For the first time in its more than 50-year history, SherrillTree in Greensboro, North Carolina honored a Vendor of the Year. We are proud to announce that Samson is the recipient of this award. SherrillTree supplies arboricultural products to tree care professionals, educators, scientists, and recreational climbers in North America.
In mid-May SherrillTree called a Vendor’s Summit – gathering representatives from their top 12 vendors to discuss the ways SherrillTree can partner with each of them to grow the business and explore new markets that can be served in the future. The last topic to be discussed was the recognition of the vendor that had been selected as their Vendor of the Year.
No one had been advised ahead of time that the award was to be part of the Summit’s agenda. SherrillTree’s purchasing department developed an ingenious system to compare the service received from their vendors. The vetting process scored all vendors on six facets of their relationship – quality, delivery, cost, sales support, innovation, and training. The result is a comprehensive look at those characteristics SherrillTree considers critical in their vendors. It’s clear that SherrillTree also treats these vendors as partners in their business approach.
Christine Ricks, SherrillTree purchasing manager, was responsible for overseeing the selection process. “Samson has been a SherrillTree vendor since the very first catalog was distributed. In addition to extremely high-quality products, Samson is very easy to work with.” Ricks said. “Jim Cass [sales] and Linda Hughes [customer service] are our Samson representatives. They always go the extra mile for us and our customers. Jim has even called one of our customers that had questions about climbing lines to review the products and specifications with him directly.”
Samson has developed exclusive products with SherrillTree over the years, and is always at the top of the list for training. Christine Ricks said, “Samson’s product literature really distinguishes it from the competition. It goes well beyond mere product specifications into the safe and efficient use of those products in a critical application.”
Jim Cass has represented Samson to SherrillTree for several years. While he was as surprised as the other reps that the selection was taking place, he wasn’t surprised that Samson rose to the top. “The quality of our product is second to none and our delivery times are the best in the industry. We maintain an extensive inventory of arborist products, we ship on time every time, and our customer service outshines the competition.”
Ms. Ricks indicated the Summit was a huge success, and the selection of a Vendor of the Year achieved its goal. Every one of the vendors has contacted her since the Summit to ask what they can do to improve their performance. Jim Cass called to see what Samson can do to ensure they’re in the running for next year’s award.
Thanks to SherrillTree for the tremendous honor.