NAW focuses on change at annual meeting
Michael Moore is NAW's new chairman.
By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 3/1/1999
WASHINGTON, D.C.--With the impeachment trial being held just blocks away, 400 distributors met at the Capital Hilton Hotel Feb. 1-3 for the annual meeting of the National Assn. of Wholesaler-Distributors. NAW officials say attendance was up roughly 30 percent, mostly due to the recent release of Arthur Andersen's "Facing the Forces of Change" study.In between legislative updates and political bantering from notable guests Mark Shields and Robert Novak, distributors were offered an explanation of how the four trends of the recent study -- globalization, e-commerce, supply chain integration and strategic alliances -- will affect them.
"The economy is strong and sales are strong, yet we feel like we are in the eye of a storm," said Charlie Banks, president of Ferguson Enterprises and outgoing NAW chairman. "Storm clouds are headed right for us, and those clouds bring change. We cannot afford to be complacent," Banks said during his keynote address. "We're not just in business to sell product anymore. We must now provide products with vital information and knowledge."
While the event started with an update on legislative issues like overtime exemption for inside sales personnel, health care reform and product liability, the presentations and panel discussions in the DREF report stole the show. In the panel discussion on alliances, Wisconsin Electric Power Co.'s Gail DeVeau estimated that her firm has saved upwards of $50 million since forming its alliance five years ago. Alliance partners include Hubbell Power Systems and Border States Electric Supply.
Mike Moore, former principal at Invetech, acquired by Applied Industrial Technologies two years ago, is NAW's incoming chairman. He currently serves on Applied's board of directors.
There are no other articles related to this article.Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
Sponsored Links
View All Blogs
