Fifteen months after ASI’s first webinar discussing the COVID-19 pandemic, the same four panelists returned to review what they’ve learned while preparing for the future of the promotional products industry.

Tim Andrews, president and CEO of ASI, hosted the roundtable of executives from Top 40 distributors: Phil Koosed, president of BAMKO (asi/131431); Jo Gilley, CEO of Overture Promotions (asi/288473); Craig Nadel, president and CEO of Jack Nadel International (JNI, asi/279600); and Jo-an Lantz, president and CEO of Geiger (asi/202900) and the 2020 Counselor Person of the Year.

Panelists, each of whom are on Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people, shared insights about the current state of their businesses. Koosed said that BAMKO has been experiencing continuous record-breaking growth, as Q1 promo sales topped the company’s record in Q4 2020. Nadel noted that JNI’s sales have been amazing in June thus far, indicating that business is very much coming back. Drop-shipments have played a major role; whereas 20% of JNI’s shipments went to residences before the pandemic, now it’s between 65%-70%. “The return of events is the final ingredient missing for business to do extremely well,” said Nadel, who noted that he’s looking forward to attending ASI Chicago.

While more people receive vaccinations and a return to normalcy feels closer than ever, companies are determining whether to bring their workers back to the office. Having successfully made the transition over a year ago, many employees aren’t ready to give up the comfort of working from home. BAMKO, Overture and Geiger are currently crafting long-term hybrid solutions, allowing their teams to decide how many days per week they will come into the office. “Offering that flexibility has advantages for recruiting and retaining really great talent,” Koosed says.

Gilley noted that 83% of Overture’s employees are vaccinated after partnering with a local clinic to administer the shots. Those who aren’t vaccinated have to wear a mask in the office. The same policy goes for those who’ve volunteered to return to Geiger’s offices. However, Lantz said that when the hybrid policy is finalized and implemented on October 1, vaccination will be left up to each employee’s discretion.

Meanwhile, JNI is mandating that all employees return to the office next month. “We know we’re probably going to lose some good, talented people by asking them to come back, but we think we work better in the office,” Nadel said.

Establishing adequate staffing levels has been a challenge for companies across industries due to the tight labor market, which has especially impacted Overture and Geiger. “It’s really hard finding employees for the warehouse, embroidery, screen printing and kitting,” Gilley says. “We’ve had to up our temp agency rate.”

Finding workers for Geiger’s decoration and distribution centers has been so challenging that the company has re-implemented its “friends and family program,” in which current employees are asked if they can recommend friends or family to work. “Employees only recommend people who will show up because they feel it’s a reflection on them,” Lantz says. “They’re your best recruiters.”

The panelists also discussed the shipping delays, inventory issues and rising prices plaguing the industry. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Lantz says, echoing the sentiments of her fellow panelists.

The panelists also discussed supply chain disruption, consolidation, technological advancements, cybersecurity and much more.