 Jerry Burris, President of the Barnes Group, one of our corporate members will open Day 3 of the show as our breakfast speaker. "Barnes Group is a diversified global components manufacturer and logistical services company, providing thousands of products and unrivaled service to customers around the globe." The Barnes Group is a corporate member of the GNEMSDC.. Mr. Burris is a knowledgeable friend of the Council who previously was the chief procurement officer at GE Industrial Systems in Connecticut. We welcome Jerry back and look forward to his comments
After breakfast and the ceremonial ribbon cutting, the Trade Expo will begin. Last year we had over 120 booths at the program and we expect even more this year. Corporate members use this show to meet MBEs and other corporate members. MBEs use the show to market their goods and services in an environment that is the next best thing to having a corporate member visit them in their own place of business. The Sponsors' Luncheon will follow the morning session of the Expo. We are fortunate this year to have as our Keynote Speaker for the luncheon, Murray Martin, the President and CEO of Pitney Bowes. Celebrating its 90th year of innovation, Pitney Bowes is a $5.6 billion company that employs 33,000 worldwide and provides software, hardware and services that integrate physical and digital communications channels. "Long known for making its customers more productive, Pitney Bowes is increasingly helping other companies grow their business. Every connection is a new opportunity™." We look forward to hearing a message from the leader of one of the most respected corporations in the country. After lunch, we will be back for the afternoon session of the Expo. In Jeff Fox's book, How to be a Fierce Competitor, he tells a story that captures the advantages of staying late. It is a case of a salesman who makes the largest sale in his company's history simply because he was there until the end of the day. I think MBEs and corporate exhibitors and attendees should remember this with regards to the afternoon session of the Expo. And our Expo would not be complete without a great raffle. MBEs and corporate members are encouraged to donate items that we can raffle off. The proceeds from this raffle go to the educational fund that allow us to provide executive education for MBEs. This year we have already funded four MBEs to attend executive education at Tuck and Kellogg. We would like to fund more. Give Jerilyn Clarke in the GNEMSDC office a call to make your tax deductible donation. · GNEMSDC Trade Expo Registration is Now Open | You are now invited to click on the link below to register for the GNEMSDC Business Opportunity Conference and Expo, The Expo is the largest event of its kind in New England. The program starts on September 29 and ends on October 1. Once again we will be at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods. The current agenda is also available to look at on line. You can also secure your hotel room at the discounted price of $140 per night. Last year we exceeded our room allotment by over 50 percent. Please call early and reserve your room, because there is no guarantee that you will be able to get a room once we have reached our allotment. | GNEMSDC Business Opportunity Conference and Expo Registration and Information |
MBEs, Oligopoly and the Competitive Fringe Last week I had the honor of speaking to a group of MBEs and executives at Staples. The topic of my remarks was on the topic of marketing to NMSDC corporate members. I used this opportunity to address both the MBEs in the audience and the Staples executives on what economic theory suggests should be the approach to MBEs in the oligopolistic office supply industry. Economic theory tells a very consistent story when it comes to the market extremes of perfectly competitive and monopolitic markets. In perfectly competitive markets, firms are forced to be efficient in order to survive, consumers benefit from low prices and shareholders only earn a normal return on their capital in the long run. Under monopolisitic conditions, firms are generally lazy or become lazy with regards to productivity, prices tend to be high, and shareholders earn higher than normal profits. (There are some economists who argue that monopoliists can be profuctive and innovative, if for no other reason than that they have the resources to be innovative.) Most markets in our economy fall in between these two extremes. One such market structure is oligopoly where there are not many firms as under perfectly competitive conditions, there are but a few dominant firms. Under oligopolistic market conditions, the dominance of a few major firms in the industry creates what economists call interdependence among the players. Where there is interdependence, the major firms can behave cooperatively or they can engage in cut-throat competition. Antii-trust laws and regulators exist to create oligopolists from engaging in collusion, which often results in higher prices, divided markets and other efforts that end up costing consumers. One other important characteristic often found in oligopolistic markets is what economists call the "competitive fringe". While in oligopolistic markets there are a few dominant firms often controlling a significant portion of industry sales, there are often large numbers of small firms operating on the margin of these markets. In the office products industry, even a firm with $300 million in annual sales would represent less than1 percent of the combined sales of the big three. In office products, telecommunications, consulting, pharmaceutical, HR staffing, automotive supply and other industries there are large numbers of small firms who have little market power and are often at the mercy of the major players in the industry. This competitive fringe is where many of our MBEs find themselves. So the question I addressed to my Staples audience is how do MBEs successfully compete in these markets? The answer to this question assumes first and foremost that MBEs are highly efficient, technologically savvy, operationally sound, well capitalized and understand their market realities. Assuming those things, the key MBE success in oligopolisitic markets is that MBEs need to establish themselves locally. As our Keynote Speakers at the upcoming Trade Expo, would say: MBEs have to become "Rainmakers" in their local markets. Becoming a Rainmaker in your local market acknowledges that the major players are going to focus on big game, but even they will make mistakes and miss some profitable opportunities that for whatever reason are not attracting their sharklike attention. Secondly, MBEs have to be first to pick out those entrepreneurial firms that are currently flying completely under the radar screen of the major players. I told the audience, MBEs have to identify the next Googles and Facebooks. Entrepreneurial firms that take off often bring with them the suppliers who were there from the beginning. Another strategy that MBEs on the competitive fringe can pursue, or more accurately, should pursue is to utilize the advantages of being small. We often talk about the disadvantages of being small, but we rarely talk about the advantages of being small. Smaller firms can be more nimble, more responsivie to market change, more responsive to customer needs, and quicker to adopt new technologies. Smaller firms also have the advantages of not having the burden of legacy systems and obligations; just ask the automotive industry about legacy. Smaller firms can also take risks that are often difficult for large conpanies with their bureacracies, legal departments and corporate cultures that at times can stagnate growth because of their inherent aversion to risk. MBEs on the competitive fringe can offer and market their ability to respond to customer demand. This is attractive to large corporations. . And finally, MBEs on the competitive fringe often must align themselves with one of the major players. This happens often where one of the majors has a cadre of minority suppliers that are unique to that leader. These diverse suppliers come in handy when the majors are looking to include minority participation on corporate contracts. This strategy for MBEs is what has been the dominant marketing strategy when it comes to selling to NMSDC corporate members. I closed my remarks by stating the fact that oligopolistic markets are not fixed in stone; technologies change, demographics conditions change, laws change. Over time MBEs can become major players in new markets, but those on the competitive fringe are most likely going to stay there unless, in the words of Star Trek, they boldly go where no one has gone before. | 
