Summary

Get on Board and Register Now!

“I can’t say enough good things about the WDMC. It makes you think and look outside the box. If you want to grow in all areas of your business, this is the course you need to attend. 5 STARS!” — Darlene Sciandra, Regional Sales Manager, Benco Dental Co.

Our fragile economy continues to mean changes for how wholesaler-distributors conduct business. Every distribution company continues to adapt business operations to the difficult environment. That’s why in these challenging times, it is more important than ever for you to attend the NAW 2012 Wholesale Distribution Manager’s Course (WDMC) this June.

With their deep experience in the wholesale distribution industry, the WDMC faculty will adjust their teaching to the current economic conditions and they will challenge you. You also will have the opportunity to discuss with other distributors from various lines of trade and learn how they are handling the same issues you are handling and how they are approaching new marketplace realities.

As the economy slowly recovers, investing in training confers competitive advantage. The valuable training and unique education experience that only the WDMC provides will help you and your team sharpen your skills and competitive edge in your market. Equipped with new knowledge and training, you will impact the future of your business this year and for years to come.

Check out the WDMC Agenda. Please note that instructors and times are subject to change.

Course Topics

We will take a comprehensive look across the entire distribution business and cover all major functional areas, including:

• Sales Management
• Value-Added Services
• Market-Focused Planning
• Financial Management and Control
• Human Resources Management and Teamwork
• Supply Chain Management.

Throughout the week, you will learn specific ways to improve your company’s profitability and your own personal performance, too!

Why You Should Attend

You will learn how to

• utilize a technique for matching products and services to market segments
• estimate the “value” of value-added services and use this in your pricing strategy
• calculate return-on-assets and measure both customer and product line profitability
• use a computer model to evaluate profitability
• appraise your human resources strategy
• manage your supply chain inventory and service levels
• assess your financial profitability compared to your peers
• evaluate your customers’ willingness to pay for products and services
• employ a framework for evaluating environmental impacts on your business.

Who Should Attend

The WDMC is ideal for distributor personnel responsible for a branch, region, area, division, territory, or functional area of the business. Companies of all sizes are represented at this course. Personnel from companies under $5 million in sales to more than $1 billion attended last year. You will benefit greatly by participating in this course if your job level and job function are listed below.

Job Levels:

• Manager
• General Manager
• Branch Manager
• Director
• Supervisor
• Vice President
• Regional Vice President
• President *

* Presidents of wholesale distribution companies with sales up to $250 million are encouraged to attend the WDMC. Presidents and Chief Executive Officers of larger distribution companies are encouraged to enroll personnel with the job levels named above.

Job Functions:

• Sales
• Marketing
• Operations
• Finance (Chief Financial Officer/Controller)
• Purchasing
• Logistics
• Warehouse/Inventory
• Human Resources/Training

Customer Markets

Distributors selling to any of these customer markets will benefit from attending the WDMC:

• OEM and MRO Industrial
• Commercial Institutions and Facilities
• Contractor
• Retail
• Capital Equipment.

How You Will Spend the Week

Each day our experienced instructors will lead classroom discussion. You and the other registrants will be assigned to teams. In the evenings, the teams will gather for brainstorming sessions to work on a case study. The emphasis of the teamwork is on original and creative idea generation, and the ultimate goal will be on real-world problem solving. The course concludes with each team presenting to the other participants and faculty its remedies for the troubled distribution company featured in the case study.

Networking Benefits

Networking throughout the week with your wholesale distribution peers from different product lines of trade is one of the greatest benefits you will receive from the WDMC. Come and find out what others are doing to succeed in today’s competitive and challenging distribution marketplace. You will enjoy and learn a lot from the camaraderie at the WDMC.

Team Training Means You Get More for Less

Each year attendees at the WDMC tell us about the synergy generated among co-workers who attend together from a company. Co-workers become teammates and they return to work not only with the same playbook, but also with a shared enthusiasm to implement the business strategies they have learned together. This is a key ingredient for creating a winning company when you return to work from the WDMC.

Send several of your managers to the WDMC and improve team performance with these group discounts:

• 2-3 registrants - 5% off
• 4-6 registrants - 10% off
• 7+ registrants - 15% off

Get on Board and Register Now!

Cancellation

If you cancel on or before May 18, 2012, we will refund the full amount of your registration fee to you. From May 19 through June 13, 2012, 50% will be refunded to you. After June 13, 2012, no refunds will be issued.

We accept substitutions at any time prior to the beginning of the first session; a $100 transfer fee will apply.