot of work to do to recruit new members — those companies who have never belonged to ASA, which are primarily the smaller, independent businesses. That’s where the cooperative efforts with our regionals are grounded. Those independent firms derive the most benefit from belonging to both the regional and the national organizations.

MJM: Are there active new member recruitment efforts in place?

Calderon: Recruitment is an ongoing process. We’ve worked with our regional affiliates to create a cohesive message to those companies not yet on board. We schedule joint visits to prospects whenever possible, and we continue to work with the major industry buying groups to establish a presence at their meetings. On the whole, they have been very supportive of our efforts and have given us several opportunities for exposure to their members, for which we’re grateful. And of course, with our newly-introduced branding effort, including our benefits brochure and products catalog, we’re better positioned than ever to make our case.

MJM: You have unveiled a new communications/marketing initiative on the value of ASA. Can you share details of this program and its message?

Calderon: Our new “brand” doesn’t necessarily mess with the old brand, but we felt that we needed to put the spotlight on ASA’s powerful legacy and vibrant future. The initiative emphasizes that ASA is an ideal partner in the profitability and growth of its member wholesalers, manufacturers and reps. The catalog that has been produced provides a comprehensive, all-in-one-place look at all the tools, training, technology and networking opportunities that are made possible through ASA and will be updated on a regular, probably annual, basis. The marketing pieces serve as the foundation for the “new day at ASA” element of the campaign.

We need to remind our members of everything that’s available to them and what we do on their behalf. And of course, our new member recruitment will need this kind of communication to be effective.

MJM: The Education Foundation has done a great job of developing new programming. What are some of the highlights from this year?

Calderon: The Foundation is really ramping up its production of new programs and updating our existing menu of training tools. We’re in the midst of reenergizing our Product Pro product knowledge training programs with an aggressive revision. This will include new editions of several course books and the introduction of more on-line programming.

At the same time, we’re developing a new course on the Essentials of Inside Sales, which we’ll release later this fall, as the newest introduction in our Essentials brand of certificate courses. We’re also pleased that our Employee Performance Tool Kit is filling our members’ needs for job descriptions and performance evaluations, which they can customize to fit their companies’ needs. ASA members continue to attend the University of Industrial Distribution in record numbers, as they did this year.

Finally, we expect to introduce a brand new book at the convention this year, authored by Ed Felten, former chairman of First Supply Group in Madison, Wis., and past president of ASA. His book, The Art of Supervising and Motivating People, will surely be a popular hit among ASA members, since it’s filled with no-nonsense coaching and industry-specific examples that’ll give new supervisors a real leg up.

MJM: Are you seeing an increased interest by members in Education Foundation courses? How are you attempting to build participation?

Calderon: Yes, member participation increases every year as distributors recognize the connection between well-trained employees and profitability.

The dynamic of ongoing program revisions (to keep them up to date), introduction of new programs, increased delivery options, and emphasis on how training/education affects profitability are all powerful motivating factors for our wholesaler members. Our exposure at regional conventions, buying group meetings, pilot seminars, as well as our revitalized website and personal member visits all have a positive impact on participation.

MJM: Can you bring me up to speed on some of ASA’s special interest groups: Industrial Piping Division, Vendor Member Division, Young Executives and Government Affairs?

Calderon: The IPD continues to build on providing a unique forum for trading partners in the PVF sector, and we’re seeing its membership grow. In addition to making plans for beefing up the IPD convention program content/benefit this year and next, the group is in the early stages of research, looking to work with the Education Foundation to provide pvf wholesalers with some great new training tools.

The Young Execs derives their best benefit from the networking that goes on during the annual Forum, which was held last spring in Savannah. Programs like this get the young managers into the habit of regularly networking with their peers from around the country, where they learn how valuable these opportunities are to their future success.

As for VMD, there is more and more integration into the primary leadership of ASA from this vital group, including two officers on the Executive Committee, six seats on the Board of Directors, and representation on literally every other volunteer group in the organization. VMD members enjoy their own convention events (like the VMD Breakfast), and benefits such as the Materials Market Digest prepared by Ed Scott. But more and more they find that have become fully integrated into the association’s membership as we continue to evolve into an industry organization - focused on the channel, rather than on one isolated aspect within it. It’s been my personal pleasure to have witnessed this evolution over the past 14 to 15 years, and I can honestly say that there has not been one instance where we have looked back to the days when ASA was strictly a wholesaler association and felt it should have remained that way.

With regard to our PAC, our fundraising is an ongoing challenge. We have our stalwart supporters who have long since recognized that our Washington, D.C., lobby — with the advice and counsel of Jon Kent & Pat O’Connor — is strengthened by the campaign donations that our PAC can make to Congressional candidates. Unfortunately, the current political climate and campaign reformers would have you believe otherwise, but as long as it’s the only game in town we remain committed to using our resources in this fashion. We need allies in the fights to repeal the Estate Tax, or to try to get some relief from asbestos lawsuits, for example. Wait until another 1.6-gpf flush-like issue arises! We’ll need all the help we can get from our allies on the Hill.

MJM: How is the partnership between ASA and HARDI working for CAT? What are some of the key initiatives that CAT is working on, and are you pleased with the support it is receiving from members?

Calderon: ASA and HARDI continue to enjoy a good working relationship. Late last year, HARDI moved its technology initiatives in-house, as our cooperative efforts to create a database of HVAC products for their members became somewhat stalled. However, we continue to work together, and retain several vendors in common who also work with the ASA CAT. Don Frendberg, my counterpart at HARDI, and I enjoy long-standing business relationship and friendship, and we’re always looking for common ground on which to build alliances.

ASA CAT continues to offer the IDB (Industry Database) with product data and pricing updates, Translink EDI services (which now has over 375 subscribers), and the Catalog Builder software for in-house catalog publishing. These programs are now well-established and have proven to deliver real benefit to ASA members.

MJM: Share with us details of the new partnership with HomePortfolio, and how that will benefit wholesalers and their showrooms?

Calderon: CAT’s partnership with HomePortfolio has enabled this exciting new program to be introduced to ASA members who have been looking for a way to harness the internet to advertise their “brick and mortar” showrooms. HomePortfolio matches customers local to a wholesaler, by giving the customer access to information about home design products such as plumbing fixtures. Once the customer has found the products he or she is interested in, they can find where those products are on display and where those products are in stock, simply by using their zip code to search. We’ve had more than 20 companies sign up for the service so far, many of whom have already seen an uptick in their showroom traffic as a result.

MJM: Several years ago, ASA outlined a three-year, 11-point strategic plan. Can you share with us an update on its status?

Calderon: We have successfully met the shorter-term objectives that dealt with our infrastructure, our working relationship with our regional affiliates, and governance. We are also well on the way to reaching some of the longer-term objectives, including those surrounding the continued development and promotion of our value proposition, such as beefing up the Education Foundation menu of training products. Some of the tougher objectives — such as finding that “silver bullet” that will create a new revenue stream for the association — continue to be on our radar screen, of course, but they’re obviously much harder to realize.

This might be a good time to point out how critical it is for an organization like ASA to have involved and “invested” leaders such as we do. We’re fortunate, really, to have people on our Executive Committee and Board who treat their responsibilities seriously, and who truly care about the future of the association and the health of this industry. There are some challenging times ahead, since it seems that the changes that we’ve been experiencing in our way of life are only picking up in momentum every year. However, we’re not a group that will stick our heads in the sand and hope that change passes us by, leaving us unscathed. Rest assured, you’ll see an ASA moving forward that positions itself to take advantage of change so that we can continue to provide value.

MJM: Another area we talked about last year was the need to get next-generation managers and leaders more involved with ASA and the regionals. Has there been any progress in developing ways to build interest among those younger executives?

Calderon: We believe that as long as they see relevance in our programs to their personal and professional lives, we’ll see the younger generation participating in associations like ASA. To that extent, we try to maintain an active Young Executives program, and nuture it by including representation from that group at our Board meetings and other events that provide them with opportunities to get involved. We need to do more going forward to ensure that we recruit more of these individuals, and will work with our regional affiliates to try to make that happen.

MJM: Can you give us a preview of anything to watch for coming from ASA in the near future and what are some of your key goals in the near term?

Calderon: As I mentioned earlier, there are a couple of brand-new things that will be introduced by the Education Foundation this year, including the Essentials of Inside Sales; the Felten book, The Art of Supervising and Motivating People; and the premiere of more on-line product training courses, not to mention new editions of the Product Pro books that are being updated.

Likewise, I feel the University Outreach program is going to be a stepping stone for us in our efforts to help our members find and retain good people. After all, well-trained, effective employees are our members’ greatest assets.

If we can provide them with the tools and opportunities to find those employees and train them, we have fulfilled a very important benefit.