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Customers re-keying or
faxing purchase orders to suppliers create a dual order entry problem,
and until now, EDI has been the only solution. ISA in partnership with
ecmarket inc. announces a new, cost-effective solution that does not
require customers to implement EDI nor change their current business
processes. “ERPLink is the simplest solution I have found to date
for getting companies to switch to using electronic business”, says
Bill Millinczek, chairman of the ISA E-business Committee. “We are
pleased to welcome ecmarket to our select group of partners in the Cost
Reduction Program." Click here for more information.
To help you evaluate your
compensation package, ISA is co-sponsoring the 2008 Employee
Compensation Study, conducted by Profit Planning Group. About 2,500
firms in more than 35 distribution lines of trade will participate. Two
volumes of information will be generated from the survey.
Canadian companies who participate will receive both Volume I and
Volume II for free, a savings of $150. A separate breakout for Canada
will be provided in both reports if at least 15 Canadian members
participate. All ISA members will receive Volume I regardless of
participation; participants in the survey will receive Volume II for
$50. Click here for more information.
UID is sold out at
600 participants. Those who still want to attend can fax in the UID
registration form without payment, and they will be placed on the wait
list. Click here for more information.
Nominations are now being
accepted for the 2008 American Eagle Awards. Winners in five categories
will be announced at the 2008 Industrial Supply Conference & Trade Fair
in Chicago on June 1-3. Click here for more information.
The latest newsletter from the Industrial Careers Pathway is
out! Read it here.
The ISA eBusiness Committee announces availability of the ISA
eBusiness Implementation Guideline. Click here for more information.
Send name, title, email address and company
name of each colleague to info@mdm.com. Only employees of ISA member companies
will be added to the list to receive this weekly association update.
For more information on upcoming ISA events, go to isapartners.org.
KEEP READING! Breaking industry news and articles on
distribution trends follow your association news each week in ISA
Advisor. Articles six months and older are available free of charge
to ISA members. Subscription or pay-per-view required for newer content.
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MDM NEWS UPDATE: December 13, 2007
If you are implementing a pricing
structure from scratch, and want to unfreeze an organization from its
old habits, plan for at least 12 months of work to "make it stick," Mike
Marks and attorney Gene Zelek told participants in a recent MDM Audio
Conference on the subject. “It’s more than just coming up with
a new price sheet and imposing it,” says Marks, a principal in
Indian River Consulting Group.
Zelek says there is often a disconnect at the sales rep level,
“particularly if the sales reps are compensated in terms of volume,
rather than in terms of profit.” If you implement a value-based
system focused more on profit, but reward salespeople based on “how
many boxes they move,” he says, “it just doesn’t work
because there is no incentive for them to implement it."
More...
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics
released its employment projections through 2016 this week, and it
doesn't look great for manufacturing. Within the goods-producing sector,
construction is the only sector projected to grow. Employment in
manufacturing is forecast by BLS to decline by 1.5 million jobs. This
decline is half of the 3 million manufacturing jobs lost in the previous
decade. Employment in goods-producing industries is expected to decrease
from 14.9% to 13.1% of total employment.
MDM Editor Lindsay Young says in this blog that the numbers tell just
half the story. Many factors, including a shift from mass production and
improved productivity, have contributed to a loss of jobs, and even if
the numbers prove to be right, opportunities in the form of niche
customers and taking on traditional supplier functions will continue to
present themselves to wholesaler-distributors. (Links to projections
found here.)
More...
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In his latest Distribution
Trends blog, Adam Fein says that while historically the housing
market was a symptom rather than a cause of economic conditions, the
reverse is true today. "Wholesale distribution executives who don't
spend time in construction markets may not fully appreciate the degree
of interconnectedness or how housing will affect their markets," Fein
says.
The downturn in housing will have a ripple effect through the
wholesale distribution industry. Fein expects residential housing
conditions, including home sales and construction activity, to worsen.
It is unlikely to rebound in 2008 – residential remodeling will
follow suit.
More...
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Shift workers place high value
on their time off, according to this IndustryWeek article. If
compensation is unaffected, time off is a worker's primary consideration
when comparing shift schedules. This article says that employees
consider four types of time off: weekends off, total days off, daily
time off and consecutive days off.
The number of weekends off is usually the most important, the author
writes: "The desire to increase the number of weekends off is a common
reason for adopting longer shifts." More than 80 percent in a survey
said that they are willing to work their fair share of weekends, but
want "sufficient advance notice" and "no last-minute changes." Have you
asked your workers what is most important to them in a schedule?
Retention of employees is typically a top concern for distributors these
days, and giving workers flexibility and predictability in their
schedules is one way to keep them happy.
More...
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Manufacturing company CFOs in the
Bank of America's annual survey are generally optimistic for the U.S.
economy, presenting an average score of 64 versus last year's 67 (on a
scale of 0-100). But just 44% believe the economy will expand in 2008;
that's the lowest level of optimism in six years. Less than a quarter
believe the U.S. economy will outperform the world economy. The housing
market is manufacturing CFOs biggest concern.
Manufacturing CFOs are mixed in their outlook for the manufacturing
sector, with close to 40% predicting no change in 2008, and the rest of
the CFOs split evenly (30% each) between expansion and contraction. On
the bright side, CFOs' expectations for revenue growth remain healthy,
with 70% saying they expect sales to go up.
More...
U.S. exports have shot up thanks
to a weaker dollar. But not all manufacturers and distributors are
benefiting. For those distributors who import from the euro-zone, for
example, costs have suddenly spiked, forcing them to reexamine the way
they define value in this marketplace. Subscribe to MDM
today, or pay-per-view available.
More...
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