If you had told me a year ago that Stonemaier Games–which had operated since 2012 with only one full-time employee (me, Jamey)–would soon have not one, but two new full-time staff members, I would have said, “Hogwash!”
But you would have been right. Joining our Director of Communications (Joe Aubrey) is our new Director of Sales, Alex Schmidt. Just as I’ve been incredibly happy with what Joe has added to Stonemaier Games, I’m very excited for Alex’s contributions.
Why make this position?
Over the last 6 years, we’ve outsourced distribution brokerage, warehousing, and fulfillment to a fellow St. Louis game publisher, Greater Than Games (GTG). I’ve pursued a low overhead strategy (I work from home), while GTG has a robust staff, a large warehouse, and strong relationships with distributors.
So back when Stonemaier was in the fledgling stages of growth, we came to a mutually beneficial agreement with GTG. They would receive shipping containers of our products, store those products in their warehouse, inform distributors of product availability, ship those products to distributors, and handle distributor invoices and payments. There’s more to it than that, but those are the core elements, and we paid GTG a small fee per product sold to distributors, as well as warehousing and freight shipping fees.
The distribution brokerage services GTG provided were–and still are–well worth those fees. It’s a lot of work, even for a modest product line like that of Stonemaier Games (a little over 30 SKUs).
But a few things changed over the years. Back in 2014, we were selling a few thousand units to distributors each year; we’ve averaged nearly half a million unit sold to distributors over the last few years. In 2014, I wasn’t communicating directly with any distributors; now I exchange frequent emails with dozens of them every week. And we now sell to distributors in such quantities that we often ship to them directly from China.
So we recently decided it was time to bring distribution brokerage in house. We wanted to do this in a way that was respectful and grateful to GTG, especially since we’ll continue outsourcing their warehousing, freight shipment, and fulfillment services. So we came to an arrangement…we just needed someone at Stonemaier Games to handle the brokerage. That’s where Alex comes in.
Why Alex?
For the last 3 years, Alex was an account manager at GTG, with a core part of his responsibilities being a liaison for Stonemaier. Perhaps my favorite thing about Alex is how communicative and responsive he is. I always knew that if I sent an email to Alex, he would reply quickly (often after seeking out an answer from the corresponding party. I highly value great communication skills–especially for someone who will be communicating with our biggest clients: distributors, retailers, and localization partners–and Alex has demonstrated those skills time after time for the last 3 years.
Also, with us bringing distribution brokerage in house while still maintaining strong ties to Greater Than Games, Alex was the literally the perfect fit for this particular job. He’ll remain a liaison between Stonemaier and GTG because he knows both companies so well, he understands both of our systems and procedures, and he’s seen how both Stonemaier and GTG interact with distributors and retailers.
While Alex doesn’t have experience with our localization partners (with whom I’ve coordinated), the process is fairly similar to distribution brokerage, and there’s some overlap between the types of products they order and those that we make for distributors.
What will he do?
Alex has 4 core responsibilities:
- distribution brokerage
- direct retailer coordination
- localization partner coordination
- liaison between GTG and Stonemaier Games
Alex is also an avid gamer (tabletop and RPG), so like everyone else at Stonemaier Games, he’ll be involved in playtesting submissions and games in development. He’s also a game designer, and you’ll learn about his first published design (a game I co-designed with him) next year.
You can learn more about Alex and find his contact information on his staff page.
***
I’m really excited to have Alex on board and to bring distribution in house. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Alex to Stonemaier Games, and if you have any questions for him (or me), feel free to post them in the comments below!
38 Comments on “A Huge Change for Stonemaier Games: Brokerage, Sales, and Alex Schmidt”
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Congratulations, Alex! It seems like a huge win for both you and Stonemaier Games. I wish you the very best in your new endeavor!
This is great news for the “team” at Stonemaier. I have been a fan for quite a while and find myself defending Jamie against ruthless, unfair attacks and despite not knowing his character, I defend the companies customer service, attention to detail and direct interaction with the community.Jamie lights up BGG with great insight while staying introspective. My family and friends have enjoyed so many of Stonemaier designs over the years and when Stonemaier goes public, one day, I will be first in line for my shares in a company that dreams big and delivers great products. Congrats to the team at Stonmaier. Wishing much prosperity moving forward.
Thanks, Pete! We all appreciate the support. Hopefully my being here will just make the team stronger with even better communication on all fronts!
The fact that Communication is your priority speaks volumes about you already Alex. Best wishes on your new venture. Stay practical and you’ll be fine.
Thanks, I appreciate your confidence in me!
Sounds like a great fit for the company! Welcome, Alex! (just subscribed to your youtube as well)
Thanks Rob! Hopefully you enjoy those! They’re definitely something I’m very new to, but have had a lot of fun with so far!
Congrats! And welcome :)
Thanks Shawna! I’m excited to be here!
Welcome, Alex!
Thanks, AJ!
Glad to see an excellent company and family growing…welcome to the team…looking forward to all your contributions…best of luck and congrats!
Thanks, Richard! I hope I don’t disappoint!
SM is no longer a partnership, it is now a Team! Very exciting move for you guys! Best wishes! Im not even a customer yet, but I love the content SM creates for all those fledging business owners trying to make it out there like us. I just read “Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team” by Patrick Lencioni, and I would highly recommend you guys listen to it as you are now a team, and work to try to become a great one at that. Again, best wishes dudes and future gals who join the SM team!
Thanks, Nicholas! And thank you for the recommendation. Growing is both one of the most exciting and most rocky things for a company to go through and thinking about pitfalls on the front end is a good idea!
Welcome to the Stonemaier family, Alex. From my experience (only as a happy consumer), I think you’ve made an excellent decision! As you well know, customer loyalty is among the greatest assets a company possesses; and is achieved by evident integrity, caring service, prompt communication, and a quality product. This is my definition of Stonemaier. I am sure you will only bolster those qualities as you join the Stonemaier team. I look forward, as well, to your coming co-designed game!
Thanks Frank!
I’ve been lucky enough to know Jamey personally for almost four years now, and can tell you he is just as caring and supportive of his friends as his customers. I definitely feel lucky to be here and am looking forward to making things only easier and smoother for everyone going forward! And I can’t wait for you to get your hands on the upcoming game!
Well said Frank, I couldn’t agree more! Welcome aboard Alex!
Thanks Dane! I appreciate such a warm welcome!
Agreed, Frank! Welcome to the team, Alex!
Thanks, Thomas!
Awesome! Huge news and congrats!
Thanks!
Congratulations Alex! I’m looking forward to your co-designed game as well!
Question for Joe: Do you have a cat?
Follow up to Jamey if Joe’s answer is yes: Is being a parent to a cat a prerequisite to get hired? (I know Morten has one…).
Thanks, Kentoku! I’m looking forward to sharing that game with you.
I’ll let Joe and Jamey answer for themselves, but I will say it definitely doesn’t hurt your chances for getting hired.
I do have two cats! It’s either a requirement for us all, or perhaps just a lucky coincidence. The world may never know. ;)
2 cat minimum!
Morten’s staff page actually reveals he joined Stonemaier before owning a cat. Although it must have been tough. Look at the last paragraph of https://stonemaiergames.com/about/morten-monrad-pedersen/
Hmm, that must be why he’s only part-time 😁
Congratulations Alex and Stonemaier Games. May this be a fruitful partnership for all.
Thanks, Connie!
Congratulations Alex! Excited to see Stonemaier grow and develop.
Looking forward to seeing what Alex brings to the table- especially literally my table! Looking forward to 2021’s Jamey + Alex co-design!
Thanks, Cody!
I’m both excited for when we’ll be able to start talking about it and for you and everyone else to get the game to your table!
That’s great news! Welcome aboard, Alex! Good luck to everyone at Stonemaier for this next chapter.
Thanks, Karel! I’m excited to be here and starting this new chapter and excited to see what I can bring to the table as part of the Stonemaier team.