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Whether it’s traditional med/surg offerings or something a little more unique, C&S Supply has positioned itself to meet almost any need of its customers
At Their Service
Whether it’s traditional med/surg offerings or something a little more unique, C&S Supply has positioned itself to meet almost any need of its customers.
By Graham Garrison
(Left to right) Bob McCart, IMCO; Al Wicks, Owner/CEO of C&S; and Bill McLaughlin, IMCO.
In the early 1980s, after working his way up the career ladder in the med/surg industry, Al Wicks found the place he wanted to settle down. He and his wife Linda had moved to Berks County for a job, and quickly fell in love with the area.
To say they put down roots would be an understatement. “Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be an entrepreneur,” Wicks said. So that’s what he did. In 1982, he started C&S Supply Co. – named after his two children, Christy and Scott.
He’s been living out that dream ever since. In fact, the company recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.
More than typical
Wicks started selling medical supplies in 1965 for Hoffman Surgical Supply, which would eventually be bought by General Medical. He then went to work for Murray Baumgartner, which was owned by HealthCo in Maryland. HealthCo sold Murray Baumgartner to Foster Medical. During this period he never really changed jobs. “The companies just kept getting bought out,” he said.
Wicks then had the opportunity to move to Reading, Pennsylvania as a manager for a company called HealthCo Bellevue. Soon after, Wicks took the plunge in starting his own business. The distributor’s initial focus was serving clients anywhere within a 70-mile radius of Berks County. They called on physicians, nursing clinics, etc. Over the years, C&S Supply has diversified to offer services beyond a typical distributor. They provide medical/surgical supplies, paper supplies, office supplies, furniture and even paper shredding services. “We’re able to take care of all the needs of individual doctors,” Wicks said. As healthcare providers have consolidated very heavily, and hospitals purchased a lot of practices in their area, C&S Supply is able to offer an array of services to customers of all sizes and specialties.”
When it comes to being a business owner, Wicks said he loves being his own boss. While he turned 75 years old recently, he has no intentions of retiring. “I like getting up in the morning, putting on a shirt and tie, going to work and being with the customers.”
Wicks has some accounts that are 30 to 35 years old. He still does tasks for some like individual inventories. “You get to know everybody in the building, and they come to you with different challenges.” Wicks can spot potential issues both small and large. For instance, if a client has a torn exam top, he can set up an appointment with one of C&S’s equipment specialists to fix it. “Every day I’m with customers, I’m trying to take their needs, make them my problem and solve things for them.”
The elder Wicks admits he is still “old school” in his approach. While the younger generation may prefer voicemail, text and email, Wicks said
Corey and Jenny Maurer, C&S; Brett Dayhoff, C&S 40th Anniversary party
Al Wicks and his wife Linda C&S President Scott Hayick and Al Wicks
Bill McLaughlin, president and CEO of IMCO, said Al’s success and longevity in the industry is something to be admired by everyone.
he always tries to find a reason to talk to the customer. “I like to see them face to face. I want to read their body language. And most of them will open up to you with their long-term plans. You try to get in as early as you can with them.”
Wicks is not against texting, voicemail and email, because they’re essential to business and not going away. “But I have found that selling will always be about relationships,” he said. “You build relationships with people. The things that I like the best are when I get a referral from one customer to another. It can’t get any better than that. We are now, over the last two years, spending more money on marketing. But when you get a referral from one customer to another, it’s the best that you can hope for.”
Indeed, the elder Wicks leaves the more tech-focused parts of communication and business operations to his son Scott, the company’s vice president of sales & marketing. “He is a voicemail, text, email type person.” Their styles complement each other, Wicks said, with Scott leading the way with marketing, automation, and other innovations critical to working in today’s – and tomorrow’s – marketplace.
Four decades of change
During the last 40 years the healthcare industry has been through a
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(Left to right) Bob McCart, IMCO; Ashleigh McLaughlin, IMCO; Al and Linda Wicks; Bill McLaughlin, IMCO
lot – DRGs, healthcare reform in the 90s and then Obamacare over the last decade-plus. And that was just in healthcare. There was also the dotcom rush, followed by the dotcom bust, and a couple of recessionary periods mixed in.
As an active participant in the Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA), including a stint as chairman, Wicks was heavily involved in conversations with colleagues and competitors on how to navigate those challenges. But 40 years has given him a more evenkeeled perspective. “It seems like it’s always one thing after another,” he said. “But our industry is very simple: You buy from the manufacturer, you sell the product and then deliver it to the end user.”
In fact, when he looks back on the biggest disruptor during the last four decades – the pandemic – Wicks said in some ways things have
changed for the better. One result over the last few years is the value of distribution has never been more obvious to stakeholders. “Yes, products are harder to get, and the cost of everything has gone up,” he said. “But distribution has shown itself to be a necessity.”
Scott Wicks said diversifying services has helped the company navigate a very difficult time for small medical supplies businesses. “I think if you would have asked any of us 15-20 years ago that we would be cleaning carpets, shredding, hanging pictures on walls, cleaning out offices, etc., we would have not believed you,” Scott said. “But in increasing our offerings and services we have been able to grow our customer base, and industries that we serve.”
Most physician customers are concerned about the cost of insurance and reimbursement. The nursing home market has been particularly hard-hit by cuts, while hospitals are having to compete more with surgery centers who may offer services to consumers at a lower cost.
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Probably the biggest issue physician offices worry about today is personnel. “Right now, everybody is screaming for people to work for them. That’s from the grocery store to the restaurant to healthcare. Think about the $15,000 bonuses for one nurse. And these are critical people. I would say that’s the number one thing that keeps people awake at night.”
It’s an issue Al Wicks has had to worry about as well. The company has strived to provide purpose, competitive salaries and flexible work schedules to team members. C&S has a staff of around 12 people, many of them long-tenured, including one that has been with the company for more than 35 years. That would be Scott Hayick, who started his career at C&S in 1985 as the company’s first delivery driver. Over the years, Hayick has become the “jack of all trades”, doing just about every job at the company. Hayick is now the company’s president. “The changes in the industry, along with how the company has evolved and survived/prospered over the years, has made [my career] an ongoing learning process, so it keeps things fresh,” Hayick said. “C&S is truly a
C&S 40 years photo collage
family-owned business, and you are treated like family in times of need, time off, flexibility, etc.”
Bill McLaughlin, president and CEO of IMCO, said Al’s success and longevity in the industry is something to be admired by everyone. “He is a relationship king and the priority he places on his relationships with his family, C&S team, customers, and community have been their guiding light,” McLaughlin said. “C&S Medical has always focused on being creative and bringing value in unique ways to meet their customers’ needs. All these things have been a major
Ashleigh McLaughlin, Bill McLaughlin, and Bob McCart
factor to his success over their 40-year history… IMCO is proud to call C&S Medical Supply one of our original members and we are excited to see how they continue to grow and adapt to the changing landscape in their area!”
C&S Supply has emphasized the same core values through four decades of business. “We have exceptionally rated service, which a lot of people look for today, I think even more so now than 10 years ago,” Wicks said. And they fully intend for C&S to continue provide that exceptional service, both now and over the next 40 years.
Sharing knowledge and experience
Wicks said he is a firm believer that participating in industry events can help small businesses like his grow. C&S has been a longtime member of both IMCO and HIDA.
“I don’t ever go to a convention or meeting where I don’t come back with an idea,” he said. “Some of the people that I got outstanding ideas from were Dwight Titus, Jim Stover and John Sasen. These guys were icons in the medical supply side of the field. And when I was going through the ranks of HIDA, I had opportunities to meet and get ideas from them.”
Titus was one of Wicks’ heroes, he said, because of how available he made himself to colleagues, and offered an incredible amount of useful tips. “Dwight would say, ‘I’ll tell you anything you want to know about a particular issue. It’s just most people won’t listen. If they decide to do it, they’re not my competitor anyway.’ Dwight, Jim, John – there were a lot of people over the 50 some years I’ve been involved with the industry. In the same way, I’m willing to share what I’ve learned with someone else.”
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