Information For Consumers

Information For Eye Care Professionals

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In Focus: Fall 2009

Winners Announced
Credit Reporting Service

Free Sales Training

Vision Expo West Attendee Registration

Vision Expo Meetings Schedule

Public Affairs & Advocacy

Member Discounts

Member Update Form Winners
The 2009 member update forms were mailed to members of The Vision Council in May. In appreciation for sending in your updated contact information, ten completed forms were randomly selected to win a $100 American Express Gift Card. Listed below are the winners of the $100 American Express Gift Cards. Congratulations!

Eyewear & Accessories Division

Cheryl Canning - L'Amy America

Ange McClure - Kenmark Group

Chris Madden - Eye On Eyewear

Beth Lister - Eyewear BY ROI

Lens Division

Julianne West - Optical Dynamics

Barbara J. Wright - Seiko Optical Products of America, Inc.

Kelli Baltzersen - Pixel Optics, Inc.

Dave Delle Donne - Carl Zeiss Vision

LPT Division

Barbara Butler - Universal Photonics, Inc.

Sunglass & Readers Division

Mark Marshall - Mountain View Marketing, Inc.

Keep an Eye on Late-Paying Customers
You most likely have customers that are late on their payments. But when does it become a real problem? The Vision Council offers its Credit Reporting System (CRS) as a tool to help the accounts receivable departments of member companies.

To use the CRS, members confidentially upload their own accounts receivable month-end data, which is then compiled with other members' data. From there, participating members can perform customer searches using federal ID numbers, business name, address or phone numbers to determine customer payment trends.

In addition to providing receivables data in a "current 30-60-90-120 day" format, the CRS provides an industry vs. vendor report which compares the member's accounts receivable information to the industry total (the combination of all members' data). A "core list" of a subset of customers that have raised concerns regarding payment trends is developed as well.

The CRS was developed by Applied Information Technologies (AIT). The Vision Council is working closely with AIT to develop a new method for users to format their data that will allow their aging information to be downloaded without requiring federal ID numbers.

The CRS, a Windows-based and Internet accessible application, is available for a 14-day trial to any member of The Vision Council not currently participating. Please contact Elaine Kennedy, The Vision Council senior manager of membership, at ekennedy@thevisioncouncil.org or call (703) 740-1099 for instructions and a temporary password.

 Free "On the Road Sales Coach" Training
In March, The Vision Council launched a series of free sales training sessions for members. The quarterly sessions, called "On the Road Sales Coach," are conducted as facilitated conference calls and cover topics of interest to sales professionals, including how to sustain business growth in a tough economy, cold calling and time management.

The sales training is led by industry experts and serves as an open forum for sales professionals to brainstorm and share best practices. Participants are able to submit questions prior to each training session.

"The 'On the Road Sales Coach' training is a great way to enrich the skills of sales teams by providing quality content that is up to the minute," said Rene Soltis, The Vision Council director of education and training. "The distance learning format allows companies to control training costs by having their sales team participate in training that is accessible from any geographic region."

The remaining "On the Road Sales Coach" session for 2009 includes:

• Wednesday, December 2nd: Annual Report Cards: Obtaining and Embracing Feedback

The one-hour sessions are held at 8:00 a.m. EST and 11:00 a.m. EST to allow sales professionals on both the east and west coasts to participate before they begin their day of sales calls. Attendees will be provided with electronic session outlines and summary reports of each call.

To register for the free sales training courses, please contact Amber Robinson, The Vision Council member services coordinator, at (703) 740-1094 or arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org. An agenda and dial-in/web information will be provided upon registration.

 Vision Expo West Attendee Registrations (as of 9/25/09)

Total pre-registration is 15,521 versus 16,823 last year at this point in time. There has been an uptick in registrations over the last week.

Breakdown of the Pre-registration Numbers
Show only: 11.934 vs 12,844 last year
Conference: 3, 587 vs 3,939 last year

DEMOGRAPHICS  
Title/Position
Optician - 19%  
Optometrist - 19%  
Buyer - 15%

Business Practice
Independent Prof Practice 63%
Independent Retail outlet 14%  
 
GEOGRAPHICS:
Top 3 States
California - 35%
New York - 7%
Texas - 6%
International  
Canada - 5%  
Mexico - 1%  
Italy - 4%  

The Vision Council Meeting Schedule for International Vision Expo West 

Tuesday, September 29
Data Communication Standard/Direct Surfacing Task Force Meeting
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Room 801

AR Steering Committee Working Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Room 802

Wednesday, September 30
Lens Processing & Technology Division Meeting
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Room 801

Lens Division Meeting
9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Room 803

Statistics Committee Meeting
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Room 804

Eyewear & Accessories Division Meeting
12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Room 801/802

The Vision Council Board of Directors 
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Room 805

Thursday, October 1
Public Affairs Committee Meeting
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Room 801

Better Vision Institute (BVI) Dinner
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Canaletto at the Venetian

Saturday, October 3
Sunglass & Reader Division Reception
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Room 802

Sunday, October 4
Sunglass & Reader Steering Committee
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Sands - Room 104

Sunglass & Reader Division
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Sands - Room 105

Public Affairs & Advocacy Update
PAA on the Hill
The Public Affairs and Advocacy Department has been working with other vision advocacy groups on Capitol Hill to ensure vision care coverage is included in the ongoing health care reform debate. Currently, the legislation is being debated with different versions in both the House and the Senate. The Vision Council will be working to add vision coverage to other similar programs in the legislation. Currently, there are sections in the bills regarding diabetes that do not include coverage for proper eye exams to detect diabetic retinopathy. Furthermore, there is a great deal of parity between dental coverage and vision care coverage in the legislation and we will be working to attach vision coverage to those issues as well.

CPSIA Implementation
On August 11, the Public Affairs and Advocacy Regulatory Team conducted a conference call to educate and respond to questions from members about the new lead and phthalate testing laws for products made for children 12 and under.Known as the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), the laws were discussed  as they pertain to members' products and manufacturing process. An audio recording of this call and the complete memo can be found here.

Customs and 10+2 Update
The current system for cargo brought to the United States via vessel has a set of 10 requirements known as the Importer Security Filing (ISF) which requires 10 specific data entry points to be submitted to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The new program remains under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security and is designed to further prevent the importation of terrorist weapons into the U.S. The system, which will be completely electronic, continues to affect all goods manufactured overseas and transported to the U.S. via vessel. The current rule, known as the "24 hour rule," requires carriers to submit advance cargo information more than 24 hours prior to a cargo ship entering a foreign port. Under the new program there are two more requirements added to the preexisting ten, hence the new "10+2" name.

The new ruling requires carriers to submit vessel stow plans to CBP within 48 hours of a ship's departure from the last foreign port before it arrives in the U.S. The ruling also requires the number, size, type and other information of each individual container aboard that particular vessel. In addition to these notifications, the CBP is also requiring a Container Status Message as certain events occur to regularly monitor containers once they are brought onto the vessel.

Recently, the National Association of Manufacturers issued a statement estimating that the new rule, "imposes permanent operational costs of $3.5 billion each year... adds nearly three days of additional delay, on average, to the global supply chain, costing an additional $17 billion annually." As the Department of Homeland Security takes these reports into account, The Vision Council will update members on timelines and expected implementation which is currently set in place for the beginning of 2010.

Health Care Reform Update
In light of recent news, we thought you might be interested in learning more from our Public Affairs and Advocacy Department and Committee about health care reform. In order to better communicate with you, we've created a Health Care Reform section on our website. In addition to finding information regarding our position and recent activities, you will also find links to the positions of other vision community groups, consumer health education groups and more.

We will continue to send you alerts as this information is updated. If you have any questions, please contact Eve Zartman-Ball, The Vision Council senior director of Public Affairs and Advocacy, at ezb@thevisioncouncil.org.

Do You Need Help Promoting Your Company?
The Vision Council is pleased to introduce Advent Packaging and Promotions, a fellow member of The Vision Council, as a trusted resource for your tradeshow gift and advertising specialty requirements. With over 20 years in the printing and promotional business, Advent has a proven track record of providing clients with creative and innovative ideas that are used to create an ideal promotional strategy when you have a niche product or need to attract a specific target audience.

With Advent, you're their client and they are your own personal shopper, providing service along with ideas and prices. When you order online, Advent has your interests in mind, monitoring your order and your deadline. Seldom will you receive that kind of personalized, "hand-holding" customer service from on-line company. Let Advent show you what they can do!

For more information, please contact Amber Robinson, The Vision Council member services coordinator, at (703) 740-1094 or arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org.

Save with ParcelSmart
The Vision Council is pleased to offer an exclusive benefit to members that will help you save time and money on your parcel shipments. ParcelSmart is the leading provider of contingency-based parcel auditing services. Working with DHL, FedEx and UPS carriers, ParcelSmart will help you find shipping errors and receive credits to your account. Typically, three to eight percent of the charges on your shipping invoices are made in error. ParcelSmart works to identify and correct these errors.

Run on a contingency-based program, if no errors are found, no fees will be collected. You can also receive a free carrier contract review to assure your carrier is in compliance with your agreement. Take charge of your shipping bills and get the credit you deserve.

Contact Amber Robinson, The Vision Council member services coordinator, at (703) 740-1094 or at arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org to learn more.

Become Our Fan on Facebook
The Vision Council is now on Facebook! We have created fan pages that anyone can join. If you use Facebook please show your support for The Vision Council and Eyecessorize and become a fan of our pages!