A Debt of Gratitude

Industry Hall of Famer honored at NDC Exhibition 2016 – “The Power of Partnership”

NDC bade farewell to longtime board chairman of Claflin Company, and welcomed its new financial partnership with Court Square Capital Partners, at NDC Exhibition 2016 – “The Power of Partnership” — in New Orleans this spring. NDC members also got a close-up look at NuEdge Alliance, the non-acute-care-focused GPO, which is a partnership between NDC and Provista.

In addition to bringing together medical distributors, manufacturers and GPO representatives, NDC also hosted the NDC MOtion1 Sales Meeting. The NDC MOtion1 (rehab) program ran concurrently with the NDC Exhibition, providing rehab-focused dealers with enhanced education, networking opportunities and a tradeshow exhibition.

‘Transformational leadership’
In his tribute to Almon, Mark Seitz, NDC president and CEO, said, “If medical distribution were a branch of military service, Ted would be one of the country’s most highly decorated veterans.

“During nearly two decades as NDC Chairman, Almon has provided remarkable, transformational leadership,” Seitz said. “When Ted was sworn in as Chairman of the Board in July 1998, NDC was operating as ABCO Dealers. ABCO was a buying cooperative serving approximately 30 distributors, focused primarily on the acute care market. Alongside fellow board members, Ted helped design, and then presided over, the decade-long plan to transition ABCO Dealers from a buying cooperative into the healthcare supply company now known to us as NDC.

“Today, as Almon steps down as Chairman of the Board, NDC serves over 300 member distributors and provides sophisticated supply chain services to virtually every independent distributor, to almost every medical supply manufacturer, and to most of the group purchasing organizations serving our industry. All of us that are part of NDC or, for that matter, a part of our industry, owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Ted Almon for his selfless and effective leadership.”

Seitz also announced NDC’s new partnership with Court Square Capital Partners. “Court Square is an independent private equity firm that has a long history of successful investments in healthcare and healthcare distribution,” he said. “With Court Square’s resources and the support of the medical distribution community, NDC will be better equipped to expand our value to independent distribution.”

Initiatives
NDC launched several new strategic initiatives in New Orleans.

A new co-branding strategy was announced that is designed to allow member distributors to embrace NDC’s recent rebranding efforts and to showcase their affiliation with an extensive network of independent distributors. Among other things, this initiative allows member distributors to win business by leveraging the security of the redundant capabilities of NDC’s supply chain.

Also at the Exhibition, representatives from NuEdge and Provista hosted educational sessions and in-booth training on the NuEdge offering. With a new web portal recently launched, showcasing customizable profile pages and features for distributor and manufacturer partners, as well as a quote tool for gaining new customers, NuEdge Alliance is gaining traction among distributors and manufacturers by providing an independent solution to expand share, according to NDC. Enrollment for customers is said to be easy and free of charge.

Meanwhile, NDC launched a marketing portal designed to revolutionize members’ advertising efforts. The new system – which NDC developed in partnership with Lellyett & Rogers Company, a digital asset and print management firm – will enable distributors to instantly customize and download a variety of marketing collateral supplied by NDC and their manufacturer partners. Products offered include promotional and sales flyers, email marketing, social media campaigns, corporate identity templates, presentation tools and more.

Education
This year’s educational sessions offered attendees multiple tracks pertaining to all disciplines within the business. Highlights included operations management, contracts and rebates, and sessions geared toward engaging distributor attendees in membership and technology benefits available through NDC. Sales and executive sessions were highly attended, led by Mike Sperduti, CEO and Founder of Emerge Sales, a leader in business innovation and reinvention, sales acceleration, inside sales and pipeline development.

Midmark Corporation sponsored this year’s keynote speaker, graffiti artist, author and entrepreneur Erik Wahl. Wahl’s signature keynote, UNthink™, delivered a multimedia experience designed to encourage organizations toward profitability through innovation and superior levels of performance. His on-stage painting challenged attendees to let go of traditional thought patterns and gain a better understanding of how to create disruptive strategies of innovation.

Another highlight of the Exhibition were the owner and manager “Peer-to-Peer” forums. These distributor-only sessions provided a collaborative setting where owners and managers in the acute care, long-term/post-acute and physician markets could share insights on market trends and challenges. This business-to-business networking is one of the most valuable benefits of belonging to NDC.

This year, NDC Premier Vendors hosted distributor attendees at nearby Fulton Alley, for an evening mixing business with fun. The Exhibition culminated with a Mardi Gras Ball/Awards Dinner, sponsored by Roche Diagnostics. Highlights of the evening were Member of the Year, awarded to The Claflin Company, and Vendor of the Year, presented to Smith & Nephew Wound Management. Shane Hutzenbiler of Kreisers, Inc., and Dan Ingersoll of Mölnlycke Health Care, were also recognized as Distributor and Manufacturer Sales Representatives of the Year, respectively.

---

NDC award winners

• Member of the Year: The Claflin Company
• Vendor of the Year: Smith & Nephew Wound Management
• Member Sales Representative of the Year: Shane Hutzenbiler, Kreisers, Inc.
• Vendor Sales Representative of the Year: Dan Ingersoll, Mölnlycke Health Care
• Trendsetter Award: ECP Distributors, Cobalt Medical Supply, Inc.
• MedChain Supply Award: Arkansas Surgical Supply
• Customer Service Appreciation Award: Saginaw Medical Service, Inc.
• Marketing Excellence Award: Claflin Medical Equipment
• Phoenix Vendor Awards: Ansell, Micro-Scientific, Performance Health
• Pro Advantage Awards: Lynn Medical Inc. (growth); Kreisers Inc. (sales).
• Fast Track Award: Dove Medical Supply, LLC
• Outstanding Performance Vendor Awards: Midmark Corp. (vendor direct), Health o meter Professional Scales (warehouse)