Azione’s First Vendor-Only Meeting: Scottsdale, AZ
Azione Unlimited, the buying/educational buying group for integrators and custom retailers, held its first ever “vendor only” planning meeting at the Talking Stick Resort, preceding the annual IPRO Conference. Twenty two attendees representing 18 vendor companies convened in Scottsdale, AZ October 27 – 28 to evaluate, strategize, and plan the group’s business activities for the coming year.
Six main topics were selected spanning subjects like “How to Grow Both Dealer and Vendors Profits” to “How to Create More Value for Dealer Members”. Open discussions of each subject, with feedback from all attendees, ensued and there were copious notes taken on huge flip charts that were then attached to the walls around the room. At the end of the session on the last day, all notes from the discussions were reviewed and a list of top ideas were selected and prioritized as items to execute in 2015.
Creating New Ideas to Build the Businesses of Both Dealers and Vendors
“What is unique about AU is that they include vendors as members” remarks George Walter, Director of Home Entertainment for Christie Digital. “This event exemplified the value AU puts on vendors. For the vendors who care about growing their business with Azione dealers, this event allowed us to share past experience and create new ideas which we all felt was a win-win situation.”
“The Azione Vendor Conference gave Savant the opportunity to join a cross-section of industry leaders and openly discuss the state of the market place and collaborate on industry growth opportunities” comments Angela Larson, Vice President of Sales Operations of Savant Systems. “It is this kind of forward thinking that makes Azione Unlimited, and its members, a valuable partner for Savant.”
“Most businesses typically work in a reactionary mode. I thought that looking forward and planning for a positive outcome for next year would illuminate the pathways to prosperity for dealers and vendors alike,” notes Richard Glikes, President of Azione Unlimited. “This was an extremely worthwhile exercise with trenchant concepts from bright vendors flying around the space. We were all energized by the process, and the thought that we had crafted a plan for the betterment of all parties. I look forward to replicating the event next year.”
