the
INSIDER
Newsletter for theWestern Canadian Veterinary Industry
December 2015
The Christmas season is upon us and the
New Year will follow shortly. It is a time
of reflection as well as time to look
forward with hope and excitement for the
future both personally as well as for our
businesses. WDDC is no different.
We have just had our Annual General
Meeting and were pleased to let our mem-
bers know WDDC has had a great year!
Our dividend levels have matched all
-time highs and our overall member
return is the highest in your company’s
history! Between Patronage Dividends,
Prompt Payment Discounts, Case Lot
Discounts and the Value Pack Pet Food
Program we returned $12,896,297 or
7.14% to our members. We would not be
able to do this without the hard work of
Greg Hall, his great management team
and our wonderful staff. We offer the
biggest selection of products and provide
the best service of any buying group in
Canada. We continue to show growth at
levels substantially above the national
average. WDDC provides many other
benefits and programs not provided by
these other groups. These include our
PracticeVantage™ practice management
system, AdVantage™, a waiting room
information system (slides and videos),
EVantage™ which provides video clips
which can be used in as many ways as
you can dream of and CattleVantage™, a
cattle management program. WDDC is
the only group in Canada to have an
ordering bridge with both Avimark and
Cornerstone. We now have 5 great Client
Service Representatives on the road that
will detail these and the many other
programs we offer to our members. They
will also help with implementing these
services, all of which improve your
practice’s client communication and
increase the clinic’s profitability.
As part of the AGM we say farewell to
directors that have served their term. Dr.
Bruce Kostelansky has completed 7 years
on the Board and will be missed in spite
of his insistence on cheering for the
Calgary Flames. Bruce brought the
Board insight into the unique issue of
large and mixed animal medicine in
southern Alberta. Dr. Pam Goble
resigned from the Board in June. She
represented the small animal practices of
Edmonton and northern Alberta.
Three new Directors were elected at the
AGM. We have Dr. Lloyd Abbey of the
General Veterinary Hospital and Dr.
Brent Jackson of Currents Veterinary
Centre representing northern Alberta
small animal practices. Dr. Ken Wright
of Claresholm Veterinary Services has
come on board to represent southern
Alberta large and mixed animal practices.
We welcome them and look forward to
working with them. I encourage every
member to consider joining the Board
when the chance arises.
WDDC has been shipping more and more
product into Manitoba and have even had
Manitoba clinics attending various
WDDC CE sessions. Because of this
increase in demand for service, in August
we started regular delivery service into
Manitoba. We have been able to get great
rates on air freight to Winnipeg and this
allows us to provide next day delivery
into a large part of Manitoba. We are
now the main supplier to over 30 Manito-
ba veterinary clinics and will be adding
more as time and manpower allows. Our
ideal scenario would have been to explore
working together with Midwest Veteri-
nary Purchasing out of Winnipeg.
However all of our past attempts to meet
with them to discussion amalgamation
have been rejected.
We instituted the Prime Vendor program
several years ago to help combat pharma-
ceutical companies selling goods to
different clinics at different pricing. To
become a prime Vendor the company had
to agree to offer standard pricing and re-
bate structures. Most companies signed
on as they saw value in this
concept. It is imperative that we support
the companies that are listed as Prime
Vendors with WDDC and I encourage
members to report any questionable pric-
ing we come across so they can be
followed up. By
standing
together
we are able to hold
these
companies
accountable.
As a Board our
duty is threefold.
We determine the
direction (Vision) of
the organization by
setting outcomes to
be achieved and
restraints that are to
be followed in this
process. As a Board we meet for one day
every February for a planning session. At
that time we consider where WDDC is at
and what we would like to see in the
future. We look at the industry in its
entirety, looking for trends and ways we
can respond to any issues that may jeop-
ardize our members. Our second duty is
review the operations at regular meetings
to ensure we are meeting our outcomes
while staying within the constraints set
out for the year.
The Board will meet 4 times per year and
a smaller audit committee meets an
additional 3 times a year to review
quarterly results. The third duty is to
supply linkage to the membership. The
Board oversees operations of WDDC for
its members. This has been done through
functions such as our 30
th
Anniversary
Celebration, surveys, phone consultations,
attending Association meetings and
simply making ourselves available to
discuss concerns. We are always open for
discussions positive or negative. We are
your BOARD. Be sure to let us know
what we can do for you.
We as Board want to thank you for your
support and Wish you all the best in
2016!
Dr. Wayne Thiessen
Chairman of the Board
Dr. Wayne Thiessen
Chairman of the Board
Inside the Insider for December 2015
Website Enhancements
●
AGM Results
●
New Directors on Board
●
New WDDC Representative in Manitoba
