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Breaking news from ISA...

Materials Market Digest: May 2008 (members only)
04/07/08 – With service center inventories slim and orders brisk, operations in U.S. mills topped last year's first-quarter steel output by 5.1%. And as the result of a global boom in steelmaking, raw materials demand and prices have risen inexorably. Reflecting this trend, flat-rolled quotes have gone up sharply, ending the month with hot-rolled sheet at as much as $850 per ton, cold-rolled at $920 or thereabout, and galvanized at an unprecedented $1,000. Tubular prices are also on the rise with oil country products leading the charge.

ISA Economic Outlook Report -- April 2008 (members only)
The ISA Economic Outlook Report details the industrial production outlook, focusing on major macroeconomic indicators and the current business cycle. ISA members can use the report to learn how end-user industries are performing. ISA members can also chart their business trajectory with regard to the Conference Board's Leading Indicators, the Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), EcoTrends Leading Indicator, corporate bond prices, U.S. money supply, retail sales, housing starts and industrial production. The report is conducted by Alan Beaulieu of the Institute for Trend Research (ITR).

ISA Monthly Economic Reports: March 2008 (members only)
04/14/08 – The Economic Indicator Survey Results reports are a monthly breakdown of the findings of the ISA Quarterly Economic Report. These reports tie together the business activity on 10 key measures and business expectations of all channel members, manufacturers, distributors and purchasing agent customers. These unique reports can be used in short-term business planning. All information in the report is based on an index. An index of 50 is neutral. Indices over 50 indicate a business expansion in the individual items being reported. An index of less than 50 shows a contraction.
Distributor Report • Manufacturer Report

2008 American Eagle Award winners named
04/10/08 – Congratulations to T&A Industrial Distributors (Distributor Award), Seco Tool (Manufacturer Award), The Tooling Support Group (Independent Manufacturer Rep Award) and Haggard & Stocking Inc. (Corporate Citizenship Award), winners of the 2008 American Eagle Awards.

The Dr. Is In: Help for Dealing with Uncertain Times
04/07/08 – Given the uncertain economic times, many companies could benefit from some outside financial advice. Dr. Al Bates of the Profit Planning Group has agreed to chat with any ISA Distributor Members FREE OF CHARGE. The session can be for up to 15 minutes, on any topic of concern.

There are, however, a few rules:
•  Your company must have participated in the 2008 PROFIT Survey, the best source for financial benchmarking. You can only call after you have completed the survey.
•  You will need to fax in your questions so that Dr. Bates can be prepared to talk intelligently without wasting your time.
•  You will have to work with Dr. Bates to set up a mutually beneficial time. Be aware this may be after normal working hours.

Simply fill out the operational questions on the survey and attach a copy of your income statement and balance sheet and send it to the Profit Planning Group.
Click here to participate!

ISA welcomes new members
04/07/08 – ISA would like to welcome the following New Members that have joined the association during the first quarter of 2008. Thank you for your investment in the future success of ISA the organization of choice for everyone involved in the industrial supply channel.

ISA Guide to Measuring Customer Satisfaction
03/25/08 -- How do you know if you are achieving more as a company? What signs indicate that you may be having problems? How do you know if you are meeting your customers’ needs?

The Sales to Payroll Delta: A Critical Planning Tool
(members only)
by Dr. Albert D. Bates, Profit Planning Group

02/26/08 – Payroll control is a critical issue for all ISA members. According to the latest PROFIT report, payroll and associated fringe benefits account for 68.9% of total expenses. In slightly different terms, payroll costs are 2.2 times as large as all other expenses combined.
• Click here for the supporting exhibit.

Participate in the 2008 ISA Profit Survey
02/11/08 – As a participant in the survey, you will receive a copy of the PROFIT Report and a personalized Profit Improvement Profile. This 25-page report compares your firm with similar firms and provides suggestions for improving your firm’s profitability. Along with your Profit Improvement Profile you will receive access to Profit Toolkit Online, a Microsoft® Excel tutorial that covers a different aspect of financial planning each year. The deadline for participation is April 15, 2008.

How to Find and Keep the Right Employees…Without Stealing from the Competition
02/04/08 – Distributors typically spend about half of their gross margin dollars on employee wages and benefits -- a huge investment. Yet they rarely invest a commensurate amount of time and energy on selecting and retaining them. Important management activities such as employee selection, screening, and programs for keeping employees motivated must all be working together effectively towards improving productivity. This seminar is a practical examination of practices that may be working against your organization rather than for it. Presented by Dr. Kathryne A. Newton, this webinar will be held May 21 from 1-2:30 p.m.

Industrial Supply Association Announces an End to the Dual Order Entry Problem
Customers re-keying or faxing purchase orders to suppliers create a Dual Order Entry Problem and, until now, EDI has been the only solution. The Industrial Supply Association (ISA), in partnership with ecmarket inc., is announcing a new, cost-effective solution to the Dual Order Entry Problem which does not require customers to implement EDI nor change their current business processes.

End of Year 2007 Profitability Analysis (members only)
by Al Bates, Profit Planning Group

The accompanying set of exhibits provides an overview of financial trends in distribution between 2002 and 2006. The analysis covers 40 different lines of trade in distribution. In developing such a macro-view of distribution, it is not possible to compare most financial ratios directly. For example, some industries have a high gross margin and accompanying high expenses, while others have a low gross margin and low expenses. What is possible is to compare the direction and magnitude of change. The emphasis is on how much performance changed during the time period covered.

Plans taking shape for the ISA 2008 Industrial Supply Conference & Trade Fair
The event will be held in the newly remodeled Hyatt Regency O’Hare. The 2008 Conference will feature a new meeting format, new Trade Fair Pavilions and other enhancements, and the FastMatch electronic scheduling system has been enhanced to make it more user-friendly.

2007 ISA Profit Report (members only)
The 2007 ISA PROFIT Report provides detailed financial results of industrial distribution firms. Results profiled in this report are based on income statement, balance sheet, and operating data provided by a total of 115 participating ISA members. The tables and graphs contained in this report are designed to provide comprehensive, yet straightforward guidelines for analyzing profitability among industrial distribution companies.

Order your copy of ISA eBusiness Guideline today
The ISA eBusiness Committee announces availability of the long-awaited ISA eBusiness Implementation Guide.