Take Control from Your Customers

Scott Andrews stays away from commodity based buyers. As general sales manager for Moore Packaging, Barrie, Ontario, Moore makes sure his vision of being an “independent” manufacturer is understood by every member of his sales team.

Andrews shared his philosophy of putting the theory of an independent manufacturer into action with attendees of AICC’s Spring Meeting, held April 13-16 in Naples, Fla. Speaking on the concluding day of the conference, Andrews profiled his company’s success story – and hoped there were no Canadian competitors in his audience.

“Our strength in the marketplace was never based on price,” he says. “We must rely on building strong, long-term relationships focusing on redesign and influencing our customer’s environment to lower their cost, not their price.”

The Ontario marketplace is characterized by 1.4 billion sq ft of corrugated sheets per month. In 1997, Moore had minimal market share. Its lead times were two to three weeks, it had no ISO practices, and inventory was unmanaged. It had good but unproductive equipment and a one-shift operation. Andrews says his company realized it needed to establish a stronger position in the market. One of the keys in doing that is to establish strong selling skills.

What a Difference—Today Moore Packaging maintains less than a five-day cycle times, uses electronic scheduling and process control, has a sustainable ISO system, and does shipping and warehousing 24/7. As a result, it has doubled its share of the Ontario marketplace. Most importantly, it hires and maintains a team of strong, dedicated sales reps.

“Don’t hire your competition,” Andrews counsels. “They’re too costly and bring bad habits. They’re not desperate or cunning. Instead, hire college grads from business and tech schools. They’re educated and eager, but they’re also desperate and broke. And they don’t have bad business habits. You can hire two or three trainees for the price of one veteran.”
He also suggests you rotate these trainees throughout your entire company for one or two years and create healthy competition among them. And don’t be too worried about setting rules.

“Sales people are born free,” Andrews says. “Don’t waste time on call reports, and don’t set up territories for them. Why restrict someone who can sell?”

Moore’s remuneration plan is based on profitability.

Top sellers get their own customer service rep, leaving them more time to sell.

As for customers, Moore’s strategy is to create a controlled environment.

“This helps us gain control of their operations,” Andrews maintains. “Manage their inventory, change the spec, improve their operations and plant efficiency, and streamline their buying processes. The result is we lower our customers’ costs by providing value added services.”OBM