Time. Do any of you feel as if you have more than enough of it? Since this magazine isn't read widely by folks serving 20 years to life in the federal penitentiary (those guys have time to spare!), the answer is likely, "No." Heck, I don't even know if you have time to read this column. (If an association president pontificates on a page and no one reads it, does she still make noise?)
In our industry, time constraints are a doubled-edged sword. Our customers want "it" faster than ever. The trick is that the "it" they want is more complicated than ever. DMIA distributors must provide a huge variety of non-traditional items quickly. Where can we find the time to locate sources?
Year after year, DMIA members rate the Source Hotline near the top of their "valuable association benefits" lists. This month, a great thing gets better as the Source Hotline comes to a computer near you. The Source Hotline Search Engine, found at DMIA's home page at www.DMIA.org, is a new, web-friendly interface to the association's huge database of manufacturers. The database is the largest collection of manufacturing capabilities in the entire industry, by far. And it's available to all DMIA members.
By accessing this members-only tool, you can enter search criteria and immediately find capable manufacturers in your region. From the main page, you can select from 10 product categories, including forms, commercial printing, labels and ad specialties. Each product category has a template that captures product specifications and basic run lengths.
Once you submit a search, you see a listing of manufacturers. You can click on names of those firms for detailed information about them. If you need more sources, you can view manufacturers in other DMIA regions. There's a neat feature that displays the number of "hits" the system found in each region. When you click on a region, the system displays manufacturers located there.
But wait, there's more! (Sounds like I'm selling steak knives, doesn't it?) The Source Hotline Search Engine captures product specifications named in your initial search and allows you to include additional information. When you click on selected vendors, your product specifications and contact information are emailed with RFQs to up to five manufacturers.
The system creates a worksheet you can access with your DMIA internet password. You can print the worksheet and write prices manually (for those of us who still love paper), or you can access the worksheet online as you receive prices from vendors who received RFQs.
I've had employees in our Sales Service department work with the beta version of the Source Hotline Search Engine, and they love it. I highly recommend that all of us take advantage of this system. Get everyone in your office to sign up for it individually. (Once you set up your account, your contact fields automatically populate when you log on to the system.)
Of course, the terrific folks at DMIA's Source Hotline are still there if you're looking for a product that doesn't quite fit a template. But the Source Hotline Search Engine is available 24/7. Will it revolutionize your life and create loads of spare time? Probably not. But an extra 15 or 20 minutes a day could release some of that pressure of never having enough time.
Gail O'Roke, CDC, is CEO of distributorship Independent Business Group, based in Hayward, Calif., and president of DMIA.
