PPB July 2020

temporarily closing their business, may viewmy products as non-essential and not come back. “Budgets, understandably, will go to other areas of their business,” she says, adding that she did take advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program and it’s helping but she’s not sure what may happen when that runs out before her business comes back. She also had to deactivate her SAGE membership due to budget constraints and is concerned new distributors will not know about the company or know to contact it. With fingers crossed, she says she hopes sales will be back by fourth quarter of this year but realistically, she’s anticipating 2021. “Business will trickle in but to return to previous levels …?” The supply chain post-COVID is another concern. “Everything will take longer and be more expensive,” she says. “So far, factories have been able to import fromother countries the rawmaterials they need for our pins: copper, iron and aluminum. I’mnot experiencing any problems fromoverseas. My factories are up and ready to run at full capacity—they are just waiting for us to come back with orders.” If nothing else, the pandemic taught Ledbetter and her teamhow to look for new opportunities. “We are looking for new customers to expand the category of clients we now service and for newways to connect with them,” she says, adding the example of perfecting a short video introduction. “We are looking at our core values andmatching them with businesses and foundations where a partnershipmakes sense.” She’s also using the company newsletter and social media to share what fraternal clubs her customers are using to help their communities. “These ideas will help others by giving themknowledge of how to help and how to go about organizing projects to assist others,” she says. These exercises and working to be innovative in other ways, have helped her team to be more creative and energized by the challenges they are facing. “We have ideas for newways of selling, new designs and products. More importantly, how to use our products inmeaningful and effective ways,” she adds. As far as what to look forward to as the industry ramps back up, she says, “Relationships and trust will be evenmore important between distributors and suppliers. I expect the relationship to strengthen with a greater understanding and respect for each other’s position.” She’s also optimistic about promotional products and her category specifically. “There will always be a need to deliver a message through marketing and branding, and special collections and keepsakes are important to people nowmore than ever, and that is so much a part of our company.” Events are also the lifeblood of BamBams inManassas, Virginia, which sells promo products in a variety of categories, including those used by sports teams and at outdoor events such as the company’s namesake: an inflated, sealed noisemaker. “At BamBams, a majority of our products are imported so we were faced with a large challenge entering March,” says Zack Harvey, director of sales. “As events started being cancelled and pipelines were drying up, we began working with our network of factory partners and logistics team to begin importing masks, gowns and various other PPE items that we could offer to our distributor partners.” The company was able to remain open during the pandemic, and its U.S. production facility was fully operational while taking precautions for social distancing. Sales, accounting, design and support staff worked remotely to keep up with orders. Now as business has begun opening more fully, Harvey’s concern or challenge “is being able to fill the PPE orders in a timely manner. Everyone is concerned with the health and safety of their community and we are working with our factory partners to provide the best quality products in a reasonable time at a competitive price.” He’s unsure when sales might return to pre-lockdown levels because of the prospect of a second wave of the virus but he’s optimistic about the health of the supply chain. “We believe the industry supply chain will recover, but that a portion of the focus will remain in importing PPE, especially protective items that can be branded. BamBams is known for providing unique and custom items to our customers, and that won’t change. However, because of our longevity and business relationships with our factory partners, we were able to quickly bring PPE to our market and we will continue to do so.” As far as the future for BamBams and the industry, Harvey says, “While there might be a new normal, BamBams will continue to provide ‘products that excite,' as well as grow our company based on success measured through customer satisfaction and empower our teammembers to grow their business partnerships.” Tina Berres Filipski is editor of PPB. Zack Harvey Director of Sales, BamBams We believe the industry supply chain will recover, but that a portion of the focus will remain in importing PPE. Zack Harvey, director of sales for BamBams Supplier Insights | FEATURE | JULY 2020 | 49