Don’t Believe Everything You Read

I shouldn’t have my blood pressure taken after reading some of the widely distributed business periodicals. I just finished reading a newsletter where the author states that distributors should abandon forecasting future demand of products and merely continue to...

Returns Management

Returns are a problem for many organizations. Often returns are dumped in a pile to be “sorted out when time permits.” Dust and dirt cover this material as workers have more important tasks to perform. During a physical inventory or warehouse cleanup, the...

Achieving Lean Distribution

Lean manufacturing is helping producers throughout the world reduce inventories, lower labor costs, and increase their overall efficiencies. The same concepts embraced by lean manufacturing practitioners can help distributors achieve the goal of effective inventory...

Pot of Gold Turns to Lead

Imagine one day picking up your local paper and finding that the front page story is about one of your largest customers filing bankruptcy. Overnight you go from a feeling of security and prosperity to one of fighting for survival. This very scenario recently happened...