“Magic mirror, won’t you tell me please, what other people think of me…” So goes the bridge of an old song of the past. But think for just a moment, then let me ask you a few questions: Doesn’t it make at least some sense to better understand how important partners see our behavior? And what if these partners were coworkers who share at least one major goal: increasing your bottom line? Is everybody meeting the needs of their coworkers? Are we as efficient as we believe ourselves to be? More importantly, are we as efficient as we should be to survive? For years, Human Resources Departments have encouraged us to use 360 degree reviews for our performance. Why not apply this time-tested concept with our supply partners? How about investing time streamlining the communications between operating departments in our own organization? We have observed distributors with no proactive interaction with their Purchasing Department and their Sales group. The results include ...

Industrial Supply Magazine recently published River Heights Consulting Founder Frank Hurtte’s follow-up article on scams facing distributors.  Read here . http://www.industrialsupplymagazine.com/pages/Print-edition---JanFeb17_Hurtte.php We have received even more notifications from distributors who were suckered or nearly swindled out of their hard earned dough.  Most of these scammers are pretty sophisticated, others not so.  Either way, our informal study into the subject indicates scammers are costing distributors mega bucks.  We have had our fair share of those looking to spare others by sharing their horror stories: "Watch out for those customer willing to accept full list price. In this day and age people can find competitive pricing instantly with a few clicks of the mouse. Why would an experienced purchasing agent not shop or a least haggle." "Be wary if a customer calls in an order with a credit card and sends someone else to pic...