Dan Smith joined Exertis Almo in January as executive vice president and COO, replacing the retiring Sam Taylor. Although he had been a vice president of sales at LG for almost 13 years, he said the distribution side of the business isn’t much different from the sales side.
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"The major pieces of the channel—manufacturers, distributors, and integrators—are all focused on the same key success factors of achieving the best results for end users, optimizing their investment, and simplifying the deployment and usage of products and services," he explained. "All three groups must work together to achieve end user satisfaction. In a well-functioning channel, we are collaborating on the same actions and goals."
"For us, it’s simple: Value-added services help deepen our relationship with customers."
Dan Smith, Exertis Almo
Smith said people often think of distributors as "pick, pack, and ship," but the Exertis Almo business model extends to what he called "market enablement." The company's goal is not just to sell products and move on, but to help its integration partners thrive. Specifically, he said value-added services are critical for system integrators to help fill in service gaps, as well as offer new and ongoing revenue streams.
"We are there to provide standard and customized support from start to finish for every AV installation," Smith offered. "We are an integrator’s one-stop-shop for product, design, and installation support for every AV project. For us, it’s simple: Value-added services help deepen our relationship with customers."
Exertis Almo has had to navigate supply chain issues, too, and Smith said the problem simply needs to be managed at this point. "From a logistics aspect, there is plenty of capacity in the industry, on the seas and on trucks," he explained. "However, because there are labor challenges, the in-country logistics system does not have the same reliability we saw pre-pandemic."
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Smith said Exertis Almo puts a lot of effort into offering a carefully selected range of Pro AV technologies and brands, which allows the company to cover each segment and provide multiple options. So, what are the hottest products in inventory? "Currently, meeting space [corporate and education] solutions for collaboration are flying off the shelves," he noted, "along with cloud-based systems and anything with LED technology."
To that end, Smith expects hybrid meeting spaces to continue to grow and evolve. "As for technology," he added, "LED continues its evolution as it keeps getting bigger and better at an extraordinary pace. IT bandwidth and storage capacities continue to grow and drop in cost, too, which enables some really interesting solutions for our digital content management for collaboration, file transport, device management, digital signage, and installation."
E4 Experience Continues in April
After a successful show in Dallas in March, the next stop for the Exertis Almo E4 Experience is April 25 in Santa Clara, CA. Two additional stops are scheduled for 2024: Teaneck, NJ, on Sept. 20 and Phoenix on Oct. 18. Registration is open for all three events. The Exertis Almo E4 Experience is a free event that features a showroom packed with Pro AV gear in use, along with a lineup of AVIXA CTS-certified business, technical, and trend sessions.
“The best part about an E4 Experience is that it’s an individual experience," said Melody Craigmyle, vice president of marketing and communications for Almo Corporation. "Attendees create their own paths, which often lead to new connections and business, additional knowledge and credentials, and inspiration that guides them to the next level in their careers.”
"Single-day, regional events offer a simple solution to the proximity challenge for travel," added Dan Smith, executive vice president and COO of Exertis Almo. "Attendees can talk to all the major product and service manufacturers in a relaxed environment. The E4 showroom is gorgeous, with all the latest technology on display, so it’s the perfect place for integrators to bring their customers.”
