With the state of Kansas under a stay-at-home order, Federated Auto Parts member Warehouse Inc. had to improvise when hosting its annual vendor expo.
Since its customers and vendors could not come to them, Warehouse Inc. decided to go digital and host a virtual vendor show.
“The health and safety of our employees, customers and vendors is our first concern, so rather than cancelling our annual vendor expo, we decided a virtual expo would be a good compromise,” said Ryan Bickle, vice president of sales for Hays, Kansas-based Warehouse Inc. “Our vendor show has become our number one selling day of the year. Our reps and attendees both find it to be a very important, productive show. Since the physical show had to be cancelled, we just changed our format.”
The primary focus of the Warehouse Inc. virtual vendor expo are the vendor specials that will be made during the months of April, May and June. They were split over three months to ensure every participating vendor got the focus they deserve. With roughly 90 vendor flyer presentations, this makes it manageable for everyone, equating to 30 per month.
As part of the expo, Warehouse Inc. virtually presented its Vendor of the Years and Sales Rep of the Year awards to Standard Motor Products (SMP) and Roger Sellers of Schnair Sales, respectively.
“Through all of this, our vendor partners have been fantastic and we are working very closely with each of them to ensure a successful program,” said Bickle. “We also want to congratulate this year’s award recipients for earning these very deserving honors. SMP continually comes to market with great programs and the materials to help make us successful, and our local rep, Greg Bettencourt, is always eager to work with us to further our goals with SMP.
“Roger Sellers always goes above and beyond and jumps into help us whenever asked. To further show his character, Roger retired from Schnair Sales on March 31 but still committed to work our vendor expo to ensure a smooth transition. We thank him for a job well done and wish him well in his retirement.”
PHOTO CAPTION: From left to right: Ryan Bickle, Don Bickle and Brian Huser, all of Warehouse Inc., virtually present the Sales Rep of the Year award to Roger Sellers of Schnair Sales.
