These articles are compiled works from Jason Bader, Scott Stratman and Gordon Graham. They can be downloaded for your private use. We do ask that if you wish to republish them, please send us a note prior to use.
Key tactics need to be in place before new items take shape in your company. Discover that by forming a committee of three will enable your business to steer clear of the many problems associated with new items.
Current economic conditions have made this article more important to distributors than ever. Discover the Distribution Team’s insight on how to analyze your customer base each and every year and how to maximize profitability for all parties involved.
Mention the word audit to most people and panic takes over. Most distributors use very little of the functionality built into their software package. System audits can help you get a better return on your distribution software investment.
When many of us set up our item databases, we are baffled at the number of fields available for capturing the price that we paid our suppliers for a particular. This Distribution Team article focuses on the “Standard Cost Field”, a little known field that can generate phenomenal net profit gains.
Inventory accuracy is the key to managing a successful operation. Learn how by taking a fresh new look at your warehouse and your picking process, distributors are relieving themselves of some common headaches caused by inventory accuracy.
A common theme of advancements in technology is when distributors are sold a technology that looks good in the demo stage, but does not help them create bottom line profits. Learn how to be fully prepared before, during and after your next company technology investment with this Distribution Team article.
Every single person has something unique about them. Your business assets are no different. Discover new ways at analyzing your business uniqueness and tying it back to your most valuable assets with this insightful article.
Every distributor deals with seasonality of products. Discover how to manage seasonable product more effectively and some key forecasting secrets with this article.
Inventory is the single biggest asset of a distribution company. Explore new ways to look at your inventory by securing your facilities a little differently.
Are you a distributor who needs to increase the efficiency of your warehouse? These ten easy steps will give you food for thought to maximize that efficiency.
Every distributor in the world deals with some inventory issues. If inventory issues run your company and take up all of your resources, you really need to get into a full time inventory state of mind.
Distributors with multiple locations need additional incentives to keep their inventory state of mind in check. Discover ways on how to manage your inventory issues to keep everyone in your business happy and successful. Branch Inventory Management Begins with Compensation
Most distributors have faced the question of expansion sometime in their career. This article deals with managing inventory through compensation practices.
If you are you a distributor or business looking at adopting cycle counting this article asks us to improve customer service by looking at unit variances versus dollar variances.
Cash discounts are common for distributors. Discover some consequences and some very important examples to think about when delving into the world of cash discounts for distribution.
The right stuff, at the right time, in the right quantity – A perfect world for distributors. Discover ways to get there by working on fine tuning your inventory management controls with this article.
In today’s highly competitive market, how we handle and manage our assets directly impacts our ability to compete and hopefully win with our customers. Learn how to maintain a higher level of focus on managing your inventory in every location.
Perceptions of names are vital to distribution businesses. Explore new ways to refresh and reinvent preconceived notions about the many different roles inside a distribution business with this thought provoking article.
A common theme in running a business is that we can become so consumed with solving the challenges directly in front of us that we are unfortunately unable to look at solving important underlying issues. Learn some practical time management tips to start delving into these extremely important issues.
This article contains crucial advice on managing a consistent challenge for distributors: Implementing software packages to actually work for your business with this article.
If you are like most distributors, duplication of vendor lines is a thorn in your side. This article delves into how to utilize a return on investment tool known as the “Turn and Earn Index” to expose weaknesses in underperforming vendor lines.
Learn how to get your moneys worth out of your distribution software by running product movement reports. This is one of the best reports in wholesale distribution.
Not all customers are the same; some are more valuable to you as a distributor than others. This article takes a look on how to actually differentiate the good customers from the bad ones.
Discover how by running the “inventory obituary” consistently can yield tremendous bottom line results when faced with managing your dead and obsolete inventory.
As a distributor, your vendor relations are critical. This article explores some ways in which you can maximize your relationships with vendors to reduce back orders and improve fill rates.
Business owners are constantly challenged to find ways to make the most mundane jobs attractive enough for good people to stay with the company. Learn how by developing good compensation packages based on performance along with staying creative can be great ways to keep the best people working for you.
Dead stock on hand affects every distributorship. Learn some key tips on how to deal, manage and eventually manage your company’s dead stock with more efficiency.
For distributors, one of the most common causes of order errors comes in the picking process. Learn the advantages of cycle counting your inventory; along with some great tips on implementing cycle counting, to eliminate order errors entirely.
There are many Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to inventory management. You can spend a career trying to implement them all and still not get the job done. Learn some simple, helpful rules to excel your business at inventory management and discover hidden potential.
Is your payables department encountering one of the most common challenges in distribution – Making sure that you have the current pricing from your suppliers in the software system? If this sounds familiar, check out this article for some food-for-thought to be on top of your game.
The biggest cash asset in a distributors business is inventory. Discover ways in which you can maximize your efficiency with your inventory during this current time of economical turmoil.
Distributors are often challenged with how to effectively use some of the technology they have at their disposal from their software provider. Learn tricks to discover how most distribution software out there already has many tools that already exist but are not yet being utilized by your company.
It’s true: If we are not good at sharing information as a company internally, we are probably suffering in terms of sharing useful information with our customers! Uncover some good reporting tools that can help your business maximize customer service internally and externally.
What percentage of your distribution software are you currently utilizing? If you have no idea or think you do discover that by understanding the reporting functions of your distribution software is just one of the ways to bump up your system utilization.
How green is your distributorship? Going green does not have to mean forking out more cash; in fact it can mean the opposite. Take a look at some Distribution Team insights on being more green and maximizing your greatest asset: Time.
Every single distributor deals at some point or another with the slow movers and no movers in their inventory. But what about your fast movers? Sometimes these items are overlooked. Tackle some familiar headaches and maximize the potential of your fast moving items with this insightful article.
Worries about asset management? Time to “hunt some cash” in your distributorship? Learn how to find those places where cash currently exists, and where we can prevent additional and unwarranted cash to be spent with this article.
Do you feel as though as a distributor you are constrained by your software partner in terms of what you can and cannot do or report out of your system? Learn how to think outside “the CD” and maximize your software’s potential for future decision making.
If you are seeing rising inventory levels with your expansion as a business take a look at how to find the right inventory levels if you have multiple branch operations.
Thinking about investing in a flexible ERP software solution? Learn what you should, as a distributor, look at before you make the decision and what to think about if you already have made this decision and encountered some problems with an open ERP system.
You know it – We know it. Dead inventory is one of the most difficult challenges we face as wholesale distributors. Explore best practices on how to “bundle” bad product with good product.
If you attend distributor business meetings, you have undoubtedly cultivated great relationships with your peers. Learn new ways in which you can maximize these relationships for your business and moving dead inventory.
Do you have difficulty controlling the transfer process? Do they just happen? Managed properly, replenishment through transfer can significantly reduce surpluses at the branch level. This two part series will target the areas where you can start looking for some great solutions.
Along with the products you have chosen to carry in inventory, there is more pressure nowadays to source more and more special order items. Special order items in turn can cause distributors headaches. Explore some thoughts on how to manage and deal with these necessary special order items.
There are no stages of dead stock. Inventory does not go through stages of dying, if its dead, then it is dead. Explore ways to make something happen with this dead stock with this insightful article.
What technology has done for most distributors is provide the vehicle to make business run faster. Take an in-depth look on some key issues surrounding the daily advancements in technology with a distributorship focus.
Distributors are always faced with the challenge of having the right stuff at the right time and at the right price. How do you react when you do not have what a customer requests? Learn some best practices to help solve the age old question of what to do after realizing that you don’t have something in stock.
Take advantage of this time to position yourself for the eventual change in economy. Do the work now and you will be miles ahead in the future. Learn how to start with your business's strategic thinking with this insightful article.
It is extremely important to remember that you should never get emotionally attached to your inventory. Are you feeling like you are more of a collector than an actual distributor? Check this article out to find out some useful hints on course-correction.
How do you teach everyone in the company to think in terms of net profit? This article will give you a couple of ideas on how to drive the importance of net profit with those who can make a real difference.
Taking the Fear Out of Warehouse Management Software (Part1) (Part 2)
This article is based on a survey of wholesale distributors currently using warehouse management technology. It looks at the what functions are used and some insight on how to select software for the first time user.
In this article we explore the problems associated with product tunnel vision. Many distributors have products that evolve over time. We challenge distributors to see if they need to modify the way they are buying based on a shift in product or business focus.
In this article we discuss how to prepare your employees for changes in the business. Technology changes are often difficult if the team hasn't been exposed to the bottom line benefits and the financial decisions surrounding change.
Do your suppliers understand how distributor operations really function. This article talks about finding suppliers that support efficient distribution and net profit goals.
Are your buyers utilizing their time efficiently? This article talks about how review cycles help your buyers manage the task of overseeing multiple vendor lines.
