1sourcesupplies is an alliance of distributors who want to offer single-sourcing programs to smaller customers, including inventory management, supply chain automation, streamlined billing and information analysis.

Mark Hill’s cutting tool distributorship, I.M.C. Supply Co., Memphis, TN, lost its biggest customer in 1997. The customer we lost really wanted us to have their business, but we didn’t have the programs they needed, Hill says.

Instead of folding, or scrambling to make ends meet, Hill pushed forward with a plan to find a way to offer single-sourcing solutions to his customers. Since that year, his business has doubled. About 65 percent of his business is now single-source.

Hill has decided to pass on his newfound knowledge in the form of a …