Dan Judge, Chairman and CFO, NetPlus Alliance
By Dan Judge
September 2017 marks NetPlus Alliance’s 15-year anniversary. To celebrate, we’ve been reminiscing about what has changed – and what hasn’t – since we started in 2002.
What hasn’t changed is NetPlus’s direction. Like it was 15 years ago, NetPlus is still rooted in decades of industrial-distribution experience and long-standing relationships with great people in the industry. Shirley Weiland and Karl Tschaepe, key staff at NetPlus’s founding, are still key members of our team.
Many of our earliest suppliers and service providers are still on board, as well, including Rayovac, Eklind, Airmaster, Coilhose, Boss Manufacturing, Werner, Midland Metal, JPW, Epicor, Aervoe, Red Devil, PFERD, and these distributors, Standard Equipment, Choice Industrial, Dixie Tool Crib, Oil-Air Products, Pooley, East Carolina Supply, DeLeon-Thompson, Straightline Distributing and the members of the National Caster Alliance. We appreciate their early and continuing participation.
Certainly, though, many things have changed over the past 15 years. On Jan. 1, 2003, NetPlus had 37 distributors. We now have more than 390 industrial and contractor supplies distributors. NetPlus had 17 suppliers at the start of 2003. Today, the group boasts 162 product suppliers and 19 business-services suppliers. The staff has grown to 10, and in 2013, Jennifer Judge Murphy was named president of NetPlus Alliance, transitioning leadership from myself – one generation to the next.
We have begun to offer many new services beyond the initial rebates, including product training and education, e-commerce opportunities, Growth Plus, networking, our Annual Meeting and the NetPlus Advantages enhanced rebate program.
While it’s fun to look back at our history, we continue to “Focus on the Future”, the theme of our upcoming Annual Meeting this October. We continue to grow and adapt our offerings to meet the evolving needs of our distributor members, with new programs, new services, and new suppliers. We look forward to continuing to support our existing membership and supplier partners, and welcome new distributors and suppliers into the family as we continue our journey.