Known for their digital-first strategy, Sai Koppaka and Alan Tabasky have steered BEL USA, parent company of supplier BEL Promo (asi/39552) and Top 40 distributor DiscountMugs.com (asi/181120), to new heights. One of the market’s largest e-commerce players, DiscountMugs.com has increased its sales by 72% since 2013, reaching $214.8 million in revenue in 2018.

Sai Koppaka, president and CEO of BEL USA (left) and Alan Tabasky, VP & GM of BEL USA

Mainstays of Counselor’s Power 50, Koppaka, president and CEO of BEL USA, and Tabasky, VP & GM of the company, have positioned the juggernaut as a major disruptor to the industry’s established order. A nearly 25-year veteran of the promo space, Tabasky has kept his finger on the pulse of trends both inside and outside the industry in order to stay ahead of the competition. Counselor spoke with Tabasky about BEL USA’s growth and strategies for thriving in an ever-changing market.

Q: In the seven years since you've become vice president and general manager of BEL USA, what kind of changes and improvements have you made to the company?

Alan Tabasky: We have had a lot of changes and improvements here at BEL Promo and throughout the organization. My direct responsibilities include inventory planning and allocation, purchasing, merchandising, pricing and revenue management, product safety and compliance, along with some other odds and ends. Specific improvements are many over the years, including our initiatives in product safety and compliance where no BEL Promo products require Prop 65 labeling; expansion into new merchandising categories such as umbrellas, stress relievers and apparel to name a few; supply chain enhancements including new sourcing and importing strategies; and product and pricing enhancements including a simplified pricing model and a single set-up strategy. It’s definitely a full plate and it couldn’t be done without this great team I’m privileged to work with. My team is dedicated, conscientious and professional – it really makes for a successful combination.

Q: What's new with BEL USA these days?

AT: BEL USA is at the forefront with technology innovations that drive our internal processes and efficiencies. We’re always looking two steps ahead and challenging the way we have done business in the past – as the industry should do. Just because it was done this way for the past 20 years does not mean we shouldn’t look for ways to improve – we should always improve. My goal, what I would love to see, is to place an order today and have it ship same day across all departments and imprint methods. I love ordering from Amazon because I know it will arrive on time and as expected. I want us to get there as well. We all know that adding the complexity of an imprint is a challenge, but again, let’s find a way to do it!

Q: What do you attribute BEL Promo's strong business to over the past 12 months, with DiscountMugs.com increasing 2.1% in sales from $210 million in 2017 to $214.8 last year?

AT: I attribute our growth to our passion – we want to be, I want to be – the best, period. I want us to have the best pricing, the best products, the best safety record, the best customer service and the best imprint quality. We definitely have more work to do, but we’re doing it and it’s important to every single one of us. My general manager at BEL Promo, Susan Lewandowski, has as much, if not more, drive than I do. She came on about a year ago and is doing a great job with the team. It takes all of us to make a difference and move the needle, and we’re all in-sync and moving in that same direction.

Q: For a Top 40 distributor, DiscountMugs.com does a surprising amount of low-minimum orders. Why is that? 

AT: DiscountMugs.com’s main customer base is the retail consumer market, B2C more so than B2B. That business-to-consumer segment generally has a smaller order size than the business-to-business group. Being vertically integrated, meaning starting out years ago as a direct importer and decorator, DiscountMugs.com was able to market and produce small quantity orders since it wasn’t purchasing from suppliers at the time, and the efficiencies it’s developed over the years made it both profitable and sustainable.

Q: In last year's Power 50 profile, you and Sai Koppaka mentioned that you were aiming to get orders sent out in just three hours by the end of 2018. Have you accomplished that goal? Why is that important for you?  

AT: It’s important to push yourself and the organization to places you haven’t yet been. Sai had mentioned this as a “stretch goal” and it still is. There are many components necessary to realize this goal, and you have to strategically and methodically tackle one after the other. We’re getting there, but as we all know, there are many complexities that exist in all the different imprint methods offered, but we’re working on it. It’s important to stay ahead of the competition. We can do this through technology implementations and efficiencies, which will eventually lead to this goal.

Q: For a company like yours, which owns both a supplier and distributors, how are you handling the tariff situation? Are you being negatively impacted on both ends of the supply chain?  

AT: The negative impact is the same really. On the distributor company side, DiscountMugs.com has the tariff implications on the items directly imported and for the drop ship part of that business, the suppliers that serve DiscountMugs.com pass on their tariff-related increases as well. Regarding BEL Promo, the tariff-related imported items are affected the same way. This pretty much translates the same way to our industry as a whole, regardless of your business model. We’re all affected negatively by these government-imposed tariffs. Any way you look at it, the costs are absorbed by the supplier and distributor as much as possible, and then eventually they trickle down to the end-user. The negative effects are far reaching. 

Q: How important is being eco-friendly to you?  

AT: Being eco-friendly is important to us as an organization. We have taken steps within our organization to be more conscious of the waste we produce as a company. In production, we have taken steps to minimize production-related waste, whether it’s in scrap product or printing supplies, and in the office areas, we’ve minimized paper products wherever possible and encourage the use of reusable resources such as water bottles and ceramic mugs. We recently replaced the central air conditioning units in our office environment with more energy efficient versions. It’s an ongoing effort, and we can definitely do more. But we’re moving in the right direction.

Q: What's coming up on the horizon for BEL USA?  

AT: BEL USA is constantly in motion. We’re investing in both operational efficiencies through technology and equipment and in human resources, adding additional expertise in analytical, managerial and operational roles. We’re constantly striving to be better than we were the day before. We have big plans for this company in the coming years and are investing in both this industry and in our employees.    

Q: Where do you see the promotional products industry in the next five to 10 years?

AT: This question is always tough for me. Technology is moving so quickly that what I believe is super cool today is out and will be replaced six months from now. I do believe that the industry will go through a transformation over the next five-10 years. Technology is moving really fast – print technologies are advancing quickly, which will lower the barrier to entry in printing. 3-D printing has come a long way and soon small orders will be produced on your kitchen table.

Consolidation in the industry will continue to happen and will change the makeup of the Top 40 supplier and distributor lists. Who would have even thought two years ago that the global supply chain as we know it would be under the strain it is now? And who knows, someone like Amazon may decide to really get into this space and give us all a run for our money, which is why as I said before, we strive to be better than we were yesterday. Only through continued improvements and investments can we ensure our survival in a fast paced, ever-changing global environment.