JULY 2022
In this issue
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CEO’S MESSAGE TO BLUE HAWK STAKEHOLDERS
BLUE HAWK RETIREMENT – Innovative Technology Increases Retirement Plan Engagement
THE DASHBOARD – The Dashboard Status Update
SOLUTION PARTNER SPOTLIGHT – CURRI
BENCHMARK BLUE – There’s A Lot of Inventory
2022 FALL ADVISORY FORUM – Join us in Birmingham
2022 BLUE HAWK CONFERENCE RECAP & AWARDS – Orlando Conference & 13 Award Category Winners
BLUE HAWK GIVES BACK 2022 – Dunked for a Great Cause
BLUE HAWK UNIVERSITY – BHU Second Quarter Stats
NEW SOLUTION PARTNER – One New Solution Partner
BLUE HAWK SOCIAL MEDIA – Like us and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
CEO’s Message to BLUE HAWK Stakeholders
Hello BLUE HAWK Community,
After the back-to-back annual conference cancellations, it was terrific getting together in Orlando with the BLUE HAWK family. Hopefully, you had a productive and informative meeting.
As we continue to deal with the impact of a global pandemic, we hope your businesses continue to prosper. Given the realities, BLUE HAWK is using our cooperative’s scale to deliver programs and services to improve our Members’ bottom line. Unfortunately, there is no short-term fix to the current labor market conditions. As a result, BLUE HAWK has created industry-best employee retention and recruitment programs, such as:
- IMARK Health Insurance Captive (Low-Cost Health Insurance)
- BLUE HAWK Retirement (Group 401(k) Plan)
- Predictive Index (Talent Optimization Platform)
- BLUE HAWK University (Training and Education)
We are working on a few new innovative Solution Partner programs to further support our Members’ profitability. So be on the lookout for the announcements.
Whether you’re a small, medium, or large distributor, BLUE HAWK remains focused on creating programs to help you find and keep talent and operate more efficiently. Please leverage the power of your co-op and support our Vendor Partners, Solution Partners, and Alliance Partners. Remember, together, everyone achieves more!
Remain positive, test negative,
GROW WITH BLUE!
Lance Rantala
BLUE HAWK CEO
Innovative technology increases retirement plan engagement
Take advantage of personalized tools and technology that help drive positive outcomes — because the ultimate outcome for the employees we serve is the income they need in retirement. See how the BLUE HAWK Group 401(k) program’s technology at Lincoln Financial Group can benefit your employees.
We make enrollment easy
Employees benefit from a simplified, quick online enrollment that they’re less likely to abandon. And getting employees active online drives even better results. Lincoln Financial Group plan participants using the web contribute 59% more toward retirement2.
We’re here to help with day-to-day issues
The Lincoln WellnessPATH® financial wellness tool helps employees learn skills to manage competing financial priorities so they can save for the future. Within 3 months of using the tool, 26% of users increased their deferrals1.
We show potential retirement income in real terms
The Lincoln My TargetSM tool calculates projected monthly income so employees can increase contributions to close savings gaps.
We make it easy to increase deferrals — just two clicks
Employees take action when it’s fast and easy — Click2ContributeSM makes it possible. Lincoln plan participants who use Click2Contribute to increase their deferrals save 54% more for retirement and increase 4.4% on average2.
Our digital tools can help move the needle for your plan and your participants. Meet with Andrew Thompson, to learn more about the BLUE HAWK Group 401(k) technology.
For more information contact:
Andrew Thompson
The Capital Group
608.268.5100
andrew.thompson2@LFG.com
Meet with Andrew
The Dashboard Status Update
At the annual conference, we quickly highlighted how The Dashboard could help your business capitalize on rebates and incentives. Since the year is half over, now is the time to log into The Dashboard!
Each of our 129 Vendor Partners has multiple incentives that often have numerous tier levels with multiple criteria per tier, which means you have hundreds of incentives to keep track of. It can be overwhelming and nearly impossible to manage effectively on your own. The Dashboard brings the hundreds of incentives you qualify into a comprehensive and effective visual. The rebate and incentive tracking table simplifies your qualifying purchases and shows the target metrics needed to hit an incentive. Ensure you never miss an incentive again and maximize those you have already met.
The other side of the coin to incentive maximization is assuring a good partnership with the right supplier. Within The Dashboard, you can match up your outside purchases with approved Vendor Partners and see rebate earning estimates for each Vendor Partner. In addition, you can evaluate those same outside purchases by product groups. Again, see rebate and incentive estimates along with several Vendor Partners to source from. Use The Dashboard to make the best strategic sourcing decisions for your company.
Help us reach our Member participation goal by logging in and onboarding today! Also, if you haven’t toured The Dashboard yet, don’t hesitate to reach out to Jessica Jones to see how best to use the site.
For more information or to schedule a tour:
Jessica Jones
jjones@bluehawkcooperative.com
480-499-4426
Solution Partner Spotlight
That’s A Lot of Inventory
The first quarter of 2022 continues the trend set in 2021 with new highs on the sales growth front combined with continued strong profitability. Sales growth accelerated: from a median of 19.8% last year to 25.4% for the first quarter. Median EBTIDA margins also ticked up, growing from 7.6% last year compared to 7.8% in the first quarter.
But the bigger jump appears to be median Days Inventory on Hand, which hit an all-time high: 143 days. The next highest days inventory was 133 days at the end of Q1 2020. Hopefully higher inventory levels (and the right mix) will lead to a strong summer season.
2022 Fall Advisory Forum Registration Now Open
Join us in Birmingham, Alabama, at the Renaissance Ross Bridge for the BLUE HAWK Fall Advisory Forum on October 24-26, 2022. New this year, the Monday afternoon meeting will include a workshop on Finding, Hiring, and Retaining the Right People: Behavioral Science at Work.
Tuesday, we will play 27 holes on Ross Bridge, followed by 18 holes on Wednesday at Oxmoor Valley. Both courses are part of the famous Robert Trent Jones Trail.
For the non-golfers, there will be a tour of the Barber Motorsport Museum. The most extensive private collection of motorcycles in the world. The museum has five floors and 144,000 square feet of exhibit space. Mr. Barber designed it as a cross between the Guggenheim art museum in New York City and a parking deck that Mr. Barber liked in Birmingham. So even if you’re not into motorcycles and vintage cars, this museum is still a place to see. There will also be a wine tasting event in the afternoon and disc golf on Wednesday.
Register now. The deadline to register is September 12, 2022.