Innovation at the forefront of HIDA’s 2015 Streamlining Healthcare Conference
The Health Industry Distributors Association launched three Innovation Pavilions at the HIDA 2015 Streamlining Healthcare Conference in Dallas, Texas, this fall. Located on the trade show floor, the pavilions offered product knowledge and information from manufacturers in the infection prevention, home care, and skin/wound care markets. Each pavilion seated 30 people, and product specialists from companies such as PDI Inc., SCA Americas, DUKAL and others mixed live demos with quick presentations and Q&A sessions. AMS Sales Training Program reps could earn up to three AMS points for attending.
The HIDA conference attracted 1,100 distributor, manufacturer, GPO and provider attendees, representing 269 individual organizations. More than 2,100 business partner meetings were conducted.
At the conference, HIDA hosted a new interactive workshop for sales professionals. Titled “The Committed Relationship: Building Stronger Manufacturer-Distributor Partnerships,” the workshop offered tips from manufacturer executives and leading reps on ways to get more sales support from trading partners. The panel discussion and Q&A forum attracted more than 125 people.
HIDA repeated the Small Business Roundtable for independent distributor owners. This year’s topics included profit improvement, cutting costs out of operations, and restructuring sales forces. In addition, the association held its Contract Administration Workshop, which is tied to HIDA’s Pricing Accuracy Initiative. Discussion topics included standardizing contract communications and improving customer identification accuracy.
The association also brought back its Distributor Expo, which gives exhibitors and attendees an opportunity to meet with key distributor executives. Almost 40 companies participated this year, and HIDA plans to reprise the Expo next year.
Todd Ross, Preferred Medical, was announced as HIDA’s 2016 Board of Directors chairman, effective Jan. 1. Mark Zacur, Fisher HealthCare, remains chairman through 2015.
“The 2015 HIDA Streamlining Healthcare Conference highlighted the value of distribution and reinforced the importance of in-person meetings,” said HIDA President and CEO Matthew Rowan. “This year’s turnout and caliber of attendees who exhibited, came to our expos, and interacted with trading partners was better than ever. Our members love the strategic networking and education this event provides and all of our meeting spaces sold out.”
HIDA 2016 Streamlining Healthcare will take place Sept. 27-29 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago.
Manufacturer and distributor reps: Committed to each other
Some takeaways from “The Committed Relationship: Building Stronger Manufacturer-Distributor Partnerships,” a workshop at the HIDA 2015 Streamlining Conference.
- The best manufacturer reps are those who communicate with distributors and know their world, e.g., inventory carrying costs and total price disclosure (including freight costs) from an operations standpoint. Manufacturers also need to talk pricing with distributors before engaging customers; pre-call planning is a must.
- Both sides agreed there’s a fine balance between being engaging and annoying. A hundred emails or 20 calls per week aren’t going to get anyone’s attention and will turn them off.
- Distributor reps are guided by decisions, i.e., directives made in corporate offices. This topic should always be covered in any pre-call conversation between manufacturers and distributors.
- There’s greater opportunity for manufacturer reps to assert themselves in the non-acute space, since these customers come to distributors for product suggestions and recommendations more often.
- One of the best ways to get a distributor rep’s attention is to not just bring them leads, but to bring them quality leads.
- A good manufacturer rep’s goal should be to multiply his or her knowledge base among distributor partners and get them all speaking the same language about products. Some suggested ways to do this are through webinars, email blasts, teleconferencing, formal training sessions, or even informal breakfast clubs with groups of reps to pool knowledge.
- To gain credibility, the manufacturer rep’s authenticity is more important than his or her authority. Manufacturers should spend time on their company’s value-adds and clinical education, since this should help show why or how their company’s product is aligned with distributor interests and goals, and should lead to building more business.
Source: Health Industry Distributors Association
Market reports
The Health Industry Distributors Association released its most recent market reports for the acute care, extended care and physician office markets.
“I am especially pleased with the way our Market Reports came together this year,” said Gina M. Smith, CMRP, HIDA’s director of healthcare research and analytics. “We tried to organize the content to make the markets and their various sub-markets easy to understand for the novice, while still bringing depth and original content to all audiences.”
Some highlights:
- The 2015 Acute Care Market Report shows that from 2013 to 2014, parenteral products led the top five acute-care categories (in dollar sales) in greatest year-over-year market share growth at 11.33 percent. For the third year in a row, all top five product categories by reported dollar sales – parenteral; kits, packs, and trays; wound staples and sutures; respiratory; and gloves – remained the same.
- The 2015 Extended Care Market Report discusses key trends and opportunities facing the long-term care market, such as the significant growth in home care product sales and the number of home health agencies, said Smith. The report includes original HIDA survey research of skilled nursing facility administrators, who report their spending for incontinence products is roughly double that of any other supply category.
- The 2015 Physician Office Market Report provides a snapshot of more than a dozen key topics affecting physicians. The number of retail clinics has grown by more than sevenfold since 2007, for example, and the increasing effects of consumerism on healthcare will continue to make these sites viable competitors to traditional providers.
For more information on the market reports, contact Gina Smith at 703-838-6116 or gsmith@hida.org
Yates Farris honored at HIDA
Yates Farris, vice president, primary care markets, IMCO, received the 2015 John F. Sasen Leadership Award at the 2015 HIDA Streamlining Healthcare Conference in Dallas. The award recognizes exceptional individuals who demonstrate leadership qualities, commitment, and service to the healthcare products distribution industry.
Born in Charlotte, N.C., and raised in Bessemer City, N.C., Farris joined Winchester Surgical Supply in Charlotte in 1964. After 17 years in the field, he was Winchester’s sales manager/vice president when the company was sold to PSS in 1995. He joined IMCO that same year.
“Yates is the embodiment of leadership excellence,” said HIDA President and CEO Matthew J. Rowan. “HIDA is proud to recognize his more than 50 years of service and commitment to distribution with this award.”
Farris has been a member of HIDA’s Physician Advisory Council since 2001, serving as chairman for three years. In 2013, he was awarded the Professional Women in Healthcare’s Jana Quinn Inspirational Award, presented annually to healthcare professionals who excel in their career as well as life. In 2014, Farris was inducted into MDSI’s Medical Distribution Hall of Fame, which recognizes outstanding individuals who have played a key role in bringing the industry to where it is today.
The award is named after the late John Sasen, whose healthcare career spanned more than 40 years, beginning with Clay Adams, a division of BD. Sasen joined PSS founder Pat Kelly at PSS in 1989 and ultimately became executive vice president and chief marketing officer of PSS World Medical. He died in 2013, just as he was preparing to meld the marketing efforts of PSS with those of McKesson Medical-Surgical, which acquired PSS in February 2013.