Welcome to the American Wholesale Marketers Association

AWMA is the place to come to when convenience distributors need information on legislative and regulatory issues; operations and logistics; management techniques, such as activity-based costing; and expanding product categories, like foodservice. And AWMA offers various forums that bring together convenience distributors and their trading partners, allowing them to discuss issues of importance.

As a member of the American Wholesale Marketers Association, you get access to great programs, services and benefits that offset your dues investment:

In partnership with the Tobacco Merchants Association, AWMA delivers to its distributor members two weekly reports–the AWMA U.S. Tobacco Weekly and AWMA Tobacco Legislative News. This is a GREAT member value–if this information was purchased separately, for most distributors, it would exceed the cost of AWMA membership.

Personnel from member wholesale companies are allowed to sign up for the e-mails. If your company is a wholesaler member and you’d like to sign up, please contact AWMA’s Jennifer Moulton at jenniferm@awmanet.org or at 800-482-2962, ext. 640.

Representation on Capitol Hill. AWMA represents the convenience distribution industry on Capitol Hill. We keep on top of bills being introduced in Congress and track their movement. Through our Political Action Committee (PAC), we raise money for pro-business candidates. In addition, we have a Political Education Fund (PEF), which, unlike the PAC, can accept corporate donations and supports a range of political activities.

AWMA lobbies for issues that affect convenience distributors, paying particularly close attention to legislation on tobacco, taxes, labor, and other small-business issues. For more information, visit our extensive Government Affairs section which contains a wealth of info on your national, state and local elected officials and allows you to communicate with them directly.

Reduced fees to attend and exhibit in the REAL DEAL EXPO. This annual event is one-of-a-kind—the ONLY trade show geared to convenience distributors. Exhibitors include purveyors of tobacco products, candy, beverages, snacks, foodservice, health and beauty care items, general merchandise, warehouse equipment, computer systems, and much more. In addition, the REAL DEAL offers many educational sessions designed specifically for convenience distributors and their trading partners.

Attendance at AWMA Summit and Business Exchange. Only AWMA members pay half the rate that non-members pay for this action-packed event, which covers the most important issues affecting convenience distributors. Past topics have included regulation of tobacco, Wall Street analysis of the tobacco industry, distributor profitability, new product categories, confectionery sales, and more. Every year, the Summit earns rave reviews from attendees, who say the conference provides them with information that they can’t get anywhere else.

Exclusive access to AWMA’s educational programs. AWMA offers several education conferences throughout the year, available FOR MEMBERS ONLY.

	AWMA’s Systems to Enhance Professional Selling (STEPS) is a renowned program designed to train distributor sales managers. Taught by popular instructor Doug MacKay of The Glen Douglas Group, this program is offered in the spring and fall and fills up quickly. Through the generosity of Hershey Foods, this program is all-expenses-paid for AWMA members!
	Two Ray Foley memorial scholarships are given out every year to employees of AWMA-member distributor companies, as well as to the sons and daughters of these employees. The scholarships are worth $5,000 apiece.

An Insurance Program Tailored Specifically for Convenience Distributors. It’s been tough for convenience distributors to find affordable property and liability insurance coverage in recent years. Despite their solid track record, distributors haven’t gotten the sort of rates and coverage they deserve. In an effort to do something about it, we’ve started the AWMA Insurance Program, available in all 50 states through William R. Seide Agency LLC. To obtain more information or a quote, contact William Seide at (800) 621-0052; Fax: (800) 656-0053 or send an e-mail to wseide@wrsagency.com.

Free or discounted industry-specific reports. Every year, AWMA members get the chance to participate in the HIPA (Hershey Industry Performance Analysis) report, which measures the profitability of convenience distributors. Participants can also see how they stack up against their peers in terms of salary, number of employees by function, number of SKUs and more. Those members that do participate in the HIPA report get a free copy of the report–no one else, except the study participants, has access to HIPA. (AWMA members who want to make sure they get the next HIPA form to fill out should e-mail Kathy Trost at kathyt@awmanet.org.)

AWMA also conducts research on a variety of other industry topics, and the resulting reports are offered to members either for free or for a discounted price. Past topics have included distributors’ use of technology, SKU and sales analysis, human resources and more. For more information on our research reports, visit the Other Publications link on our site, or e-mail Kathy Trost at kathyt@awmanet.org or call her at 800-482-2962, ext. 644.

Membership in peer-to-peer groups. These groups, each consisting of non-competing companies, are open only to employees of AWMA-member distributors. AWMA offers to arrange meetings for the peer groups at the AWMA REAL DEAL EXPO and the AWMA Distribution Summit, and each group chooses the topics it wishes to discuss. Members of the groups often communicate on their own throughout the year and arrange their own meetings. Many members of AWMA’s peer groups say it is one of their most important reasons for belonging to the association. To receive information and an application on AWMA’s peer-to-peer groups, e-mail Kathy Trost at kathyt@awmanet.org or click here to download a PDF (40k) of the peer group application, which includes a list of peer group members.

Free subscription to Distribution Channels magazine and other publications. When you become a member of AWMA, you can sign up as many employees as you want to receive Distribution Channels, the only magazine covering the issues of interest to convenience distributors. The December issue of Distribution Channels includes the annual AWMA membership directory/buying guide — a $250 value! AWMA also offers the AWMA Members Only newsletter, which keeps members up-to-date about the happenings within the association, as well as all of its offerings. And the weekly e-mail newsletter AWMA Executive Update keeps members informed about important legislation and association activities.

Participation in Cigarette Tax Bond Program. AWMA’s Cigarette Tax Bond Program allows wholesalers to post bonds to purchase state and local excise tax stamps for cigarettes on credit. Without this credit, distributors would have to pay cash for the tax stamps before receiving payment from customers, presenting serious cash flow problems. Today, the tax bond program provides more than $150 million in bonds to nearly 100 distributors. The program is funded through the generous support of Lorillard Tobacco Co and Liggett Vector Brands. For more information, contact Scott Ramminger at 800-482-2962, ext. 641, or scottr@awmanet.org.

Purchase mailing labels. Only members are allowed to purchase mailing labels of our membership. For more information, contact Jennifer Moulton at 800-482-2962, ext. 640, or jenniferm@awmanet.org.

Discounts through National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW). Through NAW, AWMA has set up several discounted programs for its members, including the following:

	Through the NAW Affinity program, AWMA members can get 5% off long distance rates and other benefits from Sprint. Call 800-473-0898 for more details.
	Through the NAW/AWMA program, receive 10% off Hertz rentals for business or pleasure. When making reservations, call 800-654-2200 and give them the NAW CDP number, 55709.
	Customized Shipping Discounts for AWMA Members! Through a unique partnership, AWMA has made it easy for members to save on all types of shipping services. We’ve teamed up with the leading transportation providers in the industry, including Yellow Transportation, Roadway Express, UPS Supply Chain Solutions, DHL, USF & New Penn. Whether you ship envelopes, packages, or heavy freight, these carriers have a solution. Save at least 52% with Yellow and Roadway on North American LTL freight Save 20% on International air freight and 45% on heavy North American air freight with UPS Supply Chain Solutions Save up to 25% with DHL on express air, ground, and international services Save at least 52% with USF and New Penn on regional, next day less than truckload freight services throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada regional next day less than truckload To take advantage of your AWMA member benefits, or to find out how much you can save on your next shipment, call your shipping benefit consultants at 1-800-MEMBERS (636-2377) Ext 303. For more information about the AWMA Shipping Program, visit http://www.1800members.com/awma.
	For more information, see www.naw.org/business.html.