Promoting authorized distribution

Industry association launches marketing campaign to educate end users on the importance of buying from manufacturer-endorsed and supported distributors

By Jack Keough, Editor -- Industrial Distribution, 4/1/2007

The Bearing Specialists Assn. is launching a program designed to promote the advantages of purchasing bearing products from authorized distributors. It will be introduced in May at the association's annual meeting in Marco Island, Fla., and is in response to the proliferation of low-cost, unauthorized suppliers selling products through a variety of channels.

“This [program] is something that is sorely needed,” said Tom Miller, BSA president, and executive vice president and COO of Motion Industries.

BSA's promotional flyers on the subject will be distributed by bearing salespeople to end users in several industries.

The association's manufacturing and distribution task force, co-chaired by Hal Allen, chairman and CEO of Allied Bearing Supply, and Chuck Kitchen, executive vice president of Interstate Bearing Systems, developed the promotional campaign.

BSA said the program emphasizes authorized distributors' value proposition: Providing customers with guaranteed products from leading manufacturers. This is particularly significant today, they said, because so many counterfeit and poor quality products are brought into the market through a variety of channels.

Allen said buyers at small companies understand the rationale for buying through authorized distributors, but that much work needs to be done to get the message across to buyers at larger companies engaged in national contracts.

The initial campaign flyer for the program identifies 10 tips for buying bearing products and services from an authorized distributor.

The 10 tips include:

Trust. Authorized distributors are selected by the best bearing manufacturers to represent them in the local market.

Reliability. An authorized distributor supports a customer's best interests with the right brands and inventories.

Quality. An authorized distributor partners with top-quality manufacturers. They have been trained to properly store and handle the products, and they work to continuously improve their services.

Expertise. Customers' needs are supported by authorized distributors' factory-trained staff—people who know the product and the applications that will help customers with their requirements.

Inventory. Authorized distributors move bearing products directly from manufacturers to speed deliveries.

Selection. Authorized distributors access the breadth and depth of factory-fresh inventory to best suit customers' needs.

Technical support. Only authorized distributors have direct access to bearing manufacturers' technical resources for complete and timely solutions.

Genuine. Authorized distributors give a customer peace of mind that they're buying a genuine brand.

Warranty. Buying a branded product from an unauthorized source often voids the manufacturer's warranty. Authorized distributors make sure customers get the support they're paying for.

In addition to the flyer, the association is looking at other ways to get the message out, said Allen, noting that the group will likely develop more promotional materials in the months ahead.

“We've got to convey to customers … that working with an authorized distributor can contribute to their longevity as a company, improve their processes, and stress the advantages we have in working so closely with our manufacturers,” Miller said.

“These 10 tips are some of the best reasons why bearing customers should buy products through authorized distributors. This is a strong way for us to get the message out to the buying community and prove to them the value that we provide,” Allen added.

Both Miller and Allen admitted that promoting the value of authorized distribution is a difficult task, especially when buyers use the Internet to source products. But they said programs such as BSA's will help. In addition, BSA members will get feedback from salespeople who deliver the flyers to end-users.

Miller said the decision to promote authorized distribution is an extension of a white paper BSA produced in 2005 examining how bearing customers define and leverage value in the marketplace.

Those findings showed that bearing consumers are moving from transactional to strategic relationships with key distributors who are specialists in specific product areas and are viewed as value generators, not cost loads. The services bearing specialists provide—specialized product knowledge and knowledge of specific plant/production/process challenges and corporate procedures—raise the level of engagement to yield a higher return on investment, the study showed.

Miller and Allen noted that as customers demand savings, authorized distributors have the product knowledge to reduce their costs and provide services that can't be matched.

Jeri Church, BSA's executive secretary, emphasized the value of the program.

“BSA is not just recognizing a competitive challenge. The association's distributor members and participating manufacturers are taking action to meet it head-on by delivering the message about the value of authorized distribution,“ she said. “Industry leaders in BSA and beyond are too well aware of the competition from low-cost suppliers. It impacts market share, as well as the industry's overall reputation, when end users can be confronted with such things as inferior products, no warranty, a lack of service and technical support. I'm especially proud that BSA has taken a leadership position in responding to the situation.”

The BSA meeting will be held May 4-8 at the Marriott's Marco Island Resort.