During my term as President of the AMOA which ended last September, we frequently addressed the fact that as an Association we need to change with the times and address industry concerns. The AMOA Officers and Directors spent a great deal of time surveying and interviewing Operators, Distributors, Manufacturers, and just about anyone we could find who would talk to us. I would like to share with you some of their thoughts, and some of mine.
Between the AMOA show, and the ASI show, there is only enough demand for one show. They are duplicative. A case could be made that one or two more shows are also duplicative, but these two are for sure. In the past we may have needed two shows, and we may again in the future, but not today. With all the other shows, we need only one for our specific industry.
The Operators attend their AMOA show faithfully, and always have. The Manufacturers have always supported the AMOA, but their loyalties will most likely be with their own show, the ASI. So there you have it. Both shows have strengths, depending on your needs as a show attendee.
Distributor open houses should be held in the opposite season, not two days after the convention, as is the case today. Currently attendance is hurt at the national conventions because all the equipment is shown at numerous open houses immediately following the conventions. Unbelievably, many distributors openly say they don't want their Operators attending the national conventions. If my distributor said that to me, I would absolutely go to see what it is he doesn't want me to see. Those few distributors want to be the Operators only source of product information. They're dinosaurs.
As part of this consolidation, the industry only needs, and can support one Association. All levels of the industry are partners, and interdependent on each other. In most other industries, the "Operator" isn't represented by a separate Association. They are all part of one Association with different divisions. For Example, NAMA, the vending Association represents all levels. BACTA, the British Association, has different divisions for Operators, Distributors, and Manufacturers. They all come together in a common board as an industry. To see if it is successful, all you need to do is to look at their legislative successes. They are many.
This idea has been discussed many times over the years by various industry leaders. Recently, a committee of eight, four from AMOA and four from AAMA led by President Rick Kirby, met for the purpose of discussing consolidating our trade shows. The economies quickly became evident that one trade show can support one Association. One trade show doesn't generate enough revenue to support two separate Administrative staffs and two Government Relations programs (these two areas are the biggest expense items for both associations). These private meetings had their high and low points, but progress was made. The AAMA committee was made up of four very visionary industry leaders, as was the AMOA committee. Rick Kirby did a great job of representing, and leading, his association. We started out trying to combine trade shows, and we ended up working through the structure of what one Association, and one industry trade show, would look and operate like. It appeared to make a lot of sense for everyone.
We then took the idea of consolidating to each of our respective boards in September of last year. That was a big step. The feedback was positive from both groups.
The concept was then openly debated at happy hours, receptions, on the show floor, and in taxis. This is a necessary step, but one that usually kills the deal. That's what happened here. Everyone had an opinion from "it's the greatest thing we could do as an industry", to "it's the stupidest thing we could ever do" and everything in between. You would think that the "old school" members of both associations were the biggest obstacles, remembering the parallel board fight, and, and, and... all those other conflicts over the years (I know there must have been others, I just can't recall right now...). Ironically, it was that group that was most supportive.
The project is on hold for now. There is concern on both sides about the viability of having a single association. The manufacturers want to be, and are, large operators. Manufacturers sell around distributors every day. Operators are concerned that the technology advancements that have been made in the last few years that benefit the operator, would never have occurred in current form had manufacturers been in the room when those investment decisions were being made. Today many major manufacturers are rapidly developing proprietary systems of their own. There isn't a broad trust and respect between the three tiers of our industry, unfortunately.
The above issues are not reasons to maintain separate Associations, they are the result of having separate Associations. When a industry difference of opinion exists in today environment,
Formal letters are drafted and stuffy conference calls and meetings are scheduled. If we were one, we would go into a room and hash it out. If the Operators, Distributors, and Manufacturers consider each other the primary competition, we're all missing the real challenge. Our competitors are the phone companies, cable companies, service providers, that all want a piece of our business. That's the opposition. Not the company that makes and sells the equipment that provides my livelihood. I'm not happy about the fact that company that makes the product I'm buying is competing for the same locations I am. But it's reality and I'm not going to be able to change that trend. May the best man win!
The reality is that this industry is going to change in the next few years at a rate more rapid than at any time before, which is really saying something, considering our industry history. The market will determine what the industry landscape will look like over the next few years. I'm betting it's looks a lot different whether we want it to or not. Hold on, it's going to be a wild ride.