Falcon Fastening Solutions Inc., an industrial distributor of fasteners and other production components, recently underwent a rebranding, including a branding of its vendor managed inventory services with the goal of better differentiating what each service provides.

I recently spoke with Don Nowak, president and owner of Falcon Fastening Solutions, for the latest 7 Minutes With … executive interview, available here.

"We have found that there's really no one specific approach that makes sense for every company," Nowak says. "We work on developing a program that fits the needs of a specific organization, and we've developed and have seen four different models."

The first model, Reliable Stock CMO (customer managed ordering), is designed for companies that have a good grasp on when they need to replenish inventory and are comfortable managing inventory internally.

The second model, Reliable Stock FMO (Falcon managed ordering), is designed for companies looking to outsource their inventory management. Falcon works with the company to develop an inventory management system and then, using a pull system, replenishes stock as it is used.

The third model, Reliable Stock Ready Inventory, is where Falcon has inventory on-stock that its customer can pull from, leaving Falcon in charge of replenishing inventory as it is used.

The final and "most fully implemented" program, according to Nowak, is Falcon's on-site branch program. This model involves Falcon embedding one of its own employees as a branch manager within the customer's plant. Falcon then takes full-responsibility of inventory management on a day-to-day basis.

"The branch manager gets involved in (the customers') operation because they are treated as if they were one of their staff members, but they're on our payroll," Nowak says. "They attend meetings and they have a pretty good handle on what's going on so they can direct us in terms of making sure we have adequate stock on site to support the customer."

In the 7 Minutes With … interview, Nowak also talks about:

• Falcon's new name and marketing message
• Demand for vendor managed inventory services
• Advice for young professionals entering the distribution industry

Listen to the full 7 Minutes With … interview below or visit the MDM Executive Briefing page for the full program.