GAWDA's Industry Partnering Committee

GAWDA's Industry Partnering Committee provides a proactive forum for manufacturers and distributors dedicated to the continual improvement of the welding supply/equipment and gas distribution industry. The Committee's purpose is to communicate to the GAWDA membership ideas regarding operational, marketing and systems approaches to improve the quality of service to our customer base, and to serve as a vehicle to facilitate communication and understanding between the manufacturer and the distributor, leading to improved profitability to both parties.”

The last sentence of the Industry Partnering (IP) Committee's mission statement is the focus of activity for much of the committee's work this year. Recognizing a need to bring distributors and manufacturers to the same table has spawned a year-long program to identify the issues that challenge us, and then work to develop solutions.

Made up of representatives from both distributor and manufacturer/supplier companies (See below), the IP Committee meets in the Spring and conducts several teleconferences throughout the year. Chaired since 2001 by Heidi Thometz, the IP Committee is the only GAWDA committee whose chairperson is not a distributor member.

Focus
Representing very successful businesses, the members of the committee realize that they are at a crossroads, and the committee is in a unique position to affect positive change in the association. Says Thometz, “We know there are issues between manufacturers and distributors. There always are. But this year, we hope to bring them to the forefront and clearly identify them.” Thometz hopes that identifying the challenges that face the partnering relationship between manufacturers and distributors is a first step toward coming to a common ground where both can flourish.

Maximizing Efforts
The IP Committee also has a strong interest in growing the association's membership. Thometz is urging Associate Members to provide headquarters with customer lists in order to identify those companies that are not yet members of the association. “GAWDA will work to recruit those companies as members.” IP committee members are also making sure that their own salespeople carry information about GAWDA's benefits and resources when they visit customers. “We encourage our salespeople to go out in the industry and recruit new members,” says Thometz.

The IP Committee is keenly aware that the needs of a smaller company may differ from those of a larger one. Last year, the IP Committee contacted every GAWDA member who had not attended a convention or a Spring Management Conference in the previous two years and found that most were small companies without available time or the financial resources allowing them to attend a meeting. “Yet they recognized value in being a member of GAWDA,” Thometz points out.

So the IP Committee recommended to GAWDA's Board of Directors that more needed to be done. It was. Last year, GAWDA introduced online training programs and consultant teleconferences. Well-received by attendees, there are more planned for 2003.

Adding Value to the Partnership
“How does GAWDA add value, and how do we add value for all levels and sizes of membership?,” asks Thometz. These two questions are at the top of the list this year, and to answer them, the IP Committee wants input from all GAWDA members. “We want to know what members think, what questions they have, and what suggestions they can make to improve the relationship between distributors and their manufacturers/suppliers.

At the 2002 Annual Convention in Orlando, the IP Committee set up shop right at the entrance to the Contact Booth Program. Members of the committee staffed the booth to meet attendees. This committee wants to represent the membership on both sides—distributors and manufacturers—and in 2003 will develop enhanced communications programs to create more productive partnerships between both groups.

As a voice of both the manufacturer and the distributor, the Industry Partnering Committee welcomes input and is eager to help. Thometz urges GAWDA members to contact committee members.