| September 12, 2007 | News for the wholesale distribution industry |
 |  |
- Make forklift fleets more efficient
Some distribution managers who are looking for ways to cut back on forklift-fleet maintenance are asking their third-party fleet management providers for "power by the hour" options. The managers who are adopting the per-hour leasing format are finding that it saves time, money and maintenance, though not everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. "We quote a ton of business each week, and very few are asking for a per-hour cost structure," said the director of fleet management at lift-truck manufacturer Hyster, "but it's something we expect to see become more common going forward." DC Velocity
(9/2007)
     
- Thermo Fisher purchases instrument sales business
Thermo Fisher Scientific, a manufacturer and marketer of b-to-b industrial products, has purchased Davis Inotek Instruments' instrument sales business. Thermo Fisher will combine Davis Instruments with its existing specialty catalog brand Cole-Parmer, but the two divisions will continue to produce separate catalogs while being cross-promoted, said Cole-Parmer president Andy Greenawalt. Multichannel Merchant
(9/5)
 | Join Lawson at booth #746 of the International FoodService Distributors Association (IFDA) conference October 7-9 in Louisville, Kentucky. Our solution for food distributors helps manage high volumes and time-sensitive inventories while delivering the levels of service your customers demand. Visit www.lawson.com/ifda07 for more information. |
- Use business disruptions to drive innovation
Changes or disruptions in the business environment can represent crucial sources of innovation, says Lynda M. Applegate, a Harvard Business School professor. A list of disruptors that innovators can use to boost value include technology, new business models, changing industry dynamics and globalization. HBS Working Knowledge
(9/4)
- Get to the point, use sound bites for successful webcasts
Companies such as Cisco Systems increasingly are turning to webcasts for sales and marketing. Some tips for creating webcasts that work include making sure to grab viewers' attention in the first 90 seconds; speaking in sound bites edited from longer interviews or tapings; using lists to outline talking points; and leaning forward 20 degrees to deliver more impact. BusinessWeek
(9/5)
 |
|  |
| | Leverage Your Inventory for Maximum Profit.
As a distributor, inventory is one of your key assets. How do you make sure you have the right products at the right place and the right time? For innovative ideas and insight, download IBM's ALL-NEW Executive Forecast and Demand Planning eKit. It features Adam Fein's article on Demand-Driven Customer Relationships, whitepapers, case studies, and more. | |
 |
 ADVERTISEMENT |
|  |
| Sales |  | |
|
- New technology helps find value in former sales leads
In chasing down new sales leads, salespeople often ignore the best leads, which are those who were not qualified when first contacted or who chose to go with someone else. New technology addresses the problem by establishing a workflow for contacting former as well as current prospects and matching them to the appropriate salesperson. CRM Daily
(9/5)
| Distribution Trends Blog | | |
|
 |
-
Reinventing industrial distribution
Pembroke Consulting President and NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence Fellow Adam J. Fein, Ph.D. reflects on trends in the industrial distribution sector of the wholesale distribution industry, including private labeling, fee-based value-added services and the migration of smaller W-Ds to the Internet, as revealed in the 61st Annual survey of Distributor Operations. Distribution Trends
(9/10)
|
| Small Business Manager | | |
|
- Staff recruitment firm specializes in small businesses
Opportunity in the personnel recruitment field is high as baby boomers retire and unemployment remains low, as is demonstrated by the success of Hyrian OnDemand, a California company specializing in recruitment for small to midsize companies. While there are just over a million businesses in the U.S. with more than 500 employees, there are 5.2 million companies with 100 or fewer employees, and those companies have hiring needs that, while different, are no less pressing than larger companies. The New York Times
(9/6)
| Executive Life | | |
|
- Passport processing time back to normal
The State Department said passport processing time is back to the usual six to eight weeks now that the agency has cleared a backlog caused by new border requirements. The department said the number of passports issued so far during fiscal year 2007, which ends Sept. 30, is 16 million. That's a huge increase over the 12.1 million processed during the same period in fiscal 2006. Bloomberg1
(9/7)
 |
|  |
| The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
Can a one-day seminar make a difference in the career of a distributor salesperson? It can if it's Dave Kahle's Top Gun Survival School for Distributor Salespeople. The program, now in its fifth year, is proven to provide a massive dose of inspiration, motivation and education that can change the career of a distributor salesperson. Click here or call 800-331-1287 today!
Interested in learning more about advertising in NAW SmartBrief? Contact Henry Murphey at (202) 737-5500 ext. 245 or hmurphey@smartbrief.com
 | |
 |
|  |
| NAW Insider | | |
|
-
NAW's Billion Dollar Company CEO Roundtable
NAW's Billion Dollar Company CEO Roundtable, Chicago, Oct. 9 to 10, joins CEOs from wholesale distribution companies with sales $1 billion and above to network and learn. Topics are based on responses from the CEO community addressing specific needs of the group, including Building a Platform for the Future, Brand Building/Sourcing/Private Labels and the Multigenerational Workforce. Get details and register here.
-
Hertz Local Edition®
Choose Hertz Local Edition® for your local car rental needs. At more than 1,000 locations across the U.S., Hertz Local Edition® offers a fast customer pick-up and return service. As Hertz expands to more neighborhoods across the country, it'll be even easier for you to rent a car. To enroll in the NAW/Hertz Business Account Program, visit NAW's Web site.
-
Practice lean warehousing and eliminate wasted space and time
This is the first book to apply the "lean manufacturing theory" specifically to the world of warehousing. Lean Warehousing discusses the "why of getting lean" and shows you how to eliminate wasted space and time in a systematic approach, so you have a leaner warehouse operation tomorrow than you do today.
| Weekly Poll | | |
|
-
Did you lose much sleep when starting up your business?
After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.
 | Yes, but now I rest easy. |
| Yes, I lost sleep during the start-up phase and still do now. |
| No, I made time for sleep. |
| I have not started my own business. |
| SmartQuote | | |
|
 | Know that although in the eternal scheme of things you are small, you are also unique and irreplaceable, as are all your fellow humans everywhere in the world."
|
| |
| |
|
Read more at SmartBrief.com |
|
A powerful Web site for SmartBrief readers including:
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| | Recent NAW SmartBrief Issues:
- Monday, September 10, 2007
- Friday, September 07, 2007
- Wednesday, September 05, 2007
- Tuesday, September 04, 2007
- Friday, August 31, 2007
| | | Lead Editor: Ashley McMaster
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | |
| |
|
| © 1999-2009 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
