aging, injection molding and machining of parts.” CULTURE OF CONNECTION Staying connected and responsive to a vast network of dealers is no small feat, but for D’Addario, it’s second nature. The company’s ability to foster meaningful, long-term partner- ships is deeply rooted in its familial culture. D’Addario III credits reasonable policies and procedures, as well as dedicated sales and customer service personnel, as the keys to ensuring high-quality service and consistent order fulfillment. “It all starts with a customer-centric mentality that permeates every area of our business,” D’Addario III said. “Though our sales and customer service representatives are on the front line in responding to most of our dealer’s needs, everyone else in the company knows that the customer is always the priority. We’re proud to say that in a recent dealer sur- vey, +85% of respondents rated doing business with D’Addario as nine or high- er, on a scale of 1-10.” Building and maintaining long-term, trusted relationships with dealers can take many years to earn. “My advice would be to start with your company’s culture,” D’Addario III said. “The customer-centric culture we have engrained at D’Addario ultimately sets our priorities and defines our actions. That being the re- lentless pursuit of continuous improvement, the importance of reinvesting in our opera- tions, and providing dealers with valued ser- vices, whether it be self-serve digital assets or hands-on, white gloved support.” To further support its dealers, D’Addario finished its relocation of its Woodwinds Reed and Mouthpiece manu- facturing facility in 2024 from Sun Valley, California, to its sprawling campus of fac- tories in Farmingdale, New York. “Doing so has enabled our Woodwinds division to take advantage of the vast tech- nical resources we have here that support all of our factories,” D’Addario III said. “This has resulted in incredible quality im- provements, better yields and cost controls, and better order fill rates for our dealers. Our back orders for D’Addario woodwinds products have never been so low. We con- tinue to add digital content resources to our B2B platform to support dealer sell-through, including a dedicated training page for deal- ers to share with their sales associates.” MI
John D’Addario III
By combining a knowledgeable, accessible staff and continual reinvestment in its U.S.-based manufacturing facilities, D’Addario ensures quality products, reliable order fulfillment and seamless dealer support. — By Kimberly Kapela EXCELLENCE IN ACTION
F or the third year in a row, D’Addario has been honored with Music Inc.’s Supplier Excellence Award. Retail- ers praise its unmatched dealer program, operational innovation and consistent cus- tomer support, citing its “simple, straight- forward programs, excellent products, and simple billing and shipping policies.” Oth- ers commend D’Addario’s dealer program and dedicated team, noting the “friendliest staff that are beyond helpful and always have stock that arrives fast.” At the heart of D’Addario’s contin- ued success lies a deep dedication to op- erational excellence and the people who make it happen. Behind the scenes, the company’s knowledgeable staff work dai- ly to anticipate dealer needs and ensure smooth operations. “They are committed to being highly accessible by dividing their work hours to provide convenient time zone coverage,” said CEO John D’Addario III. “All of our dealers have a dedicated sales manager and
a customer service representative, both of which are well-trained in answering prod- uct inquiries, assisting with order and lo- gistical questions, and troubleshooting any issues that may arise.” Each year, the company reinvests in its factories, distribution centers and digital tools to remain agile and responsive. “It enables us to be highly responsive to our dealer’s needs while maintaining very high on-time and complete order fulfillment rates, despite the challenge of maintaining a catalog of over 7,000 SKUs,” D’Addario III explained. “In today’s envi- ronment that is rife with supply chain disruptions and tariffs, being largely in control of our own supply chain is a com- petitive advantage. For example, the list of products we manufacture in our USA- based facilities is now well over 90% and still growing, as are our vertical integration capabilities which reduce our reliance on outside suppliers. This includes raw mate- rial production, printing of our own pack-
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