Voice from the Industry
Getting to Know the Industry, Opportunities and Challenges
By Jim McGarry, President/CEO, National School Supply & Equipment Association (NSSEA) — Friday, August 19, 2011
“Welcome to the industry” has been the most frequent salutation that I have heard over the past three months. However, as I get to know the “industry,” I see how totally diverse it is in terms of products, distribution channels, and buying/decision makers. This diverse nature is what makes the opportunity to be the President/CEO of the National School Supply & Equipment Association so fascinating.
As I go into an early learning facility, grade school, high school, or university and look around at all of the wonderful products and innovations that facilitate teaching and learning, I am inspired by the opportunity in front of us and motivated by the challenges we will face as an “industry.”
One thing that I notice immediately is how technology is accelerating as an important component of all the different product categories. Different types of devices are being used to deliver curriculum, gaming technology is blossoming, furniture is being designed with intelligence, and the web is ubiquitous. So how do all of these products get to market and into the classroom for the students?
The best new products tend to solve a problem or make a process better. So what is happening in the education world that is creating opportunity to solve a problem? We read about how students are coming to school technologically savvy and are bored by standard teaching methods. Teachers are frustrated by the requirement to “teach to the test” and are becoming less able to design programs that best match the needs of their students. District and school budgets are under attack at all levels, forcing administrators to make difficult choices about where to invest their limited resources and which vendor partners can deliver the greatest value. So where is the opportunity? How do people with new ideas and innovative products break through and create a difference in the lives of teachers and students?
I think the answer starts with understanding who is making the decisions to buy or utilize the products that will support the curriculum, technology, or environment in which students will learn; in essence, who owns the problem that your product solves. Creating business relationships at this level may mean the difference between success and obscurity. The other critical factor is that the decision makers are changing. Decisions that used to be made at the classroom level are now, because of budgets, laws, or curriculum changes, made at the school administrative level or with the district. Buying cooperatives that once focused on colleges and universities are now working at the K-12 levels. Specialists are emerging with the new technologies that are becoming resources for traditional decision makers. Once we understand the decision maker, we need to see who has the relationships with those people and how can they introduce our products.
NSSEA members are creative and represent many different models of distribution—the teacher stores, full-line school supply dealers, catalog and Internet suppliers, audiovisual dealers, mid-market and contract furniture dealers, and office products dealers. They have staked out the buying relationships whether they are with teachers, school district officials, technology officers, buying cooperatives, architects and designers, or facilities professionals. More and more it is a combination of these professionals who will make the purchasing decisions. Each of these distribution channels is becoming more aware of the opportunities and, candidly, the threats that the new classroom technologies represent and are changing their business models to respond to the needs of their customers.
At NSSEA we are becoming much more focused on these technology innovations. As a result, you will begin to see a much greater emphasis at the School Equipment Show and Ed Expo on how technology is changing the teaching process and learning environment and how different channels of distribution are responding. As all of the products merge to incorporate different technological aspects, the opportunity to add new product categories and develop new trading partner relationships increases. NSSEA looks forward to being part of this interesting and challenging transition as the classroom technology boom is embraced more fully by our politicians, schools, and educators.
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Jim McGarry has been serving as NSSEA President/CEO since April 2011. Jim has extensive experience in association management and the distribution and sales of office furniture, supplies, and equipment. He previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Independent Office Products and Furniture Dealers Association (IOPFDA), formerly the Business Products Industry Association (BPIA). He was instrumental in working with the Board of Directors to transition the organization and create a sustainable future for IOPFDA’s two alliances—the National Office Products Alliance (NOPA) and the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA). Prior to his tenure at the association, Jim held senior management positions with dealerships of business products and office furniture in Wilmington, Delaware, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jim’s most recent position was with The McCormick Group, an executive search and consulting firm based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.He may be reached at jmcgarry@nssea.org.
