QCA Distributor Advocacy Group & Council
Distributors Show Support For QCA
In the recent years, headlines have exposed a myriad of unsafe retail merchandise as well as promotional products that have entered the U.S. market from overseas sources. From drinkware tainted with cadmium to children’s products with ingestion hazards, the number of recalls from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission are not only accelerating, but they are also becoming more public—doing more damage to corporate brands in the process.
During this time, dozens of promotional products distributors contacted QCA asking how they could support the QCA initiative, stay abreast of all the changing compliance regulations and deliver safe product to their customers. These distributors recognize the demand for compliance solutions is accelerating and is being driven by their Fortune 1000 customers, and they must take a proactive stance on compliance expectations from the manufacturers in their supply chains.
To meet the needs of these distributors and help them meet the end-buyer mandate to deliver safe and compliant promotional products, QCA formed the Distributor Advocacy Group in July 2010.
In April 2011, a small subset of Distributor Advocacy Group was elevated to become the Distributor Advocacy Council and work more closely with the QCA Board of Directors. This Council is comprised of the distributors who have the strongest commitment to compliance and have chosen QCA Accreditation as a key criterion for selecting their preferred supplier programs when making sourcing decisions.
The following Distributor Advocacy Council members represent more than $1 billion in annual promotional products sales:
Together, the Distributor Advocacy Council and QCA Accredited Suppliers are working to further develop the industry’s leading compliance solutions as well as the resources and educational materials needed to effectively communicate the QCA Certification Program to the corporate marketplace.
What distributors are saying:
“At Summit, we recognize that our success is based on the quality of our relationships with our customers, employees, suppliers and communities. As such, we strive to be a socially responsible company and know that the trust our customers have in us is not to be taken lightly. We work hard to see that the goods we sell are made in compliance with applicable laws, and we seek supplier partners who share our commitment to quality products and business principles. As part of our Key Supplier Program in 2011, Summit will encourage suppliers to consider QCA as a compliance solution if they are not already accredited within the marketplace.”
LeeAnn Schumacher
Director of Strategic Sourcing and Merchandising
Summit Marketing Group
“QCA Accredited Suppliers are accepting the responsibility for delivering compliant products and taking the proactive steps to address our needs, and these are the types of suppliers with whom we should be working. Additionally, the QCA effort is particularly important to us because it not only protects our clients brand equity but it also helps us protect our own brand—and it is the right thing to do.”
Tim Brown
Supplier Relationship Manager
Cintas Corporation
“The continued growth of QCA is extremely important to us and the industry because there is no alternative offering that is as comprehensive as QCA Accreditation, especially for the smaller orders with shorter lead times that make up so much of the industry’s volume. We are supporting the initiative by adding QCA Accredited Suppliers to our preferred supplier programs and will continue to do so as more suppliers achieve certification.”
Memo Kahan
Owner
PromoShop, Inc.
“Selling safe and compliant products through QCA Accredited Suppliers is a way to distinguish oneself from competitors, and there is significant opportunity for increased market share and greater revenue. The QCA initiative is one of the most important areas of focus for our company in the next year.”
Rod Brown
CFO
MadeToOrder
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