| October 3, 2008 | News for the wholesale distribution industry |
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- Anixter acquisitions support multinational companies
Anixter International's recent acquisitions in Wisconsin, Germany, France and Mexico have left some industry experts puzzled about the direction of the company's worldwide expansion goals. However, the CFO of the communication products distributor said the strategy was to focus on customers. "The real focus of each of these acquisitions is supporting the multinational companies that we serve as they expand globally," CFO Dennis Letham said. Modern Distribution Management
(9/30)
    
- Tech Data inks deal with USA.NET to distribute e-mail hosting services
Tech Data Corporation, an IT products distributor, has signed an agreement with USA.NET to distribute its e-mail hosting services. "Our partnership with Tech Data enables us to engage their nationwide network of resellers, who are ideally suited to introduce USA.NET hosted e-mail services to small and medium sized businesses," said Doug Howard, president of USA.NET. TMCNet.com
(9/30)
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- Ease layoff pain with alternative strategies
Eliminating jobs during tough times can be a necessary, but painful option. This column offers some ways business owners can try to soften the blow, such as focusing cuts on the weak performers, looking into whether there are employees who would be willing to leave voluntarily, especially if you are offering severance or some other incentive, and finding out if you have full-time employees on staff who'd rather be working on a part-time basis. Bloomberg BusinessWeek
(9/26)
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| Small Business Manager | | |
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- Small-business owners gain voice in public-policy debate
Entrepreneurs around the country have discovered that one way to stay involved in public policies affecting their businesses and have their voices heard by government officials making the decisions is through involvement with the National Federation of Independent Business. In California, for example, Steve Caughran, owner of Higher Ground Engineering and Land Surveying, has been invited to meetings with the governor thanks to his involvement with NFIB. "You'd be surprised; you can really get involved and get your voice heard," Caughran says. MSNBC/Entrepreneur.com
(9/29)
| Executive Life | | |
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- Bill aims to help protect privacy of traveler's laptops
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has proposed legislation that would limit the authority of customs officials to search travelers' laptops and other electronic devices. "Reasonable suspicion" would have to be documented by the agent before inspection of the device. "Requiring citizens and other legal residents of the United States to submit to a government review and analysis of thousands of pages of their most personal information without any suspicion of wrongdoing is incompatible with the values of liberty and personal freedom on which the United States was founded," a preamble to the legislation says. The New York Sun
(9/30)
- SecurityMan offers wireless home-alarm kit
Air-Alarm is SecurityMan's latest home and small-business system, a wireless do-it-yourself kit that can send users alerts via the phone without a monthly fee, according to the company. The system can serve up to 60 sensors and eight remote controllers, and the signals travel from 300 to 450 feet depending on the type of sensor. ElectronicHouse.com
(9/26)
| NAW Insider | | |
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Increase awareness, reduce costs and downtime
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Specialists are used by a supermajority of top-performing distributors. As defined, the specialist supports the "front-line" sales team and other departments by playing a specific -- usually product- or technology-related -- role in the sales process. The specialist furnishes technical support, sales backup, marketing direction and product management. Learn how to use the specialist to be more profitable in today's down economy.
| Weekly Poll | | |
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Would your company consider direct-to-consumer sales?
After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.
 | Yes. There are good opportunities in the direct-to-consumer market. |
| Maybe, depending on the way the markets change. |
| We already have a retail component. |
| No. We do not plan to change our business model. |
| SmartQuote | | |
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 | A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well."
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- Thursday, September 25, 2008
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