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8 VISION MONDAY/JUNE 16, 2008NEWSMAKERSwww.visionmonday.comNEWSMAKERSABB/Concise: Redefines Role of the Modern DistributorBy Marge AxelradEditorial DirectorCORAL SPRINGS, Fla.—Command ofinformation. Continual investment in systemsand engineering. A team of expertsin sales, service and training support.To Angel Alvarez, modern distributionin today’s optical market is fusion of allof these.His company, ABB/Concise, hasgrown through acquisition, developmentand merger to become the largest contactlens distributor in the U.S., servingmore than 15,000 accounts, representingmore than two-thirds of independenteyecare professionals and accounting forsome 45 percent of distributor sales ofsoft lenses.Staying ahead of the optical industry’stechnology curve and employing thestrategic science that characterizes thespeed and deployment of distributors inother industries outside the realm ofeyecare and eyewear, ABB/Concise is aunique resource for its clients and suppliers.The company not only automatesefficiencies and order fill rates, but itsmarketing, sales and training resourcesenables ECPs to improve contact lensprofitability, facilitating online orderingand direct-to-patient delivery thatimproves their competitiveness andpractice operations.“We are committed to keeping independentECPs in the game,” saidAlvarez, CEO, who founded ABB Opticalin 1989. “We have a continuous connectionwith the universe of independentsout there.”The company started with the acquisitionof Co-optics of Pompano Beach.Subsequent acquisitions of RLI/Target,Angel AlvarezAlvarez and Baker, center, with the PEN team. Debbie Oseguera,director of PEN, is at top, center.C&E, Contact Optical, Doctors OpticalSupply and Wise Optical distributors ledup to the merger one year ago with Con-Cise Contact Lens, then the country’sthird-largest distributor, which includedthe San Leandro, Calif. company’s Westlensand Con-Cise East operations. Con-Cise also owned the Primary EyecareNetwork (PEN), a buying and practicemanagement group of over 1,000optometrists in California, Nevada, Arizona,Utah and Hawaii.PEN’s successful practice educationprogram, anchored by its “PreservingIndependent Optometry” theme, will beexpanded to other parts of the U.S. startingthis year and into next, Alvarez noted.With the steady consolidation of thecontact lens industry,ABB/Concise’s positionrepresents streamlinedordering, shipment reconciliation,accountingand record-keeping, pricingparity and lens banksthat afford one-stop shoppingand other businessservices from analysis tosupport and training.The company’s new Coral Springs, HQ, is one ofseveral facilities serving ECPs.Alvarez said, “Independentsperceive thatcontact lens profitabilityhas declined and, in fact, gross profitmargins have eroded. But at the sametime, the number of annual purchasetransactions per patient have doubled, asthe result of disposable lenses and otherwearing cycles. Managing transactioncosts has become a more significantissue for ECPs, both large and smallsizedpractices.”Alvarez pointed out that the least profitableCL transaction ECPs make is tofill an Rx order for two boxes of lensesby calling a supplier. The most profitabletransaction is when a patientorders an annual supply over the Internetfor shipment to their home or office.“We are the ‘back-room’ operation forECPs in this regard and we work toshow them how they can better compete,build patient loyaltyand grow their practice.”ABB/Concise’s Your Lensprogram helps practices’Web sites enhance theirimage to patients whileproviding such back upfulfillment service.ABB has a field salesforce of 50. It publishes aquarterly magazine aboutcontact lens managementcalled Contact Lens ProfitAdvisor. The ABB/ConciseSoft Lens Retail PriceMonitor, a proprietary servicefor accounts, lists averagepractice prices for popularcontact lens brands and comparesthese to prices charged by leading retailersand Wal-Mart and 1-800 Contacts tohelp ECPs track trends and benchmarktheir own.Soft Lens RetailPrice MonitorA proprietary service for ABB CONCISE customersto enhance contact lens profitabilityThe company has been reorganizingits warehouses, call centers and marketing/trainingdepartments, continuallyinvesting in the latest systems and proceduresto speed transactions and servicecapabilities.Second Quarter 2008Advice on managing contact lenses via several printvehicles is delivered to ABB/Concise accounts.“Today, nearly 50 percent of our businessis online, meaning b-to-b and someb-to-c, depending on what practiceschoose to do for their operations andtheir patients,” Alvarez said.The ABB/Concise systems generatesome 9,000 shipments, on average, perday. The company’s sales exceeded $300million in 2007 and Alvarez is projectingsales to reach $330 million by the end ofthis year.Now comprised of some 520 employees,the ABB/Concise organization is ablend of financial, engineering, logisticsand sales and marketing teams. Seniormanagement includes Brad Weinbrum,president; Cindy Pelletier, CFO; LyndaBaker, executive vice president; TimAiken, vice president, sales; Jeff Rinkus,Brad Weinbrum Cindy Pelletier Diego CruzJeff Rinkus Lynda Baker Tim Aikenvice president, logistics and customer care;Denise Spencer, vice president, humanresources and training, and Diego Cruz,vice president, information technology.“We had a vision of the wholesaler’srole in the optical industry,”Alvarez said. “There have been distributorsand buying groups buttheir core competencies were not indistribution. Our team, over the lastdecade, has been taking whatthey’ve learned from a range of arenasto integrate their expertise andapply it to the world of optical.”Alvarez noted, “We are the solutionfor independents to competeagainst mass merchandisers. Youcan’t bring a knife to a gunfight.We have a $30 million inventory in contactlenses and the capabilities for ECPsto leverage. Wal-Mart understands costs;ECPs need to better understand costsand we are a major assistance to them inthis regard.” ■■