July 2005                        return to newsletter contents page

AVDA Supplier Awards Program a Big Success

The AVDA Awards program was initiated this year by the AVDA board to recognize manufacturers for specific policies and practices that are distributor friendly. AVDA recognized suppliers in five categories of achievement:

• Sales Staff and Field Support

• Profit Potential

• New Product Opportunities

• Order Fulfillment & Customer Service, and

• Overall Distributor Relationship

AVDA distributor members were sent ballots in early

February listing all 42 associate and affiliate members. Using a five-point scale, they were asked to rate each company with whom they did business, on how well they met the criteria of each of the award categories. The manufacturer accumulating the highest average score in all categories was named AVDA Supplier of the Year.

The new program was well received by manufacturers and distributors alike. Nearly 90% of AVDA distributor members participated in the balloting.

Manufacturers received a “report card” telling them how they scored and what the industry averages were in each category.

In order to be eligible for an award in one of the categories, companies had to appear on at least 40% of the ballots cast and have the most points in each category. The manufacturer accumulating the most overall points was recognized as Supplier of the Year.

The awards were presented at the AVDA Annual Conference Awards Banquet on Tuesday, April 19 at The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida.

The winners of the AVDA 2004 Supplier Awards were:

Outstanding Sales Staff/Field Support

Pfizer Animal Health

Outstanding Profit Potential

DVM Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Outstanding Order Fulfillment & Customer Service

Merial

Outstanding New Product Opportunities

Jorgenson Laboratories

Outstanding Overall Distributor Relationship

Fort Dodge Animal Health

2004 Supplier of The Year

DVM Pharmaceuticals, Inc.