AICC Associates (CONT’D FROM PAGE 26)
Morelli : One of the questions I had when I was a young rep in the industry was “How do I get to you?” Is AICC a good platform for one of our supplier members to put a “hard sell” on you or is it more of simply introducing them- selves and getting to know you first? MacDonald : It’s tough, but getting to me is very different than getting to my plant manager or my design manager, my sheet buyer or my maintenance manager. One thing I would suggest is to use your network. Chances are that if five of you [suppliers] want to get to me, chances are that one of you is getting to me. Use your network to try to see who’s trying to reach me. It’s a great way of helping each other out. I think you are already doing a good job of that. Davis : For all the newer AICC members, I would encour- age you to come to the meetings. I know some associates skip some of the meetings because they may be boring or not informative, but you also need to know that box mak- ers are there. You need to keep coming to the meetings because that’s the way you get to know people. MacDonald : I stlll dedicate a good amount of my time to “old media” and our publications but I’m also extremely bullish and optimistic about our “new media” and a new channel that the Association is working on. I go through those print publications a page at a time -- usually at home and during down time -- but we’re also seeing our people at the plant on their phones looking for information, like how to set a machine up or to see how something runs. CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
Brewer : Educate me. We see different methods and prac- tices from suppliers in several different industries. You [suppliers] are in all different types of plants and you see everything, so when you come into my plant, educate me on something you’ve seen somewhere else. And it may not be related to the product you’re selling. I want to work smarter, not harder, so help me and educate me and in turn we can grow our relationship with you. Morelli : During your onboarding process, do you lean on your suppliers to get new employees up to speed more quickly or is it something you handle internally? Brewer : I would encourage suppliers to help us get our new people up to speed because this will form a deep- er connection with me. If you’re a “needs supplier,” you’ll help a new operator understand what the machine does and get him up to speed more quickly and how to make the machine perform properly. Bring your knowledge and experience to help take that burden off me. I’ll appreciate that. MacDonald : I would agree. The sale doesn’t stop after you get the P.O. Help us establish best practices. We need that help all the way through. Come back six months after the sale and do an audit. Put a process in place that helps us catch any inefficiencies that may be happening. These are the kinds of things we really appreciate.
MODEL EM LABEL LAMINATOR Designed to be Efficient and Versatile
YOUR PARTNER OF CHOICE
An economical labeler, the Model EM's design offers the opportunity to employ the electrostatic method technology for fast, easy set ups in labeling over a wide range of board and label sizes.
WWW.INSPIREAUTOMATION.COM │ INFO@INSPIREAUTOMATION.COM │ 715.341.6501
28 April 18, 2022
www.boardconvertingnews.com
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online