I feel very fortunate to have been a part of this industry over the last 20 years. It is an exciting, growing and fast-paced business with a very bright future. I see many similarities to what I witnessed on the human side in the past, which only reinforces my optimism. While the recession has slowed us somewhat, we are still a growth industry, and once the overall economy improves, we are positioned for returning to well above average growth rates. There aren’t a lot of industries that can make that claim.

Perhaps the root of my optimism is that the functions fulfilled by animal health manufacturers and distributors are truly making life better for our society. The technologies developed and taken into the marketplace improve the lives of our pets, which indirectly improves our lives. We also play an important role in communicating directly with the CDC on pandemic issues, and the information we provide can make the difference in preventing major outbreaks of disease.

Never before have I seen so many different influences at work changing the animal health business. In the last several years a number of new technologies have been developed on the medical side and customized for the front line veterinarian. We have state-of-the-art devices that allow veterinarians to do things we only dreamed of just a few short years ago and most of them were not available when they were in vet school. Video endoscopes, lasers, digital radiography equipment, multi-parameter monitors, dental products, and one-a-day drugs for otitis media … the list goes on and on.

We are also seeing the rise of specialty veterinary practices focusing on everything from dermatology to ophthalmology. We see an evolving role for the veterinary technicians, much the way nurse practioners evolved on the human side, freeing up the veterinarian to spend more time on new procedures. Information technology is helping make everyone more efficient and therefore more profitable.

Our readers, animal health distributor salespeople, are evolving just like the industry to take advantage of the incredible opportunities. The emergence of better trained sales reps that can make a positive impact on their customer’s businesses is rapidly becoming the norm. Your customers are relying on you for information on what’s new, and how they can improve and prosper. The more you can learn about the products you sell, the needs of your customers and emerging trends, the better off your customers will be – and the better off both you and the companies you work for will be as well. We’re here to help drive that process, so we’ll be doing our best to provide you with this information.

Lorne Elder