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April 13, 2007 News for the wholesale distribution industry     News and Trends  Motion Industries acquires industrial supplies distributor Distributor Motion Industries, a subsidiary of Genuine Parts Co., has purchased Jonesboro Bearing & Supply, increasing its business reach in Arkansas, where Jonesboro has 33 employees in two locations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Industrial Distribution (4/9) Cardinal Health completes sale of PTS division Cardinal Health says the sale of its Pharmaceutical Technologies and Services segment is complete. The pharmaceuticals wholesaler-distributor sold PTS to private-equity firm Blackstone Group for around $3.3 billion. MSN Money/American City Business Journals (4/10) Thermo Fisher Scientific Board Chairman Meister set to retire Thermo Fisher Scientific Chairman Paul M. Meister has announced he will retire from the board, following a decision not seek another term as director, the laboratory supplies distributor said. It expects to name a replacement director before the company's May 15 stockholder meeting. Forbes/Associated Press (4/10) Other News Airgas East names new president Forbes/Associated Press (4/6) Tech Data receives Best of Show award from CompTIA ITNews.com.au (Australia) (4/10)   Best Practices  Improve safety, quality of your data You've come to the conclusion that your data security and storage need work, so now what? Use software to determine the seriousness of your issues, and then appoint someone to take responsibility for the project. "Improvement in data quality requires a combination of people, process and technology focus. All three aspects must be brought to bear in order to achieve lasting positive results," says Ted Friedman, VP at IT research firm Gartner. Baseline (free registration) (4/9) Blogging your way to success Corporate recruiters are increasingly looking to applicants' blogs for information on their outside interests, industry knowledge and writing skills. As Wal-Mart recruiter Ryan Loken said, "If they have a blog or made a comment on one, you can see what their knowledge level truly is because resumes can be full of fluff." The Wall Street Journal (free content) (4/10)   Sales  Up the sales team's motivation factor Suggest various communications methods, set quantitative sales goals and motivate by example if you find your sales team e-mailing clients and prospects when they should be taking the time to call. E-mail is quick and easy, so reps sometimes need a motivational reminder from their managers that face-to-face contact and telephone calls are still important. MarketingProfs (free registration) (4/10)   Small Business Manager  Column: Start-ups are hard, but success may be right around the corner Starting a business from scratch is hard work, but a little optimism and focus go a long way. Set goals and always look for ways to improve what you do, and success will follow (maybe even sooner than you think), says entrepreneur and author Wil Schroter. American City Business Journals (4/2)   Executive Life  Outdoor theaters on a budget Backyard theaters are catching on with audiences who spend a good amount of time outdoors. Companies have begun ramping up production of projectors and inflatable screens that appeal to the budget-conscious outdoor crowd. The New York Times (4/12) Study: Milk better for building muscle mass than soy Men who drink skim milk after exercise gain twice as much muscle than those who drink soy milk, a new study found. NBC4/NewsChannel 4 (New York) (4/11)   NAW Insider  How do you insure part of a set? The Hartford offers Pairs and Sets coverage that can make a wholesaler-distributor "whole" after suffering a covered loss to a pair or set. Read the full text. Should you become an acquisitive distributor? This NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence book The Acquisitive Distributor pinpoints steps to success when one wholesale distribution firm sets out to acquire another. It can help you grow your business by showing you how the best acquisitive distributors operate. Learn more about NAW -> Join NAW  |  Business Products  |  Publications  |  Meetings  |  Govt. Relations   Weekly Poll  Do you have a place online for clients to leave reviews? After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like. Yes. No. We're working on it. Director of Operations Frost Electric Supply St. Louis, MO Branch Manager Rexel CLS Waterford, CT Sales Manager ESP International Cedar Rapids, Iowa Senior Marketing Manager C. H. Briggs Reading, PA   SmartQuote  My parents always told us to find out what we were good at and not worry about what others think." --Lornah Kiplagat, Dutch-Kenyan long-distance runner     Subscriber Tools       Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy Advertise Sales Associate:  Henry Murphey 202-737-5500 ext. 245 Download Media Kit Job Board:  Lee Vanderwerff 202-737-5500 ext. 248   Read more at SmartBrief.com A powerful Web site for SmartBrief readers including: Breaking News Industry Home Competitor News Readers' Choice Press Releases Search Archive Who's Hiring? Get this RSS Feed Publish your Press Release       Recent NAW SmartBrief Issues: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Monday, April 09, 2007 Friday, April 06, 2007 Wednesday, April 04, 2007 Monday, April 02, 2007     Lead Editor:  Ashley McMaster       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2009 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information