News and Trends

• McKesson posts flat net, despite rise in revenue
  McKesson Corp.'s fiscal Q1 profit was flat despite a 9% increase in revenue that was fueled partly by an acquisition. The company posted a net profit of $235 million for the quarter and $235 million in the year-ago period. Reuters (7/23)

• Ingram Micro reports rise in quarterly profit
  Cost-cutting and currency fluctuations helped boost second-quarter results at Ingram Micro Inc., with both sales and profit showing gains. "Despite increasingly competitive markets, we were able to achieve the highest second-quarter gross margin in a decade through pricing discipline, growth in higher-margin business units and improvement in our business mix," CEO Gregory M. Spierkel said. Forbes/Associated Press (7/24)

• Other News

• Reliance Steel decides against common stock offering
  Reuters (7/25)

Best Practices

• "Teleworking" becomes more attractive as gas prices soar
  With gas prices soaring, employers can help themselves and their employees by offering flexible "teleworking" options. VoIP technologies make the option relatively easy, and a recent survey indicated that nearly 40% of employees said they would be willing to forgo a pay increase in exchange for the ability to work from home a few days a week. The Business Ledger (Oak Brook, Ill.) (7/23)

• Hire an accountant who understands your business
  SDV Construction, a two-year-old Albuquerque, N.M., construction firm, credits a large part of its success to its relationship with accounting firm Ricci & Co. "Jamie and Sandy Ricci understand my business," SDV founder Kirk McWethy says. "They know construction and they know the accounting procedures and reporting that's necessary for my particular industry." American City Business Journals/Albuquerque, N.M. (7/18)

Sales

• Seal the deal with franchisors more quickly
  This article provides 10 tips for shortening the time span between the inquiry phase and bringing new franchisors into the fold. Among the suggestions: Create an innovative, captivating Web site to replace your franchise recruitment package, and convey your disclosure documents via the Net. Franchise UPDATE (7/23)

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by NAW SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Integrated supply growing rapidly, study finds (Industrial Distribution)

• BlueLinx defies outlook as shares increase 33% (Reuters)

• Industrial distributors see rising costs, falling demand (IndustryWeek)

• Five key components essential in sales meeting's first five minutes (Selling Power)

• Airgas profit rises by a third in Q1 (Modern Distribution Management)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Small Business Manager

• 10 tips for thrifty spending during startup phase
  Entrepreneur polled experts to compile a list of 10 ways entrepreneurs can save money when launching their businesses. Among them: Start with a small product line and commit whatever funding is available to things that produce revenue. Entrepreneur (8/2008)

Executive Life

• Aperion Audio unleashes a tower of power
  Aperion Audio has announced the debut of its latest speakers, the Intimus 4T, a two-way tower setup that features dual four-inch, fiberglass-woven composite drivers and a one-inch, silk-dome tweeter. The product, priced at $650 per pair, can be used in conjunction with Aperion's 4B bookshelf speakers or by itself. CEPro.com (7/23)

• A fat-free way to sweeten up desserts
  Desserts that incorporate fresh fruit have flavorful, sweet tastes -- and don't require a lot of sugar. Chefs suggest roasting peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums to bring out their natural sugars. San Francisco Chronicle (7/23)

NAW Insider

• Don't make wrong decisions about profitability
  Al Bates, founder and president of Profit Planning Group, has spent 30 years analyzing distributor financial statements. His findings in Profit Myths in Wholesale Distribution boil down to this conclusion: Much, and possibly even most, of what managers in distribution companies know about improving profitability is wrong. Good economic times mask this fact, while challenging times make this fact absolutely dangerous!

• Suit of armor: Six books to combat tough economy
  These wholesale distribution-specific books will help you hold on to, or even increase, your profits during the economic downturn when times are tough. Together they provide the strategy to drive growth, the know-how to manage your finances, and the tools to better understand how sales, margins, inventory and expenses work together to make your business profitable. You save 30%.

Weekly Poll

• Would you forgo a pay increase for the chance to work from home a few days a week?
  After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.

	Yes -- the saved gas money/commute time/family time would make it worth it.
	No -- working from home does not appeal to me.
	Maybe -- but I would want to work from home full time.
	The nature of my work would not allow me to telecommute even if I wanted to.

Vice President of Sales, West Region UNFI Rocklin, CA Inbound Operations Manager - Distribution Center GRAINGER Jacksonville, FL

SmartQuote

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." --Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace laureate