Simon King is the new Chairman of the SEMA Distributor Group (SDG) and officially took up office on October 18th at the SDG Annual General Meeting.
The SDG was launched in September 2011 to bring together distributor members of the storage industry who want to collectively raise standards.
The group comprises 29 members and is fully integrated into the Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA). Members of the SDG are known as SEMA Distributor Companies (SDCs) and are entitled to display the SDC logo on promotional materials and vehicles.
Simon King has a clear vision of the SDG’s direction. He says: “My main aims are twofold. Firstly, I want end users to know that clear blue water exists between SDG members and the rest of the industry. The SDG is a group of companies who are investing both financially and in their time to give the best levels of service and quality. It’s imperative that end users of storage equipment are made aware of this. I look forward to putting the case for SDG members at the forthcoming annual SEMA Safety Conference on 1st November.
“There are minimum standards required by our members, and it is the proposal of the SDG committee that these criteria will increase over the coming years. Our next step is a review of current compliance standards, to use SEMA resources to assist members who have needs to reach those standards.
“This “member assists member” approach has worked very well informally in our industry, and despite being potential competitors there is plenty of scope for further collaboration. We are looking to establish a QA system where we can demarcate how the SDG adds value in key areas such as quality, health and safety, with our members being the only distributor in the industry audited for quality by the recognised body for standards setting in the UK storage equipment industry.
“SDG members have invested in the SEMA brand and it’s more than just a badge. They benefit from insider knowledge direct from SEMA on new standards and developments as part of their membership of our standards issuing agency.
“Secondly, it’s an old cliché but never more true. Our members are only as good as their suppliers. Together, our group will use its collective weight and influence to create better dialogue with manufacturers on service issues. The group has launched the Supplier of the Year Awards for best and most improved suppliers. We will also focus on gathering information on consistent poor performing suppliers and seek dialogue with these suppliers at a senior level using the collective influence of our members.”
SEMA
Tel: 0121 601 6350
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