The Five Stages Of Compliance Grief

Each week, distributors ask me for help with responses to their clients' compliance requests. And what's even better, I regularly see distributors going on offense and proactively introducing suppliers with compliance solutions to their customers. It has taken time, but suppliers are getting the message about compliance as more and more industry leading distributors are actively voting with their purchase orders and rewarding those suppliers that do a better job of helping them meet their client needs.

Change is often a painful process. But those who can move through the grief and see the opportunities that lie ahead of them will come out the other side with the tools necessary to grow their businesses and be an integral partner to their clients.

Brent Stone is executive director - operations for Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), the promotional products industry's only independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping companies provide safe products. A Six Sigma Black Belt, Stone has more than 25 years of in-depth supply chain management experience with extensive expertise in process design, development, improvement and management. He can be reached at brent@qcalliance.org or visit www.qcalliance.org for more information.