For the past 18 years, I have been blessed to be in the medical distribution industry. Fortunately, along the way there have been mentors and friends to help guide me. Repertoire Publisher Brian Taylor has been one of those mentors, and I am proud to say, a friend. I am thankful for the wisdom Brian has given me over the years, and I’m excited to share my insights about the industry in this column.
When my career started in 1996, Repertoire was barely 3 years old. The good old days — back when there were branches in every city and manufacturer reps could show up and ask for an order and then go out and sell that inventory with his or her distribution reps.
Monthly sales meetings at the branch used to be common place. For $250 in free goods, manufacturers were given 30 minutes in front of the reps to do their dog and pony show. It was how we trained reps to sell our products, and how we stayed a tight community. Repertoire’s goal was simple “be the voice of the industry to the distribution reps.”
Today reps may get together once or twice a year at the national sales meeting or an occasional regional meeting. There is less time spent together as an organization. We spend so much more time on email and text that we hardly even talk to each other anymore — much less stop to understand all that is going on in our industry. It’s just the reality of change and consolidation. Countless reps have told me over the last seven years how much they appreciate Repertoire each month and how it helps to maintain the community of distribution reps and the industry.
As we move into the next 20 years, Repertoire’s plan is to stay as close to the distribution rep as possible. We want to cover the topics that shape their careers and help grow their business. We will still have a simple goal to “be the voice of the industry to the distribution reps” and help maintain a sense of community.
Committed to Distribution,
R Scott Adams
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