Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/964617
FINDING THE GAPS C ustomers may not always be able to articulate what they want, but there are no lapses in communication when it comes to what manufacturers desire from distributors. Great market penetration, selective distribution and an effective marketing campaign is what suppliers call demand creation. Distributors that can deliver—and unearth the gaps between what end users say they want and have yet to discover they need— have a history of distancing themselves from the "me too." Dirk Beveridge, the brains behind the annual UnleashWD Innovation Summit, has been warning distribution leaders about the lulling effect of complacency for years, and what he calls a world of sameness. "Everybody answers the phone on the third ring. Everybody has a 98 percent fi ll ratio, everybody has product expertise and off ers training to the customer," says Beveridge. "You can't make something that already exists incrementally better. You have to fi nd a white space. e critical link is going This is what demand creation looks like in E&S By Stacy Ward, Editor in Chief stacy@feda.com to be found in those organizations that dare to stand for something that no one else in the industry does, and focus on business outcomes instead of simply providing a service. at's where the critical link comes from because critical, by defi nition, means I can't live without you." He'll get no push back from the president of e Boelter Companies, Eric Boelter. Never afraid to hit the reset button, Boelter has deftly acquired assets, built in-house brands, added new divisions and sculpted its services with the customer's challenges in mind— which coincidentally mimic his own. "All foodservice operations are faced with increased competition and cost pressures," says Boelter. "If they want to succeed, they need to diff erentiate their off erings from the hundreds of other options that their customers have." For Boelter's customers, help comes in the form of a stair-step unbundling of services that include logo and menu design, its latest launch into mobile marketing, via its acquisition of tech start-up Anchor 5 Creative, and more traditional off erings such as commercial kitchen design and remodels. "True design-build is our strength," says Boelter's Chicago-based Director of Foodservice Design and Equipment Eric Chaplick, who got his start in the industry more than 20 years ago at Byczek Enterprises. "I took a lot of drafting classes in high school and started making deliveries for Byczek after I graduated," he says. "One day, one of their VPs took an interest in me and asked if I could tell him what I saw in a drawing. I pointed out a few mistakes and he took me under his wing and taught me a lot about the industry. Eventually, I worked my way up and began working with some of the chains." Most of the project managers in the department come with a similar skill set. "Eighty percent of my staff has the ability to draw by hand," says Chaplick. " ey can sit in front of the customer and put a drawing together that brings their vision to life." 12 FEDA News & Views Photos by Matt Ferguson