Atlanta – The Industrial Distribution Assn., seeking to attract a more diverse group of attendees, announced the renaming of its joint fall convention with the Industrial Supply Manufacturer's Assn. It is now: I.D.A.'s Annual Distributor & Manufacturer Business Expo. Using the tag line, Linking Partners in the Supply Chain, I.D.A. says the meeting is the one annual event for all industrial distribution-related companies.

"We invite all distributors, manufacturers and representatives from around the world to come to Chicago. This is the one event for all of them," said I.D.A.'s executive vice president Gary Buffington.

The list of invitees includes master distributors, foreign manufacturers, marketing and buying groups, technology providers and manufacturers' representatives.

Beginning last year, I.D.A. took over planning for the November event, while the Industrial Supply Manufacturers Assn. took over the responsibilities for the groups' annual spring convention. The fall event is held in Chicago, while the spring meeting's venue varies.

The name change and management of each event is causing some confusion among the two groups, however.

ISMA controlled the invitations to speakers, vendors and other guests at the spring convention in New Orleans. I.D.A. members were somewhat disappointed in the set-up of this convention, held in May, Buffington said. Distributors of all types were invited, regardless of whether they are members of I.D.A., as were manufacturers' representatives. But ISMA invited only its own manufacturer members, he said.

"That fulfills the needs of ISMA at this time and I understand that," Buffington said. "It's a method of meeting the needs of their membership."

As far as ISMA is concerned, the board of directors planned the spring convention the same way it always does — trying to offer the best mix of speakers, events and new opportunities to distributors and manufacturers, said Chuck Stockinger, ISMA's executive director. Distributors and suppliers have issues about convention attendance and always have, Stockinger added. However, the relationship between I.D.A. and ISMA as supply chain groups has not changed, he said.

"The name change of the Fall Convention was sudden and unilateral on I.D.A.'s part," Stockinger said. "We have an agreement, between the two associations, that the name will contain our acronyms and be flip-flopped — I.D.A./ISMA in the fall and ISMA/I.D.A. in the spring."

According to Stockinger, ISMA was not consulted about the change and should have been.

Jim Beckstein, I.D.A.'s president and president of Mill Supplies in Ft. Wayne, Ind., explained that the name change is not meant to diminish the importance of ISMA members at the fall meeting. ISMA and I.D.A. have a contract to jointly sponsor meetings through 2005, he said.

Beckstein admits to having a rapidly growing file containing concerns he receives about the press release that announced the name change. That release mentions that I.D.A. has "realigned" and "redefined the mission" of the group. The renaming of the convention was done, in part, because it's getting more difficult to attract people to conventions of any kind.

"I think the concern is that we're renaming [the fall convention] to further separate from ISMA and that is not our intent," he said. "The reason is to attract more individuals — and companies, manufacturers and distributors — to the show."

Both groups are trying to introduce innovative programs to convince more people that a trip to the convention, with its face-to-face opportunities, is invaluable.

Beckstein acknowledges that some I.D.A. members were disappointed with the keynote speaker at the spring convention, Joseph Pyne, a senior vice president of United Parcel Service's Supply Chain Solutions. Part of the UPS worldwide businesses group, UPS Supply Chain Solutions offers services for fullfillment, repair, ret-urns and refurbishment, all traditional roles of the distributor.

"Some distributors commented during the meeting that the choice of speakers seemed to fly a flag in their faces, that this kind of business was going to replace distribution as we know it," he said.

Ray Reynertson, ISMA president, acknowledges the difficulty of planning a national convention, but emphasizes the importance of the I.D.A./ISMA relationship.

"We sat down with I.D.A. and came to a unanimous conclusion – we need each other," he said. "The relationship is not strained, but the structure and function of conventions may be under strain. In fact, it is a problem," he said.

Reynertson, president of Sturtevant Richmont, noted that both distributors and manufacturers want more members to attend the conventions, and that I.D.A. and ISMA want their memberships to grow, as well.

He and Stockinger defended the choice of UPS's Pyne as keynote speaker, noting that the logistics system UPS built speeds the supply chain for distributors, customers and suppliers, and reduces costs for all.

Reynertson agrees that there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings with trading partners at some point during the year. He and Stockinger say that the joint conventions will evolve to become, if not all-inclusive, then broader in scope than before.

"It's possible that, one day, there will be only one event of this type each year, but it will need the full cooperation of I.D.A. and ISMA to be successful," Stockinger said.