In our March 2011 post, we discussed the value that a distributor provides. We talked about things that we do internally that we feel are valuable to our customers and differentiate us from competition. This is a topic that continues to be relevant today for our company and our customers. Many customers often times ask “Why should I buy [...]
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
The new year has started off with some definite volatility. Market conditions continue to be unstable in our key markets for a few reasons, some of which are expected, and others unexpected. Our business has a definite seasonal nature, due to the slow down in the paint & coatings segment, which represents a large portion of [...]
This past year will certainly be remembered as “unbelievable”. 2011 presented a wide array of challenges in the specialty chemical industry, with more excitement to follow in 2012. We can look back on many significant events that impacted our key markets and customers. Supply shortages, price increases, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, unrest in the Middle East, European economic [...]
We recently outfitted our sales team with iPads that can be used during their face to face interaction with customers. We’ve found that this tool is an excellent way for us to present a wide range of technical information to our customers in a very timely fashion. The time to launch a presentation, open a technical bulletin, or review [...]
We recently wrote an article for Paint & Coatings Industry Magazine about Strategic Sourcing. The full article can be found at http://www.pcimag.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000001109216 Below are excerpts from the article: 1. Establishing a strategic sourcing process is a critical step in improving the cost, efficiency and effectiveness of your procurement functions. 2. Steps in the strategic sourcing process include the following: [...]
There are certainly a lot of “mixed messages” that we are receiving from the U.S. marketplace. Interest rates remain at extremely low levels, corporate earnings are coming in very strong, exports are strong due to a weak dollar, and industrial output is buoyant. On the flip side, residential and commercial construction are very weak, unemployment remains very high, and [...]
Even today, we are feeling the secondary impacts of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Key intermediates that go into specialty chemical products are sourced in Japan and have led to a significant tightening in the paint & coatings, plastics, and sealants & adhesives markets. One main class of products, UV Absorbers, has particularly felt the [...]
As a result of global shortages on several key raw materials over the past few months we have received a large number of calls from new customers looking for product. In some cases, we are able to help by providing the material that they need immeditaly. Due to our global supply relationships, we have been very fortunate to be able [...]
With the recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, several customers have asked about interruptions that we our experiencing or anticipate experiencing in our supply chain. Fortunately, thus far we have not had any substantial impacts. However, we fully expect that there will be secondary effects that we feel in due time. We currently have two [...]
This is a question that we often get asked, typically by a new or prospective customer. In the past, many companies felt that they could get a better price by buying direct from a manufacturer. However, this is often times not the case as the costs incurred by a distributor would be incurred by a [...]
