New NAW book
The NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence is pleased to announce a new book, Build, Fix, or Terminate: The Distributor’s Guide to More Profitable Supplier Relations. To order this book by Jim Narus and Bob Donath, go to http://www.naw.org/buildfixterminate or call 202.872.0885. Quantity discounts apply when ordering two or more copies.
This book is about wholesaler-distributor and manufacturer working relationships and how, if properly managed, they can lead to profit and business success across the supply chain. It draws on new and unprecedented research to profile the thorniest problems and opportunities often faced by wholesale distribution firms in their dealings with their suppliers. Then it recommends how to build and sustain successes; fix emerging conflicts; and, if necessary, terminate unfortunate working relationships that just won’t function in the future—if they ever worked properly in the past.
Although distributors are the main focus of this book, there is considerable information and guidance for manufacturer managers who want to be part of productive and equitable working relationships with their wholesaler-distributors.
Here’s what Mark Kramer, President and CEO of Laird Plastics, had to say after reading Build, Fix, or Terminate:
“This is a significant work. For years, our company has pursued a program oriented toward enhancing our vendor relationships. Every aspect of our experience in creating an exclusive class of ‘partners’ would validate what Narus and Donath write about. Their issue orientation and the magnitude and breadth of their consequences analysis are both right on. My management team will benefit greatly from considering the points made in this book. The pressures put on all parties by the current economic situation only heighten this book’s timeliness.”
Authors Jim Narus and Bob Donath provide a comprehensive roadmap for managing distributor and manufacturer working relationships, and it comes down to
• Securing proper alignment of distributor and supplier goals, resources, and strategies
• Insisting on the right mix of support programs, services, and incentives from suppliers that strengthen distributor business models
• Adapting the nature of those working relationships to meeting changing marketplace demands over time.
They challenge wholesaler-distributors to apply their new skills and tools provided in this book to their own firms’ working relationships with suppliers, so that they can take those working relationships to the next level of profitability and success.
NAW is a federation of more than 100 wholesale distribution line of trade international, national, regional, state, and local associations and thousands of individual firms that collectively total more than 40,000 companies. The role of the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence is to sponsor and disseminate research and knowledge in strategic management issues affecting the wholesale distribution industry. Visit www.nawpubs.org to learn more.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about GHX Industrial. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
