Case Study: How Partnership with Beekley Medical Helps Canadian Distributor Drive Client Satisfaction
In the summer of 2014, Jon Dunski, President of UltraRay Medical, joined Beekley Medical as the exclusive distributor in Canada (with the exception of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador) for its product lines that serve Mammography, Radiation Oncology, Specimen Radiography,MRI, CT Scan, and general X-Ray.
The Challenge
Jon was shifting his business model, moving away from distribution of equipment to distribution of consumables, and was seeking out brands that were most exciting to him and where he felt the most potential lie. He was looking for partners that saw eye to eye with his philosophy of providing solutions that help and improve, not just selling products for the sake of selling products. Jon was seeing far too many vendors that saw their products as just commodities with little educational or marketing support behind them and a "you need it, you buy it, and move on" type of philosophy. He was seeing sales reps disappear because of this as they were feeling more like order takers rather than professional consultants who help their clients find the right solution for their needs.
Another, perhaps even bigger, challenge Jon faced was unreliable delivery times with some of his vendors. According to Jon, there is a lot of runaround in the industry regarding expected delivery of goods into Canada. As he put it, 'You're told one thing or another until the last day when you're told your stuff isn't going to be here for a month and a half."
He explained that in Canada, everything is on tenders - annual, or even three or four-year contracts. This, combined with unreliable deliveries can lead a company to over-order product in order to meet client expectations and then end up with dead inventory when products become updated, outdated, or no longer used by the customer.
The Solution
Beekley Medical resonated with Jon not only because of its diverse product line and reputation for quality, but also because of the passion Beekley demonstrates for its products and their role in improving efficiency and patient care. He had also heard good things from another distributor about Beekley's ability to fulfill orders on time, every time. His sales team was looking forward to having a quality product line that would generate good volumes of return, have lots of excitement around it, and allow them to continue to be specialists in their own field when they enter the hospital.
More importantly, Jon was now able to implement just-in-time ordering to control his inventory levels with Beekley as he knows product is rarely, if ever, back-ordered and is shipped within 24 business hours of his order. While Jon uses historicals to guide his ordering, he stated that it is not uncommon for a 50 box order to come out of the blue. "To be able to say to the client we will get you 5-10 boxes quickly, or 20, or whatever we have in stock, and the balance will be up, worst case, in two weeks. That goes a long way for the end user."
The Value
Jon conveyed that out of his 58 total suppliers, Beekley Medical ranks #1 for the following reasons:
- Quick turnaround, no missed deliveries
- Trust in delivery times enable “just in time” inventory methods
- Beekley's quick turnaround times with no back orders enable him to control inventory levels and serve his clients’ needs in a timely manner
- Rave reviews from clients with satisfaction surveys in the 96 percentile
Customer Testimonial - Jon's words on what it's like working with Beekley Medical
When asked how he would describe doing business with Beekley Medical to another distributor considering a partnership Beekley, Jon replied “Flexibilty. Integrity, Honesty. For me it was, finally - a vendor that gets it! Someone who's going to see eye to eye with our philosophy, not just being the purveyor of merchandise but a company that wants to bring a solution to the table. Working with Beekley makes me happy, it’s fun doing business with you. We’re both very passionate about the cause. We just thoroughly love working with you guys."
The Beekley Difference for distribution partners and supply chain managers everywhere.
Simply put - our goal at Beekley Medical is to help positively impact patients' lives and improve clinical outcomes through the research and development of products that help improve communication, productivity,and patient care. We know that back orders and split shipments negatively impact that goal, not to mention your business. Therefore we strive to always have product in stock and shipped within 24 business hours upon receipt of order.
If you're interested becoming a distribution partner for Beekley Medical, click here to learn more.
