E-business dominates fall convention

By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 1/1/2001

Chicago-The Internet and e-commerce were the main topics of discussion at the Fall Convention of the American Supply and Machinery Manufacturers' Assn. and the Industrial Distribution Assn., held in November.

Of the 11 business sessions offered on Saturday, Nov. 18, eight focused on some aspect of e-business. ASMMA and I.D.A. officials said the Web-heavy format was intentional. The convention was titled "The Road to Adding Value," and as I.D.A. executive vice president Gary Buffington explained, the Internet is one way to bring value to the end user.

Other convention events centered around the Internet, as well. Keynote speaker Gina Smith, CEO of The New Internet Computer Co., gave a presentation titled, "The Internet: Exactly How it Will Affect Your Business." ASMMA and I.D.A. also unveiled their latest study on e-commerce, dubbed "An Industry Baseline for E-Commerce and Supply Chain Integration." The study was co-sponsored by ASMMA and I.D.A. and conducted by Texas A & M University.

Highlights of the convention included a small distributor workshop titled "Where in the Web Are You?" In that session, consultants Scott Ehrnschwender and Sam Wermuth talked about the how, where, why and cost of developing an e-business strategy. Ehrnschwender is president of Efficiency Associates, Inc. and Wermuth is a managing partner at W.R. McCleave & Associates.

Some other hard-hitting sessions focused on the current and future role of the Internet in the MRO channel.

During a panel discussion on Internet sales, representatives from eight technology providers forecasted what's next for e-commerce, online marketplaces and more. Key issues this year include the need to integrate Web ordering with back-end business systems, and converting manufacturers' part numbers into standardized formats for catalogs, they said.

Several speakers such as Doug Levin, a vice president at Prophet 21, Inc., expect private exchanges operated by e-procurement software companies will fare better than public MRO buying-selling sites. Levin said that's because private exchanges cut operational costs for participants. Don Webb, president of Prelude Systems, agreed that distributors' largest end users will drive business on to so-called private exchanges.

However, Chuck Moyer, a vice president at MRO Link Corp., said that won't occur on a widespread scale until product numbers and other content is standardized so that it can be found easily in an online catalog.

Gene Roman, CEO of Systems Design, Inc. predicted the "real value of B2B systems for customers won't be ordering, but just-in-time information, education and motivation. There's a tremendous amount of training you'll be able to provide them, and partner relationships management."

Two sessions unrelated to the Internet also grabbed members' attention. Frank Lynn & Associates led a panel discussion on "The Master Distributor's Role with ASMMA & I.D.A. Members" and William F. Harrison of the Phoenix Leadership Institute spoke about "Good People: Finding and Keeping Them."