News and Trends

• Arrow Electronics, MathStar enter global distribution deal
  Worldwide electronics distributor Arrow Electronics is partnering with MathStar Inc. to support the programmable logic supplier in reaching its overseas customers, following the launch of an extensive sales and marketing campaign. "With the addition of Arrow, we now have a fully deployed global sales channel to support our customers from the design and prototyping stage to production in the Americas, Europe, or Asia Pacific," said MathStar's vice president of sales. Electronics Supply & Manufacturing (4/11)

• Polar Supply acquired by Spenard Builders Supply
  Spenard Builders Supply has purchased Polar Supply Co., a maker of building and maintenance products for roads and bridges. The acquisition will increase Spenard's commercial product offerings. Polar Supply's three plants will each operate as a separate division within Spenard. Modern Distribution Management (4/11)

• Opinion: Web strategies open doors for distributors
  Wholesaler-distributors can do much more with the Internet than buy or sell products. The Web can be used to spread news, perform comparisons and discuss experiences. Now is the time for w-ds to analyze their online strategy and create a Web-based customer experience that is informative, interactive and helpful, writer Jack Keough says. Industrial Distribution (4/1)

• To buy: Copies of "Facing the Forces of Change®: Lead the Way in the Supply Chain" are available here.

• Other News

• Orgill slated to start construction on new distribution center
  Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (4/11)

WHITE PAPER: Enabling Efficient Chargeback Management. Find out how a single, integrated enterprise solution can efficiently and effectively manage chargeback programs within the wholesale distributor's existing business systems.

Best Practices

• Turn prospects into repeat customers, watch business grow
  Focus on customer service when striving to build a solid reputation for your business. Keep your customers' best interests in mind, get to know frequent patrons by name and go out of your way to be helpful and seek feedback, and you're on your way to creating lifelong clients. Sales & Marketing Management/Manage Smarter (4/10)

• Column: Frequently asked job hunting questions answered
  How soon is too soon to leave a job? Is it OK to apply for jobs while pregnant? Washington Post columnist Amy Joyce answers these questions and other common inquiries posed by job hunters. The Washington Post (4/8)

Sales

• Take steps to record, understand sales data
  Simply knowing the numbers behind your sales metrics isn't enough: Sales reps need to understand how to apply the information in order to make it valuable. Analyze data to figure out where improvements need to be made, and use the results to set attainable goals. Selling Power (free registration) (4/2)

Hot Topics

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

• Motion Industries acquires industrial supplies distributor (Industrial Distribution)

• The evolving relationship between RFID, logistics (Forbes)

• Foggy expectations No. 1 reason why new hires leave (Society for Human Resource Management)

• Hiring decisions shouldn't be rushed (Supply House Times magazine)

• Personal investment goes beyond 401(k) (American City Business Journals)

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

Small Business Manager

• Possibilities for securing small-business funds
  Securing funding for a growing business is seldom easy, but you can get started by identifying venture capital firms that favor your field -- but haven't funded your competition -- and contact a partner there. Once you've done your homework on a firm, don't be afraid to make a cold call: You stand to gain much more than by not calling at all. BusinessWeek (4/2)

Executive Life

• Barcelona's food mesmerizes palate, eyes and imagination
  A regular vacation to Barcelona, Spain, doesn't provide nearly enough time to try all the interesting and exotic culinary offerings available. From the fish markets with the day's catch straight from the Mediterranean to a bevy of tempting restaurants, Barcelona delivers. Delta Sky Magazine (4/2007)

• Survey: E-commerce sites embrace nontraditional payment
  E-commerce businesses increasingly are accepting nontraditional payment methods such as Bill Me Later, Google Checkout and PayPal. There was a 267% increase in acceptance of nontraditional payments on the largest sites in February, when compared with a survey in mid-October, according to E-Commerce consulting firm Brulant. StorefrontBacktalk (4/12)

	The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) The May 14th postal hike can have a significant impact on your bottom line. What are you doing to protect your profits? Kevin Craine, author of "Designing a Document Strategy" presents a free online seminar entitled Six Tips to Beat Rising Postal Costs. This webinar is offered to NAW Magazine readers on April 26th at 2:00PM EDT. Register now! Sponsored by Billtrust. Interested in learning more about advertising in NAW SmartBrief? Contact Henry Murphey at (202) 737-5500 ext. 245 or hmurphey@smartbrief.com

NAW Insider

• Boost sales power with More to the Bottom Line
  Are some of your customers more trouble that they're worth? What should you do about it? The NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence book More to the Bottom Line: Customer Profitability Analysis Tools for Distributors answers those questions and lays the foundation for a powerful new sales strategy.

• Learn the Essentials of Profitable Wholesale Distribution
  Essentials of Profitable Wholesale Distribution will benefit your entire team. End-of-chapter self-tests, a glossary, and a concluding "final exam" speed learning and retention.

Weekly Poll

• How far-reaching are your distribution channels?
  After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.

	We are global.
	We are national.
	We operate within our state.
	All of the above.

Director of Operations Frost Electric Supply St. Louis, MO Branch Manager Rexel CLS Waterford, CT

SmartQuote

Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before." --Kurt Vonnegut, novelist and satirist