Agenda - Council - 06/10/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Forging' Ma keting Partnerships Wendell's brings together other regional marking product manufacturer to expand markets By Scott Allen and Ruth Lane For over 115 years, Wendell's has been a stable, conservative company, pro- viding quality products and services in a reliable, if not spectacular manner. After a period of growth following the second world war, Wendell's became internally focused in the 70's and 80's, with little emphasis on the marketplace or changing customer needs. Lawerence T. Cody, President, noted, "Basi- cally, the company was run with the opinion that our reputation would bring in customers. Little emphasis was placed on embracing market or technology changes." In early 1992, Cody gained control of the CODY: We needed to find new ways to distribute our · product, yet remain competi- tive with the national compa- nies corporation, and quickly set a new direction for the company. "I real- ized that Wendell's had the potential to grow, but the cor- porate philosophy we had at Wendell's would not support that." Cody contin- ued, "We needed to recognize the needs of the marketplace and assume a place' of leadership. It was not acceptable to sit back and wait for customers to call." To accomplish this, Wendell's reorganized and retooled, shed product lines that would not fit into the aggressive focus, and emphasized com- petitive pricing and superior customer ser- vice. ' Wendell's is one of Minnesota's oldest com- panies, established in 1882. Wl'file long in tradition and history, the Ramsey, Minnesota company is taking very contemporary steps to ensure that its success during the 19~ and 20~' centuries continues well into the 21't. Marking products, such as pre-inked and rubber stamps have been Wendell's foundation since the corporation first opened for business. In addition, Wendell's is recognized as a quality coining: mint for their production of custom medallions. Wendell's was the first and remains the foremost supplier of anniver- sary medallions to the 12 Step Recovery Programs, and their medallions have circled the globe in the space shuttle and aboard the US Navy's fmest aircraft carriers. Wendell's market is diverse. Marking prod- uets are sold di:rect to the end user, plus larger corporate aceotmts, office stationers, and small printing shOPs. The recovery products are sold nationally through retail gift shops, intergroups, central offices, treatment centers, and end users. Custom medallions are sold in the pro- motional products marketplace on a national basis through advertising specialty and awards, and recognition distributors. 'The markets have changed over the past several years, and continue to evolve, "said Cody. "It has been critical for Wendell's to identify the changes and be able to adjust our focus and distribution networks to remain competitive in all our markets." One area with the most dramatic change has been in the marking products business. Wendell's faced new competition simulta- neously in the Iow volume and the high volume markets. In the low volume market, the cost of en~' was not forbiddingly high. As a result, Wendell's found new competition from many smaller companies who staked out niches in the mtrket. Wendell's found that the quality of their products, and their ability to react quickly and competitively, was the strength necessary to respond to the chal- lenge. Cody observed, "The amount of lead time the manufacturer have has shrunk dras- tically. In the past, the supplier could set its lead times for stamps as high as two weeks. But not any more. Wendell's has virtually thrown that out the window, setting the start- (lard for customer service with delivery goals measured in hours, not days.' Competition in the high end marking prod- ucts market ha.,: also affected Wendell's core business. WendeIl's has traditionally been a regional manufacturer and supplier of mark- ing products. But the channel through which Minnesota Business & Opportunities/MAY 1997 / 7