Thoughts on the industry

For solution sales, face to face interaction is essential. This is true for all industries, not just pulp and paper.

Why title or start a column with a question? That seems to be my first instinct when I sit down to write my next piece. I think I do that because I'm in a pondering mood...which invites questions. Maybe it's because I don't feel I have answers to write about, so I default to the questions I seek. At this moment, what is rolling around in my head is if I would encourage my college freshman daughter to go into the paper manufacturing industry.

Most people in society have some sort of "hobby" that brings them joy. It's definitely an integral part of a happy life. By hobby, I mean some sort of activity, mental or physical, that lights a fire in your soul. Gets you off your butt for some part of the day or week. Surrounds you with interesting people that share your passion. You lose track of time while engaging in the activity. You think about getting back to that activity while you're burdened with something else to do - be it work, or errands, or family responsibilities...whatever.

As more and more people age out of the workforce, what does that leave for us folks who have to keep the invoice printer spinning?

One aspect of modern society that has greatly changed over my lifetime is how my entertainment is consumed. I'm squarely in Generation X. There is probably a wide range of generations reading this article, from Baby Boomers to Millennials - I would be surprised if we appeal to any Y's or Z's. Do they even consume opinion columns not on TikTok? That only feeds my point of how entertainment consumption changes. Nevertheless, changing of personal habits over time, through technology adoption, is a common theme whatever generation you happen to find yourself.

I'm a fanatic when it comes to consuming quotes and memes. My Photos library is full of those that I tuck away through my surfing habits on the web. If I read something that strikes me as fundamental or sound or pithy - something that strikes "a chord" for me - it's an automatic screen capture and highlighter tool. This obsession preceded these modern tools of cataloguing my finds.

Reading Jim Thompson's column on "the package deal" a month or two ago got me thinking. I've had the privilege of working for some amazing companies offering outstanding products and services to paper manufacturers and consumer products brands. They were the best in the business, for the most part. One of the most difficult challenges for me in those massive companies on the commercial side (i.e. selling) was how broad the portfolios of products and services are that I need to represent with any given customer.

If you read my last column, you heard about how a Chief Purchasing Officer of a global, Fortune 50 manufacturing company views categories of spend, risks, contracts, and global suppliers. I did not have enough space to cover all my questions and answers from the interview, so we will pick right up where we left off.

Have you noticed how many "chiefs" there are now in large corporations? Historically, there was always the Chief Executive Officer. The head honcho. The person reporting to the Board of Directors of public companies or directly to owners in a privately held company. Even that role didn't come about until well into the 1920's. Henry Ford was only the President at Ford Motor Company. Then, along came the Chief Operating Officer, leader of all operational assets and people, then the Chief Financial Officer, leader of the capital structure and investor base. In modern times, over the last couple decades, you can add in Chief Information Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and even a Chief Diversity Officer. Lots of chiefs these days are needed to manage a vast and sprawling organization to meet the goals set forth by the Board of Directors.

There are many examples of transaction costs I could get into (e.g. brand promises, goodwill on balance sheets), but let's just focus the meat of the column on how this may apply to commercial relationships between buyers and sellers.

What's better for society, culture, or an economy - thousands of local retail shops owned and operated by individuals and families or large corporate stores? Personally, I used to love to visit my now-defunct community hardware store for that screw I needed or a better plunger since gallons-per-flush on modern toilets has been governed. Now I feel helpless and soulless walking through a massive hardware retail chain taking too much time to find what I need while being barraged with opportunities to buy more things than I need. Is a more apt comparison for Nip Impression readers a small, family-run paper mill (usually multi-generational) versus the corporate mill?

It takes grit to keep moving forward for those looking to impact change and innovate. True grit. I find these opportunities in solution selling, but you can find it in whatever field or role you find yourself in.

With a blank sheet of paper staring at me, I sit and wonder, "what is it that I do for my employers, for my customers?" That line of thinking kindled a much bigger flame of what is the role of a person in "Sales". I think it is very nuanced and influenced much by semantics. What does sales mean?

Those of us in the industry know how sustainable our materials and substrates are that we produce. Forest growth happens naturally while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Paper-based products bio-degrade readily. Paper-based products are quite easy to recycle once collected and sorted. The public is not fully aware how natural and organic our industry really is due to intense environmental lobbies and propaganda.