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Canadian News October 08, 2018

Q&A: Shippam & Associates Celebrates 40 Years

Scott Shippam, president of Shippam & Associates (asi/325850) in Winnipeg, recently spoke with ASI Canada about reaching an impressive business milestone.

By  Sara Lavenduski

ASI Canada: When was the company first established?

Scott Shippam: Back in the 1970s, my father Brian was working as a rep for a sales manager who was diagnosed with cancer. So in 1978, he sold the business to my dad and they switched roles. Actually, he ended up living until he was 98 years old and worked for my dad for over 20 years! The company became Brian Shippam Inc. and when I joined in 1999, it became Shippam & Associates because everyone thought I was Brian. I started on the inside in customer service and then worked my way out to sales. My late brother Randy joined in 2001. My dad is 78 and semi-retired but still comes in to the office part-time.

Brian Shippam (center) with industry colleagues in the company’s early years.
 

Brian Shippam receiving the 1989 Image Award for Silver Distributor of the Year.

President Scott Shippam joined the family business in 1999. 

AC: How has the company expanded over the past 40 years?

SS: Our reach is a lot bigger now. We’ve always been in Winnipeg, though my dad started in a small building. Now we’re at 12,000 square feet and looking to add on 6,000 square feet in the future. We also have a location in Brandon, MB, and sales reps in Regina, Calgary and Vancouver, so we’ve really moved into Western Canada. We also made a few acquisitions over the past couple years. We do special orders, fulfillment, kitting, pack-and-ship and year-end awards. We did close to $10 million last year and we’re growing steadily each year. When we first started, we did mostly ashtrays, lighters and pens.

AC: What’s one of your favorite projects your team has worked on?

SS: We recently put together a program online for a client that has several business divisions we work with. We manage all their workwear for the field and their corporate wear for the head office. We upload the employees’ profiles into the site and they can go online and order what they need. Service awards are in there too. It’s a hub for all their stuff. A lot of big companies offer this, but it’s unique for a boutique family business like ours. It’s a differentiator for us. If a company wants the service but wants to buy locally, benefit from better service and more face-to-face time, we can help them out.

Shippam employees pose in their fan gear in support of the Winnipeg Jets when they competed in the playoffs.

AC: What advice would you give to those who are just starting out in the industry?

SS: You have to be client-focused, you have to have tenacity and you can’t be scared of No because typically in this industry, those you call on already have someone. Each sales rep is their own brand; how do they provide value? Know your buyer and their habits. Do they want to see you or no? Do they want samples or no? Also, it takes about two years to build traction with a book of business.

AC: What are your business plans for the next year?

SS: We’re setting ourselves up to grow our company program business. It’s a huge opportunity. Companies don’t want to manage their own merchandise anymore. They’re sick of closets full of stuff. We’ll manage it for them, we’ll be their fulfillment center. And we want to grow our facility to accommodate that. We’re also working with our graphic designer to develop more sales decks, and really customizing them for our prospects and clients.

AC: How have you celebrated 40 years?

SS: We released a special 40th anniversary company logo. We had a special event for staff. And we had a big event where we rented out an airplane hangar and invited suppliers and customers and had a live band. We handed out travel-themed promo products and gave away a trip for two.

Brian Shippam and sales rep Stewart Simons attend the anniversary party.

Brian Shippam and sales rep Cathy Greer.

The Shippam family and friends celebrate at the anniversary event after-party.

AC:  What are some lessons you’ve learned over the years?

SS: Companies really have to differentiate themselves, because we’re competing more and more with big distributors and Amazon. Those one- and two-man operations are really starting to struggle. We all sell the same product; you differentiate yourself with personal touches. Be proactive with ideas before clients even know they need them. Get a hold of them early, instead of letting them panic at the last minute. We now realize it’s about them, not us. And we’re all getting smarter about not allowing just anyone open an account, just because they have a heartbeat and a credit card.