FESmag

Joseph Carbonara

Paperback Writer
May 6, 2008

Over the past month or so, I’ve had the unusual opportunity to visit a number of equipment and supplies dealerships in various parts of the country. It’s always interesting to visit these locations because it helps me develop a better understanding of our readers and how the various members of the supply chain work together.

At first pass, it always seems as if every dealership is the same. Many, but not all, have a showroom. Some have a test kitchen. Most have warehouses that operate with varying degrees of sophistication. What makes visiting various dealerships interesting is that each company handles these aspects of their businesses a little differently, which opens up the conversation to the nuances associated with how they approach working with customers and vendors.

While walking through these various dealerships, one thing that really struck me over the course of this spring was the overwhelming amount of paper-based product information they continue to stock. The design function may take place on a computer, for example, but the design areas of the dealerships I visited remain stocked with binders loaded with manufacturer product information. In addition, support areas remain flush with product sell sheets and other information for dealer sales reps to provide their customers. When I asked one of the dealers showing me around their facility why they had so much paper-based information, their reply was simple, “Our customers keep asking for the paper.”

I have no doubt dealers and manufacturers continue to meet operator demand for these paper-based pieces of collateral. And this reinforces a longstanding notion that the way an individual wants to receive information remains a highly personal decision. No doubt that many of the newer people entering the foodservice industry will look for information in a more electronic format but it seems like the traditional paper-based products will continue to have a place in the industry for some time to come.

Thinking back about these visits, I am not sure exactly what I expected to see when touring these dealerships. Perhaps I expected to see more CDs or a trend toward dealers disseminating product information by e-mail? I don’t know. But the wire shelves filled to the brim with product brochures was striking to me because it seemed pretty universal.

Products remain the lifeblood of the equipment and supplies community. How do you or your customers like to receive this information? In print? Online? Both? I am curious to hear your thoughts. And if you see an opportunity for our team here at FE&S to provide you with better product information, I’d welcome that perspective, also.

Posted by Joseph Carbonara on May 6, 2008 | Comments (1)