In addition to Convenience Distribution, the American Wholesale Marketers Association offers its members other publications to keep them informed about the association and events affecting the convenience wholesale industry:

E-mail Newsletters Covering Tobacco, Legislation and Association News
AWMA also offers the weekly e-mail newsletter AWMA Executive Update, which contains information on the association's benefits, programs and events, as well as legislation that may affect members. This weekly email is sent out to all member company individuals. Contact Jennifer Moulton at jenniferm@awmanet.org to start receiving the Update.

The HIPA Report
Sponsored by The Hershey Company, the Hershey Industry Performance Analysis (HIPA) Report measures several key benchmarks among convenience wholesalers, including sales per employee, gross margin, return on investment, inventory turnover, salaries, and much more. Every spring, the HIPA survey is mailed to AWMA distributors–only those that complete the survey get a final copy of the report. This report is available only to HIPA Survey participants.

AWMA’s Updated Internet Cigarette Sales Study - U.S. Senate Press Conference to Unveil AWMA Study
AWMA recently unveiled an update of an older in-depth study of the growing problem of illegal Internet sales of cigarettes. AWMA undertook the first study of this problem back in 2006 to bring more attention to this important issue and to promote our efforts to enact federal legislation aimed at effectively addressing the problem of Internet sales of cigarettes. The newest 2009 AWMA study was sent to every Member of Congress and to every State Attorney’s General to encourage their action on this issue and to ensure a more comprehensive solution to this nationwide problem. AWMA remains committed to enacted federal legislation aimed at effectively addressing the problem of illegal Internet sales of cigarettes. Click here for a pdf copy of the report. (this is a large report, will take a while to download)

Internet Cigarette Sales — An AWMA Research Study (Initial Study)
AWMA recently conducted an in-depth study of the growing problem of illegal Internet sales of cigarettes. AWMA undertook this study to bring more attention to this important issue and to promote our efforts to enact federal legislation aimed at effectively addressing the problem of Internet sales of cigarettes. The AWMA study was sent to every Member of Congress and to every State Attorney’s General’s to encourage their action on this issue and to ensure a more comprehensive solution to this nationwide problem. AWMA remains committed to enacted federal legislation aimed at effectively addressing the problem of illegal Internet sales of cigarettes. Click here for a pdf copy of the report.

Research Reports
AWMA, through its Distributors Education Foundation, is undertaking research reports on various topics. The following is a listing of AWMA’s available reports, including pricing:

• 2010 Distributor Employee Compensation Report": Extremely detailed information about salaries of various positions in distribution firms. Vol. 1 looks at the convenience distribution industry (AWMA members), while Vol. 2 looks at salary data from 30 different distribution industries, broken down by company sales volume and geographic region. Released summer 2010. Free for AWMA members (1 per company). The report is not available to non-members.

• "Foodservice Opportunities for Convenience Distributors": Click here for an executive summary of the report. Free for AWMA members; $150 for non-members.

• “The Distributor Value Equation”: Distributors provide valuable and sophisticated support services upon which both suppliers and retailers have come to rely. This study quantifies that value and offers recommendations for improving this business environment. Released Fall 2006. Free for AWMA members; not available to non-members.
• “Food Industry Review: Comprehensive Review and Outlook”: This report provides a quarterly review of the status, outlook trends and key players in the foodservice industry, with specific focus on limited service and convenience store foodservice. The first quarter report was published in Fall 2006 with additional reports in winter/spring 2007. Free for AWMA members; not available to non-members.
• "AWMA Customer Profitability System": Distributors service some customers at a profit, while they lose money on others.  This new and simple model helps distributors review the profit generated by each customer in relation to the workload required to generate that profit.  This tool includes an Excel template on CD that distributors can use to analyze customer profitability, a users manual, and a research report entitled “Managing Customer Profitability”.  By placing more emphasis on profitable customers and less on the unprofitable ones, distributors will increase their profits.  Released Spring 2009.  Free for AWMA members; not available to non-members. 
• "Convenience, Confections & Profit -- Targeting the Core": An in-depth study focusing on methods to increase confection sales within the c-store channel through operational efficiencies, marketing opportunities, consumer trends, and manufacturer responses and providing insights to help all segments improve their performance across the confections’ category. Released Fall 2009.  Free for AWMA members; not available to non-members.
   

In addition to these reports, AWMA often conducts surveys of its membership with its Zoomerang Internet tool. These quick surveys are often summarized in e-mails sent to the AWMA membership.

To receive more information about AWMA’s reports, call Meredith Kimbrell at 703-208-3358 ext 648.