PERSPECTIVE: Where are the Distributors?

John Wolz

Fastener association business meetings are generally perfunctory. The minutes. The treasurers report. The scholarship committee report.
But in Dallas, associate members at the Southwestern Fastener Association annual business meeting spoke up. There were questions about the budget. There were questions about the ratio of distributors to associates in association membership, conference participation and at association trade shows.
Associates don�t want to outnumber distributors.
At first there was uneasiness about where the subject was going. But it evolved into a healthy discussion of what associations can do � or don�t do � to attract distributor participation.
There were logical answers. One board member noted that industry consolidations have cut participation. �The people who started this association owned their own business,� he recalled. The local Mom & Pop distributor could send several people to regional association events. Branches of the national chains answer to corporate headquarters and the bottom line. The corporate budget may not even include a regional association membership.
Nor do industry associations have the U.S. Fastener Quality Act as a uniting force bringing distributors to meetings. After a decade of industry concern, the FQA was marginalized by 1999 amendments.
For years in private conversations suppliers have complained about distributor participation in several association meetings and trade shows. �How can I justify the cost of this trip?� one frequent traveler to many association events has asked fellow suppliers wherever distributor numbers were low.
Exhibitors have been increasingly raising their voices about distributor attendance at the more expensive commercial trade shows.
Fastener associations had long escaped the same accountability. Booth rates at regional association shows are a fraction of the cost of commercial shows and widely viewed as a donation to the association. Proceeds are frequently used for scholarship or training programs. Hotels and related costs are usually lower for regional tabletop shows.
A part of the discussion focused on a new $75 fee for non-member distributors to attend the Southwestern Fastener Expo. Suppliers expressed concern that it was too high.
A SFA board member explained that distributor members thought non-members should pay more than members.
A supplier indicated he would rather pay more for a booth than discourage distributor attendance with a $75 fee.
One supplier sought to move the discussion off the any specific price. �What I am interested in is value,� he said, emphasizing the word �value� several times during the meeting. It doesn�t matter if the booth is $100 or $1,000 if the distributor traffic warrants the booth price and related participation costs.
�The proof will be in the pudding� became almost the associates� mantra. The pudding would be distributor attendance at the Expo the following day.
However, the admission fee never got its test. During the night Dallas temperatures dropped 50 degrees. An early morning snow and ice storm made driving to the show the first obstacle rather than the price question.
Though that question wasn�t answered, suppliers did succeed in bringing up their concerns.
Southwestern board members listened. They were bouncing off ideas of how to bring in distributors. They were happy to promise a list of attendees to exhibitors.
And their comments showed they understood. �We are always open to suggestions,� one board member assured suppliers.
Over the years Southwestern has gained a positive reputation for its show. And because associates spoke up instead of complaining among themselves, the 2004 Southwestern Fastener Expo in Houston is likely to be the association�s most distributor-friendly show ever. \ �2002 FastenerNews.com