Indoff Corporate Newsletter Quarter 2 2023

CEO Message

Jim Malkus Chief Executive Officer

Many times, I sit down to write this article and wonder what to write about…this edition…not a problem…

We’re now 7 weeks into working with our new ownership, Global Industrial. It’s been a whirlwind of activity here in the corporate office (and remains so), but I want to share some observations:

1. Global is professional and methodical. They are tackling four initiatives first – Partner ordering site (done), eCommerce reskinning (in process), exploring appliance opportunities (in process) and looking into vendor cost reductions from combined volumes (in process).

2. The Global team is genuinely excited to have us on board. They constantly tell me this and show it in their attitudes and enthusiasm.

3. There is an enormous amount of integration work that needs to be done – accounting, finance, legal, licensing, etc. Julie, Ashley, Pam and Robin are doing the majority of this work, and it is impressive.

4. Global is still learning how we work and how our Partners do their jobs. They wrote a large check in order to help us grow our business, not to change us over to their way of doing business.

I have believed all along that this will be a big positive for us; I am more convinced of that today than ever before. I see opportunities on the costing side, I see opportunities with the eCommerce tool, I see opportunities with leads as we head down the road. I think this will be a take-off point for our Partner Program and its growth.

I know this change generates enormous uncertainty, but I think the Global team is answering the question daily that they are here to help and here to stay. I look forward to working with everyone to take advantage of these opportunities and to continue to grow the Indoff Partner Program together.

Stay safe, stay well, enjoy your summer and thank you all for all you do for Indoff.

MINIMALIST APPROACH. MAXIMUM COMFORT.

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Indoff’s Newest Partners

MATERIAL HANDLING

Scottie Lee

Paul Schraer

Tim Ward

COMMERCIAL INTERIORS

Terry Reilly

Blake Banhart

Nick Johnson

Kyle Jacobson

John Sorrell

Paula Wietbrock

Stephen Wonnell

BUSINESS PRODUCTS

Erin Cavalier

Indoff’s Newest Corporate Employees

Quianna Simon A/P

Processor

Natalie Richards Recruiter

Shawn Collins Recruiter

Global Industrial & Indoff

Courtney Brazell Director Partner Support & Operations

As part of the integration team working with sales enablement at Global Industrial, Adam Heck and I have been learning as much as we can about the Global product offerings and how best to share their large assortment of products with our Sales Partners. In addition, we have been working diligently to ensure that the Global Industrial team understands our one-of-a-kind Sales Partner program and how we manage those relationships. There’s no doubt that our Sales Partner program is unique, and we certainly intend to keep it that way going forward.

Indoff has traditionally disseminated new information through our Partner discussion boards and we will continue to do such. However, our Intranet is a much better tool for sharing (posting) content (information) that does not request a response. In fact, “intranets” were designed for employees to find and access information quickly. It is the modern-day “bulletin board”. Our challenge is changing our habits. Please bookmark our intranet and be sure to look at it every week. As such, we have created a dedicated Global Industrial page on the Intranet where you’ll find product information, sales strategies, margin recommendations and an introduction to our dedicated sales support team. Please take the time to visit this page, explore the many lines available and always check the website to see our very competitive pricing.

What products are available to you? Global’s exclusive brands (often also referred to as “private brands”) include Nexel (shelving, casters, carts, etc.), Interion (chairs, tables partitions, desks, etc.) and Continental Dynamics (HVAC and fans), and their house brand, Global Industrial (building supplies, material handling, lighting & electrical, etc.). Exclusive brands make up approximately 50% of their revenue and consist of 20,000+ parent items plus over 8,000 component parts. Exclusive brands are not only built with quality but they are available to ship within 24 hours and meet or exceed industry standards. With this brand category, you’ll find very competitive pricing (much better than before the acquisition). And perhaps most importantly, these items should provide you the opportunity to be competitive with SKUs where we previously weren’t and or increase your margins. In addition, Global will provide access to many National brands as well, but, as you’ve always done, you’ll typically see better pricing by going direct to those vendors.

Get familiar with how to log in to the website to check pricing, and, as always, reach out to Partner Support or Adam Heck if you have any questions, concerns, or feedback. If you have not already attended a training session with Global Industrial, join us for on: July 17th @ 2pm CST via Zoom. Sign up HERE and an invitation will follow. If you miss the above, please go to the Global page on our intranet and watch the posted recording of one of the training sessions.

Don’t Miss Out On This Opportunity!

Adam Heck

Vendor Relations Manager

What are Indoff Sales Partners saying?

The site is easy to navigate, and the pricing seems good to me. I gave my customer a 17% discount and made a 49% margin on the scale I sold. I’m working on an order for workbenches and accessories worth about $9000 with a 36% margin.

- Jeff Garlock, New York (BP/CI/ES)

I placed an order with Global today. I found the process very easy. I found the products on the website had very good pricing as well. Got the order, held 25% GP, and placed the order seamlessly.

- Brad Anderson, North Carolina (MH)

Global Industrial has been very easy to work with. I was selling specialty items to one of my customers, like cash drawers, at a 37% margin. Now, I am getting a 50% margin since our new pricing went into effect. I have recently priced lockers, filing, and shelving and the price difference is significant. They are very responsive and shipments are quick and easy to track.

- Ronni Hillard, Texas (CI)

Working As A Team 2 are Better Than 1

Jeff Ross President

For a variety of reasons, many of our Partners do have a formal program for working with other Partners. Some of those reasons include:

Complementary skill sets. Some teams have individual Partners focus on new sales, while another Partner may focus on project management.

Back-up when not available. In a profession where much of your value is availability to your customer, having someone else be able to field a request could be critical. Many Partners work in teams whereby they have their main account focus, but also are available as a back-up when their “partner” is not available.

Doubling your chances to be liked & 2 sets of ears. For those of us who have been in sales a long time, you know that not everyone will always like you. Sometimes, typically because of “chemistry”, we may not be a good match for a customer. In these cases, Partners that work together can have their peer be the main representative. Furthermore, even the best of listeners can sometimes miss things. For important calls, having someone you trust with you to be a part of the solution you provide increases your chances of understanding, persuasion, and ultimately being successful.

A Partner “team” may be for reason(s) above, or it may be due to the future work plan of an existing Partner. For the past few years, the management team at Indoff has been encouraging those Partners who may be thinking about cutting back their workload or thinking about future retirement to consider the mentee program. As such, we’ve slowly been formalizing this program as we’ve learned what seems to work best. At Indoff, the Partner program has always been about freedom: being able to sell what you want, to who you want, the way you want, at the price you want. This freedom also extends to working with whom you want. We do not mandate any of these considerations, but rather want to offer ideas, learned best practices, and even incentive as to why you may want to consider it.

Charlotte Area Partners: An example of teamwork. Brad Anderson, Greg Isenhour (wife Rebecca), Keith Harris and Tony Goodwin enjoy white water rafting at the White Water Center in Charlotte. Every quarter the Partners (and their spouses) in the greater Charlotte area get together to do something fun. Rarely is everyone available, but all are always included. Past adventures include: A trip to Greenville, SC for a dinner to initiate Tony Goodwin, Top Golf, New Year’s Eve, Golf Tournament.

Finance & Accounting Update

Julie Frank Executive Vice President & CFO

So what have we been doing in Finance and Accounting since the Global acquisition? Let’s see, where do I begin? I’ll start with the ownership and name change. Since we do business in almost every state, we are updating filings with 40+ Secretaries of State, sales tax agencies, and hundreds of cities. We also hold a GSA contract that must go through a novation process. Ashley is leading the effort to get all these updated, a process that will continue for several more months. We will also be rolling out a name change on our forms to remove the “Inc” from our name and to reflect that we are a Global Industrial company.

Next up is the financial reporting. Reporting requirements are pretty simple when you are a privately held company; the users of our financial statements were the owners, our bank and an occasional vendor or customer. As a subsidiary of a publicly held company??? Now we must follow SEC rules and guidelines as our numbers roll up into those of the publicly traded Global Industrial – blessedly, Global’s CFO and Corporate Controller are working with us so we don’t run screaming from the building.

As Langston has shared, we are moving towards having our accounting periods match Global’s. We have operated on a calendar month; Global (like many public companies) operates on 13-week quarters with two four-week “months” and one fiveweek “month” per quarter. We have begun moving towards their cycle with our June closing, and when we make the final shift, we’ll do it in a fiveweek period to maximize our billing capture (and corresponding commissions).

All of the above is just administrative work that has to be done through this integration; none of this will affect Partners or our basic business. We share the excitement over the many opportunities that this combination presents to our Partners and customers; the future looks bright.

I will keep you all updated as changes roll out that may impact you. As always, if you have any questions I can answer, please feel free to contact me by phone or email.

Now I think I’ll take a much needed vacation!

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Appliance Division Going To Market Strategy

Josh Long

Group General Manager

In the past 10 years, the Appliance Division has become an integral part of the Indoff family. Comprised of two purchases, Allied Appliance (Allied) and Absocold, they combine resources while remaining autonomous in sales and operations. Allied is a national wholesaler for iconic brands such as GE, Amana, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, and Speed Queen; Absocold is a North American manufacturer of refrigerators and microwaves.

While they share business sectors - particularly hospitality, student housing, and senior living - they target differently within each market. In hospitality, Allied focuses on the mid-tier and budget hotel markets providing PTAC, TTW, and VTAC A/C units for replacement and renovation projects. Absocold’s compact refrigerators, the Suite Fridge line, is sold to higher end venues, flags, extended stays, and resorts. They share some groups such as full size refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves/ovens/cooktops, and microwaves. Allied markets these products to the Multi-Family market (Apartments, Condos, and Student Housing) while Absocold markets these product on their Government contract and to Universities and Colleges.

The Appliance Division goes to market fundamentally differently than the Partner Group. Some of the key areas of difference include:

• Limited Vendors From Which To Purchase vs. Unlimited Vendors From Which To Purchase

• Limited Product Type Selection vs. Unlimited Product Type Selection

• Pricing Certainty vs. Variable Pricing

• Limited Business Sectors vs. Unlimited Business Sectors

• Generic Products vs Customized and Standard Products and Services

• National Distribution vs. Mostly Local or Regional Distribution

These differences extend to marketing strategy, also. The Appliance Group can feature a particular products with pricing and delivery method in emails, web, social and other medias; Partner Group marketing is required to be generic in nature highlighting product types with no pricing or specials.

Even with these differences, working together on a project basis can be beneficial for all. In fact, the differences can enhance the combination by offering the expertise and experience of both groups. One major success story has been the work of CI Partner Joe Westfall and Appliance Group Partner Randee Walsh. Working on the Millennia account, a nationwide multi-family owner/operator with over 280 apartment developments in 26 states, they supply a variety of appliances for the individual properties. Pricing is set and approved by all parties in advance. Indoff offers the financial resources, Joe brings the working relationship, and Randee provides the appliance expertise. The combination of talents leads to end customer satisfaction.

If you have questions or want to discuss how to work with the Appliance Group, reach out to Josh Long, GM of the Appliance Group or Randee Walsh. Both are happy to explore additional opportunities with you.

Appliance

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Following Up On Leads

Michael Dormagen Director of Marketing

On May 15th the marketing team received an email from Monica Dellinger, Executive Director Community Charter School (CPCS) requesting someone to contact her. She had received our name through another Charter school in Gastonia, NC and then looked up our website and filled out the contact request.

The lead was given to Tracey Davant who has been with Indoff for a couple of years and who works as a team with Carrie Sharp and Kristina Venable – both of whom have been with Indoff for over 10 years.

Upon receiving the lead, Tracey immediately contacted Monica and met with her the following week. CPCS is an excellent K-12 charter school in North Carolina with 620 students. Tracey & Carrie learned that they had a need to outfit rooms in a new facility.

At the NSM in November, Tracey had made contact with Mike Schmitt at WB Manufacturing. Tracey felt that WB has several products that would be a good fit for this client. Learning of their price threshold, Kristina researched similar products that would better fit their budget and deadline. COE, Essendant, Wood Design, Safco, Ghent, Virco, Scholar Craft, SP Richards, Claridge & Liberty Flags are the main vendors.

After additional meetings to better understand the scope, project and needs, the client moved forward with their first order ($286,000) and the install is scheduled for the first week of August. The team is still working with the CPCS to pin down a few other areas in the school, (that could provide another $50,000+).

The success of this Indoff Carolinas team is built on working in a team environment….and relentlessly following up on leads!

Mentor Success Story

GAngela Suntrup VP of Recruiting

reg Isenhour joined Indoff in March of 2020. Greg was introduced to Brad Anderson by his mom. Frustrated with his lack of freedom at Freightliner, Greg was looking for the freedom to be able to pursue other career interests and flexibility to travel with his wife.

In the first few months, Brad took Greg to all of his customers to show what kind of solutions he had sold. Throughout this process, Brad would share his wisdom about what the need, vendors, proposal consideration, what jobs are worthwhile, etc. Greg shared, “Brad didn’t formally teach, he just did his job and I got to shadow. I was there doing it with him. Learning by doing is the only way to grasp this business. And, he was and still is always available to me when I have questions or just want his opinion. I learned how he thinks and could act as he would for those jobs where his time was more valuable somewhere else (whether that was a different job or being with his family). And Brad did the same for me. My wife and I went to Colombia for a month, and I could do so because Brad was able to be available for my jobs. When Brad takes you on, you become a part of his family…it’s more than a Partner.”

After about 18 months’ we mutually felt that my “menteeship” time was up and although we will always be Partners, we work more independently now.Two months ago, Brad brought a new mentee on board. Scottie Lee recently graduated from Mars Hill University with a degree in Business. Straight out of college Scottie got a job as an inside salesperson for United Rentals. Here is what Brad has to say: “I met Scottie through his father. His father and I have been friends for 30+ years. Because United Rentals was not what he was ultimately looking for, he came to me and asked about Indoff. He felt Indoff’s structure and working environment would be more fulfilling and interesting and ultimately decided to come aboard as my mentee.

Although Scottie came aboard with no outside sales experience, he has a tremendous amount of passion and desire to succeed. He is learning extremely fast, and he has hit the ground running. I gave him a few customers that I had inherited from other Partners and had never been successful working with. He started making contact with them and setting up appointments. Within a couple of weeks, he had generated quotes for over $100,000.00! In addition to those contacts, he reached out to his own contacts. He is currently working on several quotes that could easily exceed $750,000. I feel Scottie will be very successful in the future. All I have done with both Greg Isenhour and Scottie Lee is give them both directions in what we can provide customers, where to get the products or information, and they both have done the rest. I am here for them if or when they need me but are fortunate to have multiple Partners to lean on if they need help. I could not do this on my own, Brian Galloway and Tony Goodwin deserve credit as well.”

If you would like to learn more about the Mentor/Mentee program, please let me know. The program can provide you both short and long term benefit from the business you have built over your lifetime in the industry. Thank you for all you do and if I can assist in any way, please feel free to reach out. Email- angela. suntrup@indoff.com Phone 877-223-7903.

GET TO KNOW Your Corporate Staff

Before coming to Indoff to work in accounts payable, I was working in the banking industry for over six years. I opened accounts for both consumer and business clients, processed banking transactions, updated procedures and just about anything else they asked of me. I really enjoyed what I was doing in banking but wanted to gain more knowledge in accounting and put another feather in my cap! Since the day I started at Indoff, December 12, 2022, it has been very enjoyable and exciting. I am learning something new about my role here daily.

FUN FACTS

I love to read, relax and spend some quality time with my family and friends. I am also very creative and have a passion for designing positive and inspirational videos for myself and others.

I would describe myself as a very curious and laid back person, who enjoys a wide variety of things. I feel like I can thrive in basically any environment with the proper training, so I don’t have an extensive corporate background, but I can still manage and adapt rather quickly. If I’m not getting ready for a competition or coaching others for competitions I’m usually with my family, at church, or with my German Shepherd.

FUN FACTS

Fitness Coach (BodyBuilding/Powerlifting)

Huge Reader (Try to read 1-2 books every 2 weeks)

Semi Pro Bodybuilder

Tech-nerd

Valerie Kosulandich

Jeremiah Morgan

Indoff’s Sales Partners of the Month

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