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Email us today to schedule an upgrade to Infor Distribution
Enterprise (6.1).
 
Upcoming Events
Webinar:
Infor ERP Storefront

Tuesday July 26, 2011

1 PM EST  

Register now. 


TUG 2011 U2U

It's never too early to start planning! TUG 2012 U2U is scheduled for February 15-19, 2012 in San Antonio, TX. Mark your calendars. 

Summer Reading 


Take some time this summer to read Taking Charge of Distribution Sales: 9 Proven Skills to Lead and Manage Your Sales Team.

 

Whether you are a new wholesale distribution sales executive putting your system together or an experienced sales executive looking for new perspectives and ideas on the basics, this book offers specifics you can use immediately. They include: 

 

- Straightforward "how to" text on nine key sales management skills

 

- Templates and outlines you can adapt to your situation 

 

- Examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly of wholesale distribution sales management, drawn from the author's own experience and observation of others in the industry 

 

- A compendium of resources to help you continue your skills development as a sales manager.  

Order now.

MDM Blog

   

Modern Distribution Management launched a weekly blog entitled, "MDM Management Tip of the Week ." Check out this entry from June, entitled "Tip: Build Skills to Get the Most Out of Data ," and check back weekly for more good tips.

 

Visit the blog now.

 

Popsicle Stick Jokes

 

It's that time of year again... Popsicle Stick jokes in summer. Stay cool with a frozen treat and enjoy a laugh as well.

 

Popsicles 


What did the hamburger name his daughter?

~ Patty

 

 

What did one tomato say to the other as they were rolling down the hill?  

~ Go ahead. I'll ketchup.

 

 

What has a hundred ears but can't hear?

~ A field of corn

 

 

What can you steal, but not get in trouble?

~ Second Base

 

 

Happy Summer!


On the EDGE
Summer 2011, Volume 4, Issue 3
Welcome to the Summer 2011 issue of On the EDGE!   

Temperatures are rising. How about your sales? Take a look at the below articles for to get that extra push you need to elevate your summer sales.

Plus, summer is a great time to upgrade. Give us a call today to upgrade to Infor Distribution Enterprise (6.1).

Please contact us if there is anything we can do to help you meet your goals! 


Cheers,
The DE Team
877.887.EDGE (3343) 
The Wholesaler:
Improving Inventory Turns


BY JASON BADER

Inventory Management Specialist

 

After a recent seminar, one of the participants reached out to me about his company's inventory turn rate. After learning how to properly calculate the formula, he realized that they had been overstating their turns for a long time and were lulled into a state of complacency. When he looked at the real turn numbers, the results were less than stellar. They were of great enough concern that he felt his employment may be in jeopardy if a plan for improvement was not developed. Fortunately, creating a plan is easy. Execution may be a whole other story.

 

Like many companies, this one had been a victim of misinformation and comparison. I have always been skeptical of industry benchmarks when it comes to inventory turns. Not that the method of information gathering is flawed, rather the method of calculation by the reporting companies can vary greatly. Here is the proper equation...

 

Click here to continue reading...  

IndustryWeek:
10 Guidelines for Supply Chain Network Infrastructure Planning



BY ALAN KOSANSKY & TED SCHAEFER
  

 

A recent study of supply chain activities indicated that as much as 80% of total supply chain costs are determined by the network in place and not by the decisions the supply chain team makes on a daily basis within that network. The cause can be attributed to infrastructure, which significantly determines the types of decisions and degrees of freedom that are available to supply chain decision makers. As a result, many companies have literally stumbled into pitfalls associated with warehouses, distribution centers and sources of supply (manufacturing, supplier locations, etc.) because they lacked thoughtful design.

 

There is help available for vigilant executives in the form of 10 guidelines to implement necessary cost saving measures. All are applicable whether the company is pursuing a growth strategy or struggling with underutilized assets in a challenging economy. Keeping these guidelines at the forefront of consideration can create opportunities to ease pressures on margin and the bottom line...

 

 

Click here to continue reading.

Logistics Viewpoints:
Fostering a Bottom-Up Supply Chain Strategy


BY STEVE BANKER
 

 

So much of supply chain management is, and must be, top down and focused on tight process control. Companies have applied Six Sigma and Lean to factories and warehouses to lock down processes in pursuit of high quality and throughput. While there is room for input from floor-level workers, there is not a lot of room for them to do their own thing.

 

New tools for collaboration have emerged that are said to be changing the world based on bottom-up feedback and peer democracy. In general, social media and other peer collaboration tools are a better fit for the edges of the value chain - marketing, sales, ongoing service - than core manufacturing and distribution processes.

 

Many companies go through an annual budgeting process where they set targets and refine their strategy. For most companies, participation is limited to top executives, either in fact or in practice. Even if a meeting is called where the rank and file can give their feedback, lower-level employees will be very reluctant to contradict someone higher in rank. Usually these meetings devolve into top management selling their strategy. The high-level strategy document that accompanies the budget ends up reflecting the vision of the bosses...

 

 

Click here to continue reading.  

Supply Chain Digest:
Can Your Internal Value Chain Economically Handle Growth Opportunities? 


BY SHEILA ZELINGER
 

 

The global economy is on the mend again.  Morgan Stanley is forecasting a 3.2% GDP growth for US in Q2, 2011 and expects the growth to continue in the second half of 2011. According to IMF, after reaching a rate of 8.3 percent growth rate in 2010, GDP growth in Asia is projected to average nearly 7 percent in both 2011 and 2012. Even the euro-zone economy, affected by the Greece and Ireland debt crisis, is expected to grow at a modest 2% according to several projections. As the global economy continues to improve and provides organizations ample growth opportunities, how can they ensure that their internal value chain is collaborating effectively to take advantage of this growth in an economical manner?

 

 

Click here to continue reading.