CJ and I recently had the privilege of moderating a panel at the May meeting of BPCA during its Spring meeting, May 6-8, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was an exciting opportunity to question executives from leading companies in the office technology industry. As journalists, this experience was both fun and enlightening.
BPCA’s roots are in the Lanier Dealer Group long before Lanier was acquired by Ricoh. Its meetings are robust, and the general session and breakouts focus on issues that members want to hear about.
The meeting was expertly organized by Dominic Pontrelli, the executive director of BPCA. His extensive experience and thoughtful planning ensured that the presenters provided valuable insights. Notably, he curated thought-provoking questions from what he calls “owners” for us to ask the panelists, further enriching the discussion.
Frank moderates a panel of office technology industry executives at the BPCA meeting.
Pontrelli sent us the questions for the panelists. CJ and I prepared additional questions in case we had extra time. The panel was made up of the following executives:
- Jennie Fisher, president, office technology, GreatAmerica Financial Services
- Laura Blackmer, president, dealer sales, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A.
- Jim Coriddi, chief dealer officer, Ricoh USA
- Rich Schaublin, VP of US dealer sales, Xerox
- Peter Kujawa, VP, Service Leadership & TSP Evangelist, ConnectWise
- Josh Lane, president & CEO, ACDI
- Eric Tuttle, director of distribution and strategic communities, Intermedia Cloud Communications
We engaged multiple panelists in positive discussions, allowing them to share additional insights. The dealers’ feedback was overwhelmingly positive—they learned a great deal.
A Standout BPCA Breakout Session
The breakout session that stood out for us was Ricoh Dealers Next Generation Advisory (RDNA). The reason that Ricoh is invited to present at BPCA meetings is that 60% of its members are Ricoh dealers. Many of the dealers had their children who are now in the business at the meeting. James Kreikemeier of Capital Business Systems in Fort Collins, Colorado had his son Nathan and daughter Allison, and Gerry Ryan of Emerald Document Imaging in Farmingdale, New York, brought his daughter Megan.
CJ with Gerry Ryan and his daughter Meg.
Brent Simone of Stratix and John Hey of Strategic Business Associates also attended the Ricoh session. Both are very accomplished sons of dealers. They are examples of what this RDNA program is trying to accomplish, and based on what we have seen, it is doing an excellent job.
Frank and John Hey of Strategic Business Associates.
We recommend that every manufacturer follow Ricoh’s lead for the good of the industry. Creating an environment conducive to providing added stability to distribution is incredibly positive. What is the alternative? Selling to a mega dealer or a private equity firm? In the end, neither has any long-term value. We need to stabilize the dealer channel.
The Enthusiasm of Youth at BPCA
The enthusiasm of youth permeated the meeting. CJ has made one of his major efforts to get to know the younger members of the dealer channel. For years, he has been inviting them, along with one of their parents, to make award presentations at our Annual Awards & Charities Gala. He also created the Young Influencers series to highlight industry executives under 40 years of age. It is one of our most popular series. This meeting brought it all together for me. The young people in our industry represent the future, and they are bringing a great deal to the table. The RDNA program helps these young dealers to become the leaders of the future.
You put all of that together, and we have an excellent reason to be optimistic about the future of the dealer channel. It also brought home the names of some of the young people we have met who are already well-versed in the business thanks to their parents and who have become successful leaders in our industry. Examples include John Lowery of Applied Innovation and his sons Casey and Kyle; Tom Flesch of Gordon Flesch Company and his sons Patrick and Mark; and Jim Loffler of Loffler and his son James. James as well as Casey Lowery and Patrick Flesch are now the CEOs of their respective dealerships. We can also add myself and CJ to the mix.
A Valuable Resource
More was happening at this event, addressing the many challenges facing dealers today. These independent dealer groups provide a valuable resource for any business. One is the ability to ask fellow members for help in evaluating new products that have been offered to their business. Members can also explore successes or failures with various diversification opportunities.
Dealer group meetings such as BPCA offer many valuable and engaging breakout sessions.
In other words, you can talk with 30 or 40 other dealers and solicit their experiences in every aspect of the business. Membership in dealer groups like BPCA allow you to build relationships with other business owners who are happy to share their results with common problems. That alone is worth the cost of membership.
We are looking forward to attending the CDA meeting in Vegas this October. We have also benefited from presenting at these meetings, as it is a wonderful opportunity to discuss with multiple dealers the questions that our clients have posed to us. They are an incredible resource. If you are not a member of one of these groups, sign up tomorrow. We can promise you it is something you will never regret.
Do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions about American Co-op, BPCA, CDA, ICDA, Pro Dealer, or SDG. Let us not forget the father of all these groups, BTA. With all the challenges dealers face today, this is a perfect opportunity to join one of these groups.
