Working with ADI Branches
Due to my recent employment with ADI, I am often asked how we need to approach ADI for the best chance for success. I will offer my insight into this issue and offer some information concerning this complex company. Please be aware that each ADI office will differ and the business mindset of each Branch Manager will adopt these issues in varying degrees.
What is Adonis?
This is their computer system for over 25 years. It is cussed and praised. It was totally written and updated in-house and has a wealth of information for every area of the company. Only a few people really know how to use this system to the fullest, and it would take a lifetime to learn it. All of the ordering and inventory is done at the branches through this system. Inventory levels are constantly maintained through this system automatically, although there are ways to manually over-ride the system. Branch Managers are very powerful and can make things happen within their branches through this system.
The most important items that we currently deal with are product codes. These are codes that are assigned a letter that determine the likelihood of a part becoming an inventory item. There are many codes, but the ones you will deal with mostly are B, C, and S. The C code stands for items that are deemed to have sold in large enough quantities in almost every branch and will remain in stock, no questions asked. The level of inventory is dependent on the demand created by weekly usage. The B code is the items that a branch selects as items that are popular for their branch. A Branch Manager has the ability to select about 500 of these SKU’s to keep in inventory. An item will have a B code if they are sold at a certain level across the country. The last time I heard, this number was an average of 50 units per month. When you look at 100 branches, you can see that this is an average of just ½ of a unit per branch per month. The problem we have with this is that a 2011 and a 2011DSM are two different parts and each has to stand on their own, so we have to fight this problem. Luckily, we have a great product manager in their corporate office that has worked with us over the years and has B coded many items that may not quite reach this B coded threshold. You should be able to convince a branch manager to bring in our B coded items without too much problem. Our distribution agreement with ADI allows them to exchange any non-moving items with items that are moving without any problem. This should help to eliminate uneasy feelings about bringing these items into inventory. The S coded items are the biggest problem. These items move in small enough quantities, that branches should not have them on the shelf. Rather, they should be ordered specifically for a job. Sometimes a branch manager will go out on a limb and order these in for a job and purposely cancel the order for the job after the equipment comes in, just to put these items into inventory. The problem with this situation, is that the Adonis system will not automatically reorder these items after they are sold or transferred out of their inventory. To overcome this, we try to have the B code designation put on an item and ask select branches to “force” the demand so that the inventory will go on the shelf and be reordered when it is sold. A forced demand is a way to tell the Adonis system that even though there was not a demand for the product, act as though there is a demand. This is typically done for new products that have a good chance of becoming a B coded item for a branch or a group of branches. If successful, then we may have a better chance of rolling this product out to more branches throughout the country.
This is the reason that we will ask you to get into the branches and promote a product. We have a limited amount of time to create the historical demand for a product. If we can prove there is a demand for that product, we can get it B coded and brought in to any branch that will agree to stock it.
We have also been successful in bringing in inventory through the product manager. Although they will usually check with the branch manager before actually putting the inventory in the branch, we all have a pretty good idea that it should work out OK in those branches.
As of the writing of this document, these are the B coded items. Please note that ADI puts a 2 letter designation in front of every part number to designate the vendor that it comes from. Ours is DY-XXXXXX. They also try to not use any slashes or dashes in their part numbers.
DY-3101BDY-2011
DY-6290
DY-2011DSM
DY-2511
DY-4311
DY-226810
DY-3000RHR
DY-6291
What is the POS report?
The POS report is the Point Of Sale report that we get monthly from ADI. It tells us what branch sells our products and in what quantities as well as dollars. Because ADI has an intricate system for transferring inventory from branch to branch and from region to region, it is important to have this report. The situation often occurs when a branch brings in some inventory and another branch needs that inventory for a pending sale, and they do not have the inventory. They can either place an order to the manufacturer or request the inventory from another branch that has that inventory. The sales people have the ability to see the inventory from select regional branches. This keeps a New Jersey branch from transferring a product from a California branch, when the manufacturer, like us, is one shipping day away.
This is also why we are so popular with ADI and drop ships. We have an extremely short shipping time for most of our products. Therefore, we can usually get products to their customers, from our facility, without ever having to inventory the product. This has an upside and a downside. First the upside is that we get a lot of business that our competitors don’t get because their lead times may be 3-6 weeks. Ours is usually 2-3 days, at the most (for standard finished products). The down-side is that if the inventory is not at the branch, the walk-in customer cannot pick up our product. We also fall victim to “out of sight, out of mind”. If the sales people do not see our products on the shelves, then they are less likely to suggest our product. This is the reason for getting our demands up high enough to force the inventory onto the shelves.
Well, back to the POS report. We review this monthly and determine which branches have sold our products, and in what quantities, and this is how your commission is based. So, it is possible to have a branch bring in inventory, then it is gone from their shelf, then you wonder why the commission does not follow, it is probably because it has been shipped to another branch outside of your territory and sold through that branch.
How does ADI handle spiffs?
Because of the large number of vendors and the multiple programs that were offered, ADI came up with a plan to offer points to their employees for products that were designated to pay a spiff. This all sounded great, but due to the multiple plans going on at any given time, it all meshed into a huge lump of nothing. Nobody really pays attention to these spiffs and their points accumulate over such a long period of time and through many different programs, that when they finally cash them in (points), they have no idea who to thank for this gift. We would get little or no recognition for offering spiffs, so we have chosen to not participate at this time.
What is the best way to increase sales through the ADI branches?
This will require a multitude of answers and you will need to see what combination works best at your local ADI. Most of all you need to invest the time. Many of us are familiar with “lunch and learns”, well I think a better and more affordable and effective way to do this is through “show ‘n go”. This is just a shortened version and just involves a morning or afternoon snack. I would limit your sessions with the sales people to 10-20 minutes, at the most. Spend most of your time on the 5-6 products that are most popular and this will provide the greatest dividends. As time goes on, you can introduce additional items as well. I am also hoping to have a regular stream of new products or enhancements that you can use as subject matter for these sessions. The main thing you are trying to do is spend time with the sales people and don’t forget the branch manager. Many times they say they (the Branch Manager) are too busy, but it is important to urge them into these sessions as well. You may need to do 2-4 sessions/day, so that you can do them in shifts (1-2 people at a time). Always honor their need to handle customer related issues and the amount of time you take. But, always try to do these away from their desk and the phones. I think every ADI branch has a conference room or area, use it.
Secondly, spend time getting to know the Branch Manager. They have the power. If you are relying on inside sales people to influence the Branch Manager, your success rate will be dramatically reduced. By talking to the Branch Manager, you will often find the real reasons for the product mix they choose for their branch. There may be personal relationships you have to overcome, or past incidences that need to be cleared up. Whatever the reason, find out what you need to get the inventory into the branch. I know that I don’t have to say this, but each branch manager will have something in their office that tells you what they are interested in. Discover it and exploit it. If it is baseball, then talk about baseball. It may be family, get to know something about their kids. It is all about relationships.
Third, you will probably have to invest some time in bringing customers to them. Yes, that means going out and doing their job for them. Well, it is not necessarily their job to flip a Securitron user to DynaLock, you are going to have to do this. You might be able to get the sales people to give you names of people that may be unhappy with their current brand or the sales people may know companies that think our products are just a better fit for them. One example is the 3101B. This works so well in Nursing Homes, so I always ask if they have any dealers that do a lot of nursing homes. If they do, go see those customers and sell them on the 3101B. I once had this opportunity and in the process of converting the customer, they were also saving about $1,000 per door. Of course, they didn’t pass this on to the customer. There were 12 doors in this facility!
Fourth, find out if they provide any formal training. You may be able to provide this for them and they won’t have to search for instructors. This is a great way to get in front of several companies in one session. My state requires Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) for all security personnel. I got certified, which wasn’t anything more than filling out a form, and then wrote a course outline, and got the class certified for CEU credit. Now, I can offer to teach this class whenever I choose. I have even condensed the Mag Lock class to teaching it at the counter. I don’t particularly like counter days, but if you do them the right way, they can be productive.
Fifth, I guess I should mention counter days. This is an old and tired (and lazy) way of reaching out to people. It is so random and very often leads to nothing but wasted time. If done properly, you might have some success. First of all, if you are going to have a counter day, schedule it in advance and provide flyers to the branch to display. John Sanchirico can provide graphics for this, which will give it a more professional look. Next, try to schedule people to come and see you during the counter day. There are several companies that may work from home, and do not wish to have people come to their house for sales calls. Also, you may find that some people would like to have a reason to get out of their office for an appointment such as this. You can also ask the sales people for names of customers that you can call and invite to the counter day. They may be aware of customers that you don’t even know. By doing these things, you can have a better chance of having a successful counter day.
Overall, I would just make every effort to be in the branch as often as possible. Don’t overstay your welcome, but if you have a branch in the town you reside, begin by going in there every week, even if it is just for 15-20 minutes. You want to make sure that if anyone asks someone in the branch, “Who’s the DynaLock rep?” they know it is you. I can remember a particular rep that always brought something in when he came. It might be candy bars, a box of apples, or lottery tickets. It does not matter what it was, it was the fact that he was always thoughtful enough to give us something.
What do I do if the branch will not cooperate?
This may be a very difficult situation. Make sure you are getting this resistance from the Branch Manager. If it is from a sales person, go to the Branch Manager and ask for some guidance. If the Branch Manager is not helpful, and you really have no other place to turn, you can discuss the situation with the Regional Manager. If this does not result in any progress, feel free to call me and I can approach it from a corporate direction. I have been assured that there will be cooperation at the branch level, and if we see resistance, then we can move it up the chain. Make sure you have exhausted all of the items above before appealing to me. I can always be used as a sounding board if you feel that you are struggling, but if you will invest the time, it will pay off.
In conclusion, ADI is our largest customer and has shown very good growth for the past several years. We have a lot more room for growth and want to maximize our attention to their branches. Getting consistent business through your ADI branch is like losing weight, it is not going to happen overnight, but once it happens, you will see rewards in many areas and for a long period of time.