I loved visiting with everyone at Benco: you captured my heart; you expanded my mind. Your commitment to your customers is beautiful. What you all do, whether it’s in the distribution center, or the showroom or administration, every single one of you is a part of ensuring that the patient experience is world-class. I applaud you. It’s a beautiful story I can’t wait to share with everyone.
Until then, let’s hear from Benj Cohen, founder and CEO of Proton.AI and
Kristen Monsey, Senior Marketing Manager for Infor, who were both onsite for the filming. These companies are sponsors and believers in the We Supply America campaign, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Here are their thoughts from the shoot. “Distribution is an amazing place where people are in partnership with technology. Benco’s sophisticated warehouse illustrates this perfectly,” said Benj. Benco’s warehouse is loaded with technology that works seamlessly with the hundreds of people who work there. The company’s sales team also uses Proton’s AI-powered software to deliver a better customer experience, another example of people working in partnership with technology.
“Distribution is about customers, not about boxes as is commonly believed outside the industry,” Benj said. Everyone we met and talked to at Benco was focused on delivering an outcome for their customers – better and more innovative dental care. The supplies inside the box are just one small part of that,” he said.
Benco’s commitment to its customers runs deep. This was even more apparent during the pandemic. Even when the world shut down and the supply chain was a mess, Benco figured out how to get its customers’ supplies needed to open safely. So now dentistry, a critical part of a person’s overall health, is roaring again.
“It’s amazing how they persevered and got the products their customers needed,” Benj said.
Kristen Monsey from Infor had a similar experience, saying this was one of her favorite stops so far.
“The Cohen family is an amazing example of exactly what we are highlighting with the We Supply America campaign. They are a real, down-to-earth but forward-thinking family that isn’t afraid to be on the cutting edge to keep their business successful,” she said.
Kristen loved the sense of respect Benco has for where the business has come from and how they cherish that past by memorializing it in their own carefully curated museum of dental equipment from the past century. Larry Cohen, who gave a tour of the museum, even showed us one piece of equipment he sold 50 years ago! When that dentist who originally owned the equipment decided to upgrade to a newer model, he donated that equipment back to Benco for their collection. “That’s such a testament to the relationship they have with their customers,” said Kristen.
Benco also has an impressive showroom that houses some of the latest and most elite dental equipment on the market. Customers can walk through this showroom and actually test out this incredible equipment for themselves, have designers help them design their offices, and so much more.
Being new to the distribution industry myself, this entire campaign has been fascinating for me and has helped shed light on precisely what we’re doing here. These distributors aren’t massive, faceless corporations. They are made up of these incredible family-owned businesses, many of them in small-town America, and these are the people who are really behind it all,” said Kristen.
“It’s been incredible to hear their stories of what they’ve gone through and overcome the past year. They were the essential workers behind the scenes keeping America going, but no one was cheering for them. The news didn’t cover their stories. But they showed up anyway and didn’t just survive it all, but found a way to thrive and make a deeper connection with what they do,” said Kristen.
“Benco’s story is one that I’m sure can be echoed by so many others. They faced the same struggles of trying to keep their people safe while keeping the business moving forward, adjusting to remote working, and finding a way to look past the struggles of the pandemic to keep their eye on a bright future. Yet, in the midst of it all, they worked closely with Infor to find the right solutions to optimize every part of their business,” she said.
“Infor’s dedication to the distribution industry means helping customers like Benco Dental maintain their reputation of providing excellent customer service by providing a seamless experience. In addition, we help them overcome their supply chain complexities and optimize their productivity while delivering innovative services.
One of the biggest takeaways I got from our visit to Benco Dental is the message that they didn’t back down when 2020 hit and things got tough. They could have sat back and waited for things to go back to normal. But, instead, they looked beyond the temporary, albeit unprecedented, struggles and still managed to keep their eye on the future, on constantly innovating,” said Kristen.
