District Safety Products: Delivering ‘A More Excellent Way’ To Customer-Centric Distribution

By Harrell Kerkhoff, Maintenance Sales News editor

Joseph Williams Sr., and his son, Joseph Williams II, have found success helping customers succeed.

Taking advantage of new opportunities as they present themselves is often a key component to both personal and business success. A case in point is the history and continual achievement of District Safety Products, a longtime safety supplies and jan/san distributorship headquartered in Sterling, VA, located within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Other product segments and expertise provided by the company include skin & personal care, food service, facilities & grounds, office and packaging supplies. No matter the product category, however, the distributorship remains faithful to its longstanding mantra: “A More Excellent Way.”

Started in 1997 as a one-man operation by current owner Joseph Williams Sr., the company has grown over the years into a modern distributorship focusing on solution-oriented customer service, strong ties to respected suppliers, and a well-respected reputation by many longtime end-user customers. The company has also enlarged its employee base over the years which now includes Williams’ son, Joseph Williams II, as operations manager.

“Our biggest success has been the ability to properly serve a variety of customers in two key segments — safety and jan/san. One segment, our initial involvement in safety supplies, led to another big part of our business, which is jan/san,” Williams Sr. said. “Our initial success involved the transportation industry which is still essential for us. For example, we support numerous transit agencies both locally and on a national level.”

As a distributor, District Safety Products is also heavily involved in the construction trade, and with municipalities, utility companies, and wastewater treatment plants. Customers range from small construction subcontractors to large government entities like the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We have found, over the years, that such customers need both safety and jan/san supplies,” Willams Sr. explained.

It helps that the nation’s capital and surrounding area provides a lot of opportunities for District Safety Products to thrive as a respected distributorship. The company’s location in Sterling in not far from Dulles International Airport and is in close proximity to Arlington, VA, and the District of Columbia.

“I have often viewed the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area as an ‘insulated part of the world,’ due to the large number of government entities and employees in our service region,” Williams Sr. said. “Government is always ‘up and running’ and there is always a need for supplies, such as what we provide as a distributorship. You can probably conduct just as much, if not more, government business here than on the private side. I call that an ‘insulated advantage.’”

He added the company’s main service region encompasses a radius of approximately 100 miles surrounding its headquarters in Sterling. It also services needs on a national basis, such as work conducted as an Amtrak supplier.

An Inquisitive Spirit

Like many family businesses, the road to success for District Safety Products has been winding at times, full of twists, challenges and new opportunities. It can be said that an inquisitive spirit took hold of Williams Sr. early in his professional career, leading to his current station in life.

“I started my working career a long way from distribution. As a young man, I graduated college with a degree in automative and diesel mechanics and worked as a technician for Chrysler. After 10 years, I decided I wanted to do something else with my career,” Williams Sr. said.

Eventually he found work with a medical supply distributor but wanted to venture out on his own. Through extensive research into safety supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPE), and after visiting various safety supplies trade shows, Williams Sr. decided to take a career risk and become a distributor.

“I started in 1997 as a one-man operation. I had no employees, no warehouse and no cell phone, just a beeper,” Williams Sr. said, with a laugh. “I would seek out customers in the morning and check my voice mail and return calls in the afternoon. I also started business relationships with suppliers that could provide me with equivalent material as opposed to more well-known brand names. Those products offered the same or similar properties as the more well-known brands without significant changes in performance or functionality. Such products helped me get my foot in the door with various end-user customers. It helped that the price of such items was often significantly lower.

“The key was to figure out, as a new distributor, how I could be of assistance to my current and potential clients, showing them too how we could both achieve the same goals, but through a different path. Although I began by selling safety supplies — such as hard hats, eye and ear protection items to those customers — what I soon learned was they needed jan/san supplies as well and asked me for help. It was an area I knew nothing about at the time, but I told those clients I would help them the best I could.”

With the same inquisitive spirit that was used to seek out safety supplies manufacturers, Williams Sr. began looking for suppliers of various jan/san related products. It helped that his company was (an is) a member of DPA (Distributor Partners of America), with membership that involves jan/san, safety and industrial suppliers and distributors.

“Such involvement with DPA greatly increased my company’s traction on the jan/san side, introducing me to multiple manufacturers who were looking for new distributors to do business with on a continual basis,” Williams Sr. said.

As business progressed, Williams Sr. took the big step of hiring his first employe — his wife.

“That was a big risk from a financial standpoint. My wife had a fulltime job, which was the backbone of our family’s income at the time — a family that included a son and a daughter. It was a true leap of faith,” he explained.

The key, Williams Sr. said, was his strong faith in God and involvement as a church trustee. For example, Williams Sr. took the words of his pastor to heart, “Everything you do before God, do it in ‘A More Excellent Way.’”

“Those words have always stuck with me and remain the mantra of our company,” Williams Sr. said. “That leads to the idea of setting ourselves apart from the crowd when it comes to customer service and helping people with their different needs.

“For example, instead of drop shipping products to our customers, we bring most orders to our facility first. That is done to double count items per order and make sure everything is in proper place and in good condition. Then, we deliver those items ourselves, with our own trucks and drivers, to our customers. We call that process our ‘in-house quality control.’ The process may sound like something excessive, but it’s part of our mantra, ‘A More Excellent Way.’

“That process helps separate our distributorship from others. We want customers to know that when products are delivered to our facility from our suppliers, they are double-checked by us and reshrink-wrapped. In response, we hear from many of our customers that they never have to worry about the products they receive from us. They always arrive with the proper count, according to the order, and the packaging is in good condition.”

Part of that focus is to make sure District Safety Products’ warehouse is in proper order and ready for next-day shipping.

“The key to warehouse management is having the right people in place at the right time,” Williams Sr. said. “It helps that we live by the business philosophy, ‘Don’t put off anything for tomorrow that you can get done today.’

“When it comes to a properly operated warehouse and timely delivery it’s always good to get ahead of the game. That includes double-counting everything and getting the trucks loaded early.”

He added that working with responsive suppliers is extremely advantageous as well, especially during such challenging times as the pandemic, when various supply chains were greatly strained.

“I try to meet with each of our supplier representatives at least once a month, if not weekly. We discuss our recent experiences — what is working well and what needs improvement,” Williams Sr. said.

“I do recommend that distributors develop great working relationships with manufacturers’ reps. I have found over the years that such reps ‘have your back’ and are often able to better speak with ‘higher ups’ within a supplier’s organization on our behalf.

“Also, as a distributor, I’m not ashamed to let my suppliers know if there is a problem with a product, such as a new item being introduced. And, I’m not going to introduce something new to my customers until we, at District Safety Products, try it out first.”

Williams Sr. and his company has been able to weather various storms by staying true to its core belief of putting customers first. One example was the recent pandemic. As it turned out, the distributorship was more prepared for the pandemic than it first realized.

“That is not to say we were smarter than anybody else. In a lot of cases, we just happened to be at the right place at the right time with many of our manufacturers. The result was getting essential supplies to customers,” Williams Sr. said. “We were able to maintain good inventory levels of such items as disinfectants, hand sanitizers and gloves. That helped a lot of companies during a time when certain supplies were very hard to find.

“We were really blessed and fortunate as a distributor, and it wasn’t about making more money; it was about helping people during a dire situation. And it was personal. We had family members who died during the pandemic. It was a matter of getting people and companies what they needed to keep operating. That included hospitals and nursing homes.”

The Next Generation

Twenty-eight years after his distributorship began, Williams Sr. has seen a lot of changes take place, not only within the various industries that the company serves but also with the business itself. One key change has been the emergence of his son, Joseph Williams II, as operations manager.

Like many members of the younger generation who get involve in the family business, Williams II started early in life with the company on a part-time basis. That included summer jobs in his youth working in the distributorship’s warehouse. Both father and son now agree that there are many good aspects to spending a career as an independent distributor.

“Becoming a distributor has given me many opportunities to not only succeed in business, but help a lot of people in the process,” Williams Sr. said. “Part of being successful in distribution is being able to provide multiple lines of products, from different suppliers, to meet various end-user needs. That helps customers decide what work best for their situations and budgets.”

Williams II added: “I have found the great thing about being a distributor is that you get to see all the angles in the business transaction process. The ultimate goal of a good distributor is being solution oriented, helping end-users find the right products and systems. There are often a lot of products available in the marketplace, but not all products are the right fit for everyone. We, as distributors, help manufacturers and end-users make the right connections for the best outcomes.”

Whether it’s helping end-users with their cleaning needs or supplying the latest in safety equipment, Williams Sr. said he gets great satisfaction when successfully working with suppliers who can provide innovative products and solutions for his end-user customers.

“We often will put our heads together with suppliers with the objective of helping a company in need. There’s nothing like it when we find success,” Williams Sr. said. “Also, after every meeting with a supplier or end-user, my son and I will get together to debrief. That is done to ensure we are covering all the angles and understand what needs to get done next.”

Another key part to being a distributor is making sure employees and customers receive the training they need to succeed. Williams Sr. relies on representatives from different manufacturers to provide specific product training to his District Safety Products’ employees.

“Each manufacturer has a rep that will come to our facility to train us on their different products. We then turn around to provide such training to our customers,” Williams Sr. said. “Typically, we will conduct training at a customer’s facility, usually involving 5 to 20 employees of that customer. Such training includes equipment demonstrations and the proper use of chemicals for both safety and effectiveness.

“It’s important to provide training using the hand-on approach, especially with equipment. It’s one thing to watch a person conduct a demonstration, but quite another to use that equipment yourself during a training course. It’s not easy to properly clean a floor or some other part of a facility. The better a person is trained, the better the outcome.”

Although District Safety Products does not maintain a specific equipment repair shop in-house, company officials do help clients with preventive maintenance work such as replacing belts and hoses. Company representatives can also diagnose issues and train people on the best way to use such equipment.

“When it comes to floor equipment, preventative maintenance goes a long way in keeping a machine in good working order for a long time,” Williams Sr. said. “One of the biggest problems I have seen over the years with equipment is the simple misuse of a machine and not keeping it well maintained. That is what we, as a distributorship, train against — the improper use of equipment and other supplies related to cleaning and safety.

“The great thing about training is when people see the good results of their work after doing something the proper way.”

As for the future, Williams Sr. remains optimistic that as long as District Safety Products can meet the various needs of those customers seeking safety supplies, jan/san, and other products, the company will thrive.

“This line of work has been a blessing for me. I’ve been able to raise my family and gain the trust of employees, customers and suppliers,” he said. “One key to our success involves proving to our customers each day that we are in business, as a distributor, to help solve issues. We are not here to just sell something and then move on. We get great joy, at District Safety Products, when we can put a smile on the face of a customer and know we really helped that person out.”

Williams Sr. is also planning for the future, knowing his retirement from day-to-day operations could very well be just a few years away. In response, besides his son Williams II, recent hires have been made at District Safety Products to fill key positions with the goal of keeping the distributorship on the right course.

“I have been in the process of hiring some good people with the idea that they can ‘take the ball and run with it,’ based on what they’ve learned under my leadership — and are still learning,” Williams Sr. said.

Visit districtsafetyproducts.com.