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The Select Dealer Group meeting was a first-rate learning and networking experience.
(Pictured above: The Cannata Report’s CJ Cannata poses a question to a panel of OEMs during the recent SDG meeting in Houston.)
The Select Dealer Group (SDG) held its annual owners meeting May 7-9 at the Houston Airport Marriott. Deb Dellaposta, president, Doing Better Business, Inc., invited CJ and I to moderate a panel of leading industry executives.
We want to thank, Ken Thibault, director, Americas Region, iMPS, HP; Sam Errigo, executive vice president, sales and business development, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A.; Oscar Sanchez, president & CEO, Kyocera Document Solutions America; Jim Coriddi, vice president, dealer division, Ricoh Americas Corp.; Mike Marusic, president & CEO, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America; and Scott Maccabe, president & CEO, Toshiba America Business Solutions, for taking the time to participate in one of the most informative sessions we ever had the pleasure of presenting.
SDG is operated under the auspices of BTA. That means BTA’s Marketing Director Valerie Briseno handles all the detail work, agendas, meals, hotel accommodations, and coordinates the speakers. As always, she does a great job of getting it all done and getting it right. Thank you, Valerie.
Each of the independent dealer groups ask that we do not convey any substantive comments about what is presented at their meetings. What we can say is that our panel addressed a wide gamut of issues such as the employment of inkjet in MFPs for the SMB space, the workplace of the future, how to offset shrinking print margins, and acquisitions and the role of venture capital in our industry.
These industry leaders also expressed their views on the challenges faced by dealers. Most importantly, all emphasized how important the dealer channel is to their respective businesses.
The session was well received by the dealers and next year’s SDG President Mike McGuirk, president of ProCopy, indicated he would like us to do it again in 2020 when the group meets in Washington, D.C.
There’s not much more we can add except to say these independent dealer groups provide a great service to their members. All are facing the same dilemma of dealing with the loss of members due to acquisitions.
These meetings offer a high-level sharing of best business practices and dealers not aligned with any other group should think about joining one of these groups. The list includes American CoOp, BTA, BPCA, CDA, ICDA, and ProDealer Group. They all have websites and we urge those not affiliated to let us know if you are interested in joining any one of these groups. We will be happy to direct you to the correct parties to discuss possible membership. It is a smart thing to do. Each operates in a similar manner and are designed to provide the least amount of interruption to its members’ time.
The venue for this meeting was a prime example of that. The Houston Airport Marriott is located at the George Bush International Airport. There is a tram running underground that takes you directly to the hotel from the terminals. It was very convenient, and the facility is first rate.
CJ and I look forward to doing this next year and if any other dealer group would like us to do it, we would be happy to. All you have to do is ask.
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