Features | May 04, 2023

How To Lead With Technology in the Brand Solutions Space

By Bethany Larrañaga

The Brand Chain community recently gathered for the 2023 Leadership Summit to connect with peers and discover how to propel their businesses forward. We caught up with Eric Granata (left), chief technology officer at Brand Fuel, to hear about his experience as a Leadership Summit attendee and key points from his tech-focused panel.

Granata started his career executing graphic design for print and digital mediums, later evolving into a self-described jack of all trades as he added working with print vendors and promo distributors to his skillset. Moving to branded merchandise and print distributorship was a natural next step, and shortly after getting started in this space, Granata attended his first Brand Chain (then PSDA) event, where he developed some of his most important relationships in the industry.

As a summit speaker and attendee, what were your overall impressions of the event and the conversations you had?

Many of the conversations I heard, on stage and off, seemed to carry the right messages delivered at the right time. We heard about mergers and acquisitions, labor shortages, cybersecurity and more. All very relevant topics these days. The opening keynote regarding leadership challenged my idea of what it means to be a leader and made the speaker’s book (of which we got a free copy — rad) a must-read I’ve enjoyed in the weeks after the event.

Many of my industry peers and friends at the summit seem to be breaking new ground or in a state of transition. During our networking time I spoke to a handful of distributors who are working on implementing new ERPs, suppliers who are offering new services to meet the expectations of an emerging customer base and solution providers who are eager to walk alongside of us on our journeys to success.

Were there any specific takeaways you plan to implement in your work at Brand Fuel?

Two that stand out. The first being that we need to give our sales teams and their clients the data they need to make informed decisions when it comes to print collateral and branded merchandise purchasing decisions.

During the keynote we were encouraged to develop a daily habit of telling others how they demonstrated leadership recently. I loved that! We have a relatively young team here with some growing into management roles and more aspiring to do the same. I’m trying to develop that habit myself to create positive feedback for those emerging leaders.

What do you think sets the Brand Chain Leadership Summit apart from other industry events, and would you recommend it to others in the field?

The Brand Chain membership is made up of companies who are not only working in the same categories we are, but also deal with the same amount of complexity a large majority of distributorships just don’t have experience with. That has added tremendous value to the conversations I have in the Brand Chain community.

This community makes the Brand Chain Leadership Summit unique. This is where my peers are. We’re trailblazers in the brand solutions space who are solving complex problems and going to market in unique ways. The Brand Chain community is collaborative and candid. Those are the qualities I look for in a community and is why I would absolutely recommend Leadership Summit to others in our space.

As an attendee, there was ample time for meaningful conversation with others. It can be difficult to have any deep conversation with people in 15-minute increments in the hallway. The format we have allows me to take time to unpack new revelations from the sessions with either the speaker or others in attendance, while the topic is still fresh in our minds.

What were some of the key takeaways from your presentation at the Brand Chain 2023 Leadership Summit?

1. Technology is more than just a cost of doing business. It’s become a vehicle for innovation and digital transformation. When considering how you budget for technology, you shouldn’t just consider efficiency gains, but also how your investments can help you to be a more effective brand solutions provider.
   
   For example, Thumbprint stated one of their most important investments is in data analytics tools that allow them to produce reports and dashboards for their clients, which help prove the ROI their clients get from the products and services offered. From my perspective, they’ve differentiated themselves from their competition by recognizing the value data has for their clients. I can imagine this leads to a more informed approach to branded merchandise and print-driven campaigns, which would in turn lead to healthier distributor/client relationships.

2. Specialized Office Systems reported that one of their most fruitful investments in technology is a modern and integrated ERP. This has led to a significant increase in sales without the need to increase headcount, which, as we heard from Affinity HR Group, may be hard soon due to labor shortages.
   
   This new ERP allowed them to scale in a healthy way and created opportunities for them to integrate more tightly with their clients’ systems. Nathan Goldberg, CEO of Specialized Office Systems, described this transformation succinctly when he said they are now able to compete as an “integrated technology partner.”
   
   This, again, highlights the concept that technology improves both efficiency and efficacy. Investing in software and systems that can be integrated and don’t hold your data hostage are crucial for businesses wishing to compete in this way.

2. When asked how to tame our tech spend as we seek to innovate, Brian Montgomery (Coverdale Group), who provides ERP implementation services, encouraged companies to conduct semi-formal reviews of their technology stack. Companies should reflect honestly and assess how different tools have impacted the organization. When deciding to invest in something new, document the desired post-implementation outcomes you hope for and hold those up against reality during your review.
   
   When looking for areas of your business needing technology investments, Brian recommends identifying areas of the business that have not changed in 5-10 years — there may be a prime candidate for digital transformation there. He also suggests that if there are systems or software that hold your data hostage (meaning it’s difficult or impossible to export data), you should look for new solutions. It’s important to have data readily accessible and available for consumption by other technology tools, departments or even customers, for the sake of efficiency and efficacy.

Implementing new technology at our businesses is certainly a challenge. It’s important to identify who in your company can fill the role of the internal change agent. This individual will act as the champion for change amongst the rest of your team by demonstrating the value of the effort and socializing the change amongst different departments.

Nathan at Specialized made an excellent point in our preparatory discussions — the reality of implementing new systems and processes is that it is disruptive. It’s important to be realistic with your team about the short-term challenges this disruption will introduce, but don’t forget to also communicate how things will improve afterward.

Looking ahead to next year's summit, what topics or themes would you like to see addressed, and why?

I’d love to see data privacy issues addressed — legal obligations, compliance with GDPR, etc. We rightfully address cybersecurity regularly and I think data privacy topics would be a complimentary addition.

I’d be interested in any content that supports the idea of Phygital marketing. That is, taking a physical product or print piece and adding a digital experience to it. Things like pURLs, QR codes, NFC, augmented reality, etc. Not just what these things are, but case studies, best practices, how to monetize or what partnerships to form.

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Technology Leadership Summit