ASA members gather in Chicago for annual convention

By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 11/1/2000

Chicago-Members of the American Supply Assn. gathered Oct. 4-7 for the association's 31st Annual Convention and the North American Exposition 2000, an international plumbing, heating, cooling and piping trade show.

The ASA Convention, titled "A Lifeline to Success," featured six educational workshops focused on electronic commerce, human resource and legal issues, the role of manufacturers' representatives, business succession, and consolidation.

During the General Session, Hooper Hardison, executive vice president of Charlotte Pipe & Foundry, accepted the Golden Eagle Award, which is given annually to a manufacturer. In addition, ASA chairman Karl Neupert bestowed the first annual Fred V. Keenan Lifetime Achievement Award upon the award's namesake, Fred Keenan of Keenan Supply.

Outgoing ASA president Harold Williams of Security Supply and incoming president Don Maloney of Coburn Supply delivered the "State of ASA" address and outlined the issues that ASA will be working on in the coming year: government affairs, trade show consolidation, educational programs and electronic technology.

Roger Blackwell, Ph.D., professor of marketing at The Ohio State University and author of "From Mind to Market," delivered the keynote speech: "The E-volution of Commerce." Blackwell noted that the industrial marketplace is moving from a supply chain orientation to a demand chain orientation that will feature the same players, but will recognize that demand begins in the minds of consumers.

Blackwell said that during this transition, the functions performed by various members of the supply/demand chain will shift to the most efficient performer.

E-commerce will weigh in to create some of that efficiency, Blackwell said, but will be most effective as a way to enhance traditional selling approaches, rather than as a way to gain new customers.

"E-commerce is primarily to serve existing customers better and do it more efficiently," he said.

Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., president of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., gave a presentation titled "Winning Strategies for a Consolidating PHCP Industry."

Fein predicted that within the next one to three years, there will be a couple of "blockbuster" acquisition announcements but that overall the consolidation trend within this segment of the distribution industry will slow. Fein said mid-size plumbing, heating, cooling and piping companies will be under the greatest pressure to consolidate, and that small, local distributors will continue to play a role in the market and can use local service and strong relationships with customers to continue to succeed. In the face of consolidation, smaller wholesalers should compete for customer loyalty and resist attempts to compete on price, he said.

Following two full days of educational workshops, business meetings, and social functions, ASA members filled the aisles at NEX 2000, the international trade show produced jointly by ASA, the National Assn. of Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors, and the Canadian Institute of Plumbing & Heating. More than 450 manufacturers from the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe exhibited products for commercial, residential and institutional applications at the show.