Filtered by author: Meredith Schuetze Clear Filter

The Distributor’s Guide to AI Implementation

From the NAW Blog:

AI is an incredibly beneficial tool for distributors who want to transform their offerings and get ahead of the competition. Artificial intelligence can analyze complex data and provide unique insights into customer patterns, product demand and future sales. With it, you can support various sales channels and enhance how your team interacts with customers.

Read More

FTI's Jo Morris Named WIFI 2021 Woman in Business

The Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is proud to announce Marketing Director Jo Morris has been named the “2021 Woman in Business” by Women in the Fastener Industry (WIFI). WIFI defines a Woman in Business as a champion and community advocate who works to unite, educate, mentor and encourage other women to reach their full potential.

“I am immensely grateful to belong to such an outstanding association and honored to receive this special award,” said Morris. “There are many women in the fastener industry I look up to and respect, especially my fellow WIFI members, who have worked hard over the years to advance women in the fastener industry.”

Read More

S.W. Anderson Company Makes Two Acquisitions

S.W. Anderson Company, a specialty and class C component distributor, has made two acquisitions: Jet Fitting & Supply Corp, a specialty and standard fastener distributor in Santa Ana, California, since 1946; and The M.E. Martin Company, a standard fastener distributor in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1977.

"We're thrilled to add both the Jet Fitting and M.E. Martin employees to S.W. Anderson," stated Jim Degnan, President of S.W. Anderson Company. "Their ability to work on applications with customers will pair well with S.W. Anderson's technical sales model and access to engineered products. We look forward to supporting our newly acquired customers with more products, services, and technical resources to help grow their businesses.

Read More

2022 Fastener Taiwan Dates Announced

As one of the world-class industrial fasteners trading platforms, the sixth edition of "The Taiwan International Fastener Show (Fastener Taiwan)" will be launched from April 19-21, 2022 in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. This long-awaited gathering of the world-leading B2B fastener industry leaders is a one stop shop to conduct business with stakeholders across the global supply chain.

In 2022, the exhibition provides exhibitors and buyers with a complete virtual and real integrated digital marketing platform. Hybrid online & offline events such as online exhibition, online product seminar, live tours, global fastener forum, online procurement meeting and on-site guide for online visitors.

Read More

Olander Goes Live With e-Commerce

Last month, fastener distributor Olander unveiled its new website, which offers visitors the ability to order fasteners and hardware online. The site also features free 2D and 3D CAD (computer-aided drafting) files and spec sheets for over 40,000 products, and practical advice on the purchasing and application of different fastener options for all types of projects.

While Olander largely serves the industrial community (primarily in the medical, semiconductor, and aerospace fields), it has also been a trusted resource for engineers and inventors through its robust counter and will call offerings. With the health guidelines necessitated by Covid-19, the company has updated its curbside pick-up service; however, CEO David Byrne recognized the opportunity to release the long-awaited e-commerce option for Olander customers. Now, with a few keystrokes, users may find the precise hardware they need and place their orders (for shipping or local Will-Call pickup) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The in-house Sales Team and dedicated Business Development Managers will continue to work directly with clients, as well.

Read More

Global Structural Bolts Market Report – History and Forecast 2017-2028

This report will walk you through the structural bolts market from the following aspects: Consumption, Sales, Revenue, Price, Cost, Gross margin, Market size, Market share, Growth rate, Trends, etc.

For more information, check out https://winmarketresearch.com/

Optimize Pricing and Improve Profitability

From the NAW Blog:

Marketplace pressures continue to evolve and change the competitive landscape, ranging from commoditization to eCommerce to the changing workforce. These factors are beginning to negatively impact the bottom line for many distributors. Distribution is traditionally a thin-margin business to begin with, so these new pressures are challenging many distributors. What is your company’s profitability outlook for the years to come?

Read More

NAW's Government Relations Update 2021-25 - October 22, 2021

Read on for NAW's Government Relations Update 2021-25 - October 22, 2021:

1. Latest on Reconciliation/Build Back Better (BBB) and the Infrastructure Bill (BIF)

Read More

Reminder from the IRS: Expenses Paid with 2020 PPP Loans Can Be Deducted on 2021 Tax Returns

May 2021 Article by:

Michael S. Hampleman & Roman A. Basi

Basi, Basi & Associates at The Center for Financial, Legal & Tax Planning, Inc.

If you are a business owner that received PPP funds but did not utilize them on your tax return, pay close attention to the substance of this publication. The IRS has publicized a safe harbor for certain companies that received first-draw Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans but did not deduct any of the original qualified expenses because they relied on direction issued before the execution of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), in December 2020.



Read More

Take Action Today to Prevent a Ban on Hex Chrome

MORE JOBS LOST IN CALIFORNIA?
An estimated 100,000 combined industry jobs are at risk.  The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is planning to phase out decorative hex chrome by 2023. California metal finishers will no longer be able to provide this service.  A ban is extreme and overkill.

Fact: Decorative and functional (hard) chrome and chromic acid anodized metal finishing is less than 1% of total chrome VI emissions for the entire state of California.

Read More

Showcase Your Pac-West Membership on LinkedIn

You may have seen recent posts about Pac-West’s new and improved LinkedIn page. We want to offer a more detailed explanation of why we’re making the switch and the benefits of following our new page.

For years, Pac-West’s main LinkedIn presence has been our group. Making the switch to a company page has a variety of upsides: for one, our posts will now be viewable publicly, so that anyone who is learning about Pac-West for the first time can see what we do without having to join the group. In addition, the new page comes with a great new benefit for our members: the ability to tag Pac-West in your LinkedIn profile.

Read More

Gage Bilt Installation Tools Join the Advance Lineup

Advance Components is proud to announce a new partnership with Gage Bilt, a top manufacturer of rivet and lockbolt installation tools and components. Advance will now stock Gage Bilt’s extensive line of pneudraulic, hydraulic and pneumatic tools.

Since 1956, Gage Bilt has been manufacturing economically-priced, heavy duty riveters to install a wide variety of aerospace and commercial fasteners. Gage Bilt tools are ergonomically designed for fast installations, reduced hand fatigue, and simple maintenance. Gage Bilt tools can be used to install fasteners from POP®, Avedel®, Cherry® and Huck®.

Read More

Don’t Personalize Your B2B E-commerce Site, Contextualize It

From the NAW Blog:

Personalization is table stakes for any successful e-commerce website that offers more than a handful of products. As the diversity of products grows and each item becomes more targeted in use, it’s not practical to present one’s full selection to all customers (i.e., “Results 1-25 of 151,432 products”). It falls to site merchandisers to refine those results and decide which products to present to each customer.

Read More

How AI Can Help Distributors Fix the Persistent Backorder Problem

From the NAW Blog:

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the supply chain linger in 2021. The most visible challenge for distributors has been extended lead times, which means frustrating backorders for customers who need product now — and not three weeks from now. That’s unlikely to change soon.

Portfolio Management: Distributors’ Advantage Over Amazon

From the NAW Blog:

Distributors are well-positioned to work intimately with key customers. They can devote the time and resources to engage proactively with customers to understand needs and goals. They can analyze both transactional and customer-provided data to generate industry-specific insights, develop robust benchmarks (in the form of spending patterns seen across similarly grouped customers) and tailor advice to match customer objectives. The benefits of doing so are immense.

Read More

Product Expertise Isn’t Enough for B2B Buyers Anymore

From the NAW Blog:

It’s no secret that for years most distributors have neglected core sales skills training for their sellers. There are several reasons for this benign neglect of sales skills investment. First, historically, industrial B2B buyers didn’t necessarily need a highly skilled seller. Their purchases were largely needs-driven — not discretionary — and so the core need was product or technical expertise and order fulfillment. For this reason, virtually all systematic sales training in distribution was focused on products and applications (not selling skills or competencies).

Read More

A Mid-Crisis Assessment to Prepare for the New Normal

From the NAW Blog:

During and after extreme disruption, such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the thought of doing a performance assessment can be overwhelming. However, taking a microscope to performance in a time of crisis can tell us more about our core underlying capabilities than in a time of stability.

Read More

AATP hires new National Sales Manager

Lancaster, PA – February 24th, 2021  All America Threaded Products (AATP) is pleased to announce they have hired Al Bate as their National Sales Manager. Al brings with him a broad background as a Fastener Industry professional and leader with a track record of successful team management and development in sales, operations and manufacturing. His Fastener career spans over 30+ years across the UK, Europe and since 2008, the USA. He has held leadership roles with several divisions of the TR Fastenings group through much of his career, in both the UK and the USA.

In 2018, he took two years out of the industry to follow his entrepreneurial bent and help build Fast-Exec LLC—a head-hunting agency specializing in the industrial fastener industry—founded by his wife, Jacqui.

Read More

AATP hires new Northeastern Territory Manager

Lancaster, PA – March 8, 2021 Danielle Maze joins All America Threaded Products (AATP) as the Northeast Regional Account Manager. In addition to those accounts, she will also be managing catalog accounts. She brings over seven years of experience as Operations Manager, Service Manager, and Customer Service in the printer, toner, and copy paper industry at Weaver Associates Inc.

In addition to her sales experience, Danielle has managed delivery drivers, service teams, logistics requirements, and service calls. This foundation gave her the skills, attributes, capabilities, and attitude that made her an ideal candidate for further developing and building excellent customer relationships. Her keen sense of operations and logistics management means she is no stranger to the value of reliability, delivery and service.

Read More

Topics to Consider Regarding Second Draw of PPP Funding

February 2021 Article by:

Michael S. Hampleman & Roman A. Basi

Basi, Basi & Associates at The Center for Financial, Legal & Tax Planning, Inc.

Business owners, CPAs, loan officers, and if applicable, business brokers, should use a variety of tactics simultaneously as businesses pursue economic support in the form of a second draw of PPP funding. Per advice from the AICPA, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, borrowers may need to be act quickly and diligently to fill out their forms for a second round of PPP funding.

Some lenders are requiring PPP borrowers to apply for forgiveness on their first-draw PPP loan before they file to seek a second-draw PPP loan. However, according to the SBA and Treasury, this is not a requirement. Possible borrowers may want to consider other lenders to process the second-draw loan application without the business having to file for forgiveness on their first PPP loan.





Read More