An Invitation to Join the North American Plumbing Specialties Distributors Association

The NAPSD is an organization of companies in North America whose primary business is the direct sales of plumbing repair parts and fixtures. The mission of the organization is to raise the visibility of Plumbing Specialty Distributors in the greater Plumbing Industry. Our goals are to develop a more productive, synergistic relationship with the manufacturers, educate our members in all facets of operations, and to cultivate an environment that encourages our members to share the greatest asset that we have, our friendship and our years of experience in the industry.

We are contacting you because your company, like all of our members, daily does battle with billion-dollar corporations such as HD Supply, Grainger, Barnett, and Amazon Supply. To compete in the land of the giants, we have to be smarter, faster, and more efficient. As an individual company that is difficult, however there is strength in numbers.

As a member of the NAPSD, you will develop personal relationships with upper management from many of the major manufacturers in our industry. Some vendors offer special pricing and parts programs that are available exclusively to NAPSD members. Companies such as T&S Brass, Sloan, and Zurn often introduce new products through the NAPSD because through our sales forces we create a market for their new products. Our organization has also developed relationships with manufacturers that you most likely are unaware of that will give you an edge in the competitive marketplace. Because we are experts, many of our manufacturers rely on the NAPSD to help them with new product development. Finally, many of our vendors offer us in-depth training in selling their products, which separates NAPSD members from ordinary plumbing distributors.

Plumbing and Hardware Specialties education is simply non-existent in the distribution world, unless of course you are an NAPSD member. The NAPSD offers education tailored to our industry by subject matter experts from all business disciplines. In our continued effort to provide top-notch programs, we have established professional relationships with Texas A&M University School of Industrial Distribution and Rich Schmidt, the “Smart Management” columnist for “The Wholesaler Magazine”. Past subjects covered include:

• -Solution based selling processes
• -Sales force metrics and evaluation
• -Hiring techniques
• -Coaching and development of the sales force
• -Behavioral types and generational differences
• -Manufacturer-distributor relationships
• -Analytical inventory control
• -Pricing management and profit control
• -E-marketing & web-based sales

NAPSD also has many in-house, member experts. Over the years we have had sessions on:

• Sales
• Operations
• Inventory Management
• Administration and Accounting

These programs were created by and for plumbing specialties professionals. We have covered areas as diverse as sales rep contracts, warehouse layouts, inventory turn evaluation, and accounts receivable management.

Finally, as a member, you will develop lifelong relationships with other individuals in our unique industry. Even though in some cases we compete against each other, we can share our knowledge with each other. Over time, you will develop friendships with members that you can rely on for all kinds of advice in regard to the operation of your company. This is education at its best and an integral part of the NAPSD experience.

Soon, you will be contacted by one of our members to discuss the possibility of you joining our association. We are sure that you if decide to join, you will find that being a member of the NAPSD will be as rewarding to you as it is to me.

Sincerely,

NAPSD Membership Committee