VENDOR HIGHLIGHT: Q&A WITH DAN KIEFER, K3S
SOUTHERN: Could you give me a brief history of your company and how you got started in the business? K3S was started in 1990 by King Harrison III. Although King III (K3) started his career at IBM, K3 found his passion for purchasing and replenishment systems in the late 1970’s while working for Family Dollar Stores. After his time at FDS, K3 worked for a stand-alone purchasing software company before branching out on his own in 1990. SOUTHERN: How many years has company been in business and how many employees are there? This June 1st, 2021 will mark 31 years in business for K3S. Today K3S has a team of 14 professionals who help our customers located in North America and the Caribbean. SOUTHERN: What is necessary to succeed in this business? It seems like the C-store industry presents new challenges to our customers every day. We have been successful because our K3S team and tools have been flexible enough to adapt to this changing environment. Whether it is new vendor programs, changing vendor minimums, erratic lead times or being able to source products from multiple suppliers, wholesalers have to be creative in their handling of the environment, and so do we.
62 | THE SOUTHERN 98TH ANNUAL MEETING • 2021
SOUTHERN: Is there anyone who has been a mentor for you in the industry? We have been fortunate to have some fantastic customers over the years. None may be more instrumental to our success in the industry than Mark Davenport. Mark and his team helped us build many of the features that have been so critical to our success like daily replenishment for purchasing cigarettes and fresh food. In addition, Mark and his team helped us to create a completely separate product for replenishing retail locations. That product has helped us not just in the C-store industry but across all of the other industries that we support. SOUTHERN: How long have you been a Southern member? 20 years SOUTHERN: What keeps you coming back to the meetings? The Southern meetings have been invaluable to us to connect with so many of our existing customers in one location. Also, the education sessions provide us with valuable insight we may not otherwise have. SOUTHERN: What is the best part of the meetings? The Southern is so much different than other shows we attend. The relaxed environment really gives us a chance to get to know our customers and users on a more personal level. SOUTHERN: What are your words of wisdom to someone getting started in the business? Ask for help. So many people feel like they need to be the expert all of the time, but it’s amazing how much you can learn if you just ask. This is a close-nit community that is more than willing to help.
SOUTHERN: What is the main reason someone should be a member of the Southern? The Southern has more of a sense of community than any event I’ve seen before. As the saying goes, “A rising sea lifts all boats”. The members of The Southern really understand this. SOUTHERN: What is the biggest issue facing this industry today? I know “government regulations” is a go to answer for this, but you could easily say it’s data management. Wholesalers have a ton of data in various computer systems. All of this information can easily be converted to usable information if you can get access to it. We’ve been working on ways to give our customers easy access to all of the data in K3S through a feature called “Retriever”. SOUTHERN: If someone were interested in coming to the Annual meeting for the first time …what would you advise them? Do it. This is such a unique meeting. The connections you make will serve you extremely well moving forward.
“The relaxed environment (of the Southern Annual Meeting) gives us a chance to get to know our customers on a more personal level.”
