IMCO members prepare for ‘a higher degree of success’ at recent Convention
IMCO distributors are strong in number, loyal to supportive vendors and ready to build new business. The co-op’s springtime convention in Jacksonville, Fla., offered proof, said President Bill McLaughlin Jr.
“The IMCO Convention is a wonderful time to get a pulse of the membership and share with the industry that independent distributors have the power and presence in the marketplace,” he said. “As members and vendors alike can attest, it has always been a place to network and seek out areas where each company can partner, share ideas and overcome challenges together.
“With ‘A Higher Degree of Success’ as our theme, the focus was on helping our members better understand the changes occurring in healthcare to ensure their success moving forward,” he said. Nearly 600 attendees were on hand, and 90 percent of IMCO’s members represented. One hundred and two vendors were represented as well.
Tools for members
In his keynote address, McLaughlin pointed out that IMCO continues to demonstrate “its continued commitment and investment to our members and their continued success by expanding the offering of tools and support to help them navigate the challenges of the evolving healthcare landscape better than their competition.” Some examples:
- A newly updated public website (imcoinc.com), which “shares the important independent distributor story and how the group power of IMCO enabling customers to receive superior service and support from our distributors as their supplier,” said McLaughlin.
- Enhanced marketing tools for its members, including an end-user education portal, where providers can earn CEUs and access a library of educational and support materials. The association has also enhanced the IMCO Design Center, its flier-creation program, as well as its member-exclusive IMCO brand.
- IMCO’s growth incentive program – the Member Incentive Program, or MIP –which grew more than 10 percent over the prior year overall. Vendor partners distributed over $1.3 million on the trade show floor.
- IMCO’s GPO program, which has shown significant growth over the last year, with more members enrolling and participating than ever, said McLaughlin. Vice President of National Accounts Bob McCart and Contracts Manager Kimberly Shamblin work closely with members to build their involvement and help navigate the logistical ins and outs, he added. IMCO’s current GPO partners are MedAssets, Provista, Amerinet, and Premier.
- IMCO Home Care, which has gained ground and membership thanks to the efforts of General Manager and Executive Vice President Pam Wedow and President Deb Bullock. “The program creates an interesting opportunity to bring business to members and fulfill the expanding market of baby boomers retiring and hitting Medicare age, not willing to sacrifice their current way of living, who will pay to stay in their homes longer.”
- A special advisory group of key vendor partners, created in 2014. “We feel the feedback they provide is essential to maintaining the level of support and traction to the member programs and relationships,” said McLaughlin.
At the convention, IMCO asked its vendors and partners to focus their presentations around the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Triple Aim, which calls for 1) improving patient experience, 2) improving the health of populations, and 3) reducing the per capita cost of healthcare). The Triple Aim “is affecting every IMCO member’s customers, including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, surgery centers, and others,” said McLaughlin.
IMCO welcomed three new members to its board:
- Hugo Jeffrey, Surgo Surgical
- Becky Munden, Sun Surgical
- Bobby Noon, APN Healthcare
The road ahead
“IMCO is excited about the future of healthcare and how the independent distributors will be a key part of its success,” said McLaughlin. At its most recent “Power Meeting,” which brings together IMCO members from the acute, home care, long-term care and physician markets, “there was an overwhelming consensus that there are many opportunities in the market, with multiple consolidations of national distributors,” he said. “Another consensus by all who attended was the need to communicate the value and importance the independent distributor brings to an account, the medical community and the local economy.”
IMCO members need to be more attuned than ever to the challenges facing their customers, he added. “Value-based purchasing is an important factor all members must know and understand, because it measures clinical care, patient experience, outcomes and efficiency. Our customers are being forced to do more with less, while constantly being updated with their patient rating scores.
“The bottom line is, our customers are no longer looking for presentations on features and benefits. They want to have discussions on how we are bringing them value and helping them improve the lives of their patients as well as their community, all while reducing their overall costs and improving their patient rating scores.
“We will continue to fight to ensure our members have a successful and profitable future while maintaining our current business model of putting our members and vendors first.”
IMCO scholarship winners
IMCO announced its first-ever IMCO Convention Scholarship winners, who were nominated by their peers and managers, as well as the association’s Sales Emphasis Line (SEL) vendor partners:
- Cesar Ricalo, American Medical Supplies & Equipment
- Beth Wentz, Atlantic Medical Solutions
- Ted Cabot, Atlantic Medical Solutions
- Fred Elmore, Fort Smith Medical & Janitorial Supply
- Brian Butterworth, MMS – A Medical Supply Company
- Moshe Horowitz, MMS – A Medical Supply Company
- Brian Hodgson, Omni Medical Supply
- Rich Bevcar, Quick Medical
- Eric Hepinstall, Seneca Medical
- Cody Mason, Supreme Medical Fulfillment
Best in (IMCO) show
IMCO capped off its convention announcing the following award winners:
- Best Booth winner: Tradex International (hired a caricature artist to capture many of the members on the tradeshow floor)
- Best Vendor Costume: Health o meter
- Best Member Costume: Superior Medical Equipment, David and Pamela Rouen
- Monday Night interactive intramural “funtivities” contest winners: First place, James Flow, Atlantic Medical Solutions; Second place, David York, Grove Medical; Third place, Robert Duffett, Quick Medical