Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/727467
4 FEDA News & Views Joe Schmitt President Rapids Wholesale Equipment jaschmitt@rapidswholesale.com The President's Message O ur channel is in need of a makeover. We are beginning to recognize the need to modify our approaches to the market, actively seek input from our customers, and determine what they seek in a relationship with our channel. Customers are demanding a more seamless interface with the supply channel and we must respond to those demands. Consultants, manufacturers, factory representatives, dealers and ser- vice agents will be challenged like no other time in our past to collectively work toward a more effi cient fl ow of information, products and services. Sophisticated cus- tomers are pressing for an overall enhance- ment on their Return on Investment (ROI) in new construction and remodeling projects— an ROI that is under constant pressure from the fi nancial markets, board of directors and executives to outperform their competition and no longer just catch up but anticipate the next revolution in foodservice. Operators want to reduce the time for testing of products, conceptual design of new facilities and construction timelines. In addition, the interest in managing equipment and facility uptime is becom- ing a more frequent topic of discussion. At times, the tangled web of interfaces between manufacturers, consultants, dealers, reps and service agents appears convoluted to our end-user customer. Our challenge as an industry: How do we assist our customers in this need for enhanced design, coordination, logistics and management of the lifetime cost of ownership? In July, a group of industry leaders from CFESA, FCSI, MAFSI, NAFEM and FEDA met for a one-day workshop in Denver to discuss ways to enhance col- laboration in our channel. Our objective was straight forward, and we are making progress toward fi nding some victories in the form of joint marketing efforts to raise awareness about the various careers that exist in our industry, in addi- tion to creating recruitment platforms. We are also working on developing coordinated education platforms that can benefi t all mem- bers of our channel, and in the process of reviewing a proposal to come together for an all-industry con- vention during non- NAFEM years (as early as 2018). The course we have set has tremendous long-term potential. As an industry, we can operate in a more cohesive, seamless and transparent fashion for our customers but forward progress will only be real- ized if we collectively succeed on some of the initiatives above. With small victo- ries will come trust and a mutual under- standing of what each member of the channel is doing to benefi t the customer. As an industry, we owe it to ourselves to press the limits on collaboration and use technology to the fullest to revolu- The Collaboration and Innovation Challenge A Call to Shatter Expectations for the Benefi t of All As an industry, we can operate in a more cohesive, seamless and transparent fashion for our customers but forward progress will only be realized if we collectively succeed. continued on page 40