November 25, 2006

force, you've got to show them ?what's in it for me,'" Fitzgerald says. Binkelman showed its sales force that it could document what it has done for customers, including cost savings and getting out of bed at 2 in the morning to deliver a part. Then, if the customer is acquired, changes management or isfrustrated […]

September U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $407.21 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and The Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total was up 31.9 percent from August and up 43.1 percent from the total of $284.47 million reported for September 2005. With a year-to-date total of $2,815.34 million, 2006 was up 26.2

and other construction materials were down 4.0 percent, while sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, increased 2.6 percent. More …September U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $407.21 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and the Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total was up 31.9% from August and up 43.1% from September 2005.

September 2006 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, were $330.2 billion, down 1.2 percent from the revised August level, but were up 8.1 percent from the September 2005 level. September sales of durable goods decreased 0.3 percent from last month, but were up 9.0 percent from a year ago. Compared to

HD Supply, Home Depot’s fast-growing wholesale division, reported sales increased 159% to $3.5 billion in the third quarter. HD Supply accounted for about 15% of The Home Depot’s overall sales.HD Supply organic growth was 7 percent, due to the slowdown in residential construction.Overall sales for The Home Depot were boosted by the supply sector, but

increase contact with medium-sized customers, Grainger is upping the number of inside salespeople focused on them by 35 percent. In addition, the distributor plans to send 100 percent more catalogs to smaller businesses next year, and do more direct mail with this group.Improved Logistics NetworkGrainger’s North American network can now reach 99 percent of its

months after delivery (and is not designated to be a critical repair part), the supplier should automatically issue a return-goods authorization and give the customer full credit for the return. Guarantees of performance. When it enters a VMI agreement, a customer invests in a specific amount of inventory anticipating a forecasted service level for the