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ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, in partnership with Sustainability Dashboard Tools, LLC, has kicked off phase two of the new Distributor Efficiency Analytics and Learning (DEAL) program. DEAL is a comprehensive program that incorporates learning, analytics, and awards to help distributors, wholesalers, and manufacturers benchmark their performance, streamline their operations, and realize significant savings in warehouse facility and transportation expenses.
Why Participate in the DEAL Program?
Distribution companies are facing stiff financial pressure, but are wasting 10-30 percent of their finances on facility and fleet operating costs. DEAL can help businesses reduce up to 30 percent of these costs.
“Reliable data gathering and analytics allows us to see the big picture,” says ISSA executive director John Barrett. “This systematic process helps companies identify inefficiencies, create realistic targets for improvement, ascertain their competitive edge, and last, but not least, gain recognition for their environmental leadership. Through DEAL, companies can meet their customers' growing requirements for supply-chain information, compare their performance to other cleaning-industry distributors and other distributors nationally, and receive ongoing, cost-effective consulting on efficient operations.”
ISSA’s DEAL program began with a pilot launch in fall 2016. ISSA recognizes and congratulates the participating companies for their industry leadership and cooperation in making this pilot program a success.
DEAL Program Feedback
“One of the best things the DEAL program does is review invoices,” says Connor Flynn, buyer at Alliance Paper & Foodservice Equipment, who participates in the DEAL program. “If a provider charges an unusually high amount for waste, water, or electricity one month, DEAL will notify us. Identifying price discrepancies promptly, whether it is billing- or operations-related, saves a great deal of time and money for DEAL participants.”
Leading sustainability experts— like Brenna Walraven, Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) fellow and president and CEO of Corporate Sustainability Strategies, Inc.— have recognized the DEAL program for its practical approach. “What benchmarking does is give you improved visibility on your performance to help teams better manage costs and performance,” says Walraven, who consults with the DEAL program and presented at a recent DEAL Learning Session. “The great news here is that the DEAL program is a huge asset because it does the heavy lifting by managing the benchmarking process for you. Rather than being a data entry clerk, the ISSA DEAL program gives you the time to visualize the data and focus on opportunities for cost savings and revenue generation.”
The DEAL Process for Participants
Through its Learning Sessions, including e-learning and webinars, the DEAL program coaches and guides participants to ensure they understand the process thoroughly. Then DEAL’s Analytics component help participants track their performance, identify opportunities for improvement across multiple facilities, and compare their operations to other companies with similar attributes on a national U.S. level. The program’s Awards component kicks in to recognize and reward participants who have implemented the program successfully.
“DEAL offers a prescriptive learning platform, teaching best practices from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR and SmartWay transportation programs,” says ISSA market research & analytics director Jonathan Adkins. “We are very pleased with the results of the DEAL pilot program and look forward to helping more ISSA-member companies share in this success.”
Above all, the ISSA DEAL program makes it easy for companies to save money in their facility and fleet operations. Companies interested in discovering how DEAL can help them save up to 30 percent in operating costs may schedule a free online demonstration.
For more information on the DEAL program or to sign up for a free demonstration, visit issa.com/deal.
