Copyright 2006 Sherry Harris

Global supply chain management has emerged as a major topic
in the age of globalization and now it is sitting at the
heart of the whole system.  But you might be asking
yourself, so what exactly is supply chain management and
how can it affect my company?

Let’s understand what it is first.

From the production house the product starts it journey and
travels through to the supplier, distributor, retailer and
ends at the hands of the consumer.  This whole journey is a
well managed mechanism and controlled by supply chain
management.  When it goes global and the journey of the
product covers multiple countries, then it is called global
supply chain management.

(more…)

Copyright 2006 Dennis Sommer

You’ve just been called into the CEO’s office for an
important meeting. Your welcomed into the office and asked
to take a seat. Your CEO says, the reason I asked you in
today, is to discuss our IT strategy for next year.
Specifically, I want to discuss our objective to reduce
overall IT costs by 30% while maintaining excellent service
levels and supporting our business growth.

Now, you think to yourself, this is completely insane. How
can we continue to provide top notch support of the
organization with a 30% budget reduction. In other words,
how am I going to do more with less. If you are not
prepared for this type discussion, then your best plan of
action is to say you will go back and develop a plan of
action achieving these new goals. Or, if you have reviewed
this article and outline a plan of action in the likelihood
this conversation every comes up, you will be prepared to
discuss your strategy at this time.

Are you ready to get the most from your technology while
protecting the bottom line? We have five steps that should
be discussed during your IT strategic planning sessions.

(more…)

Copyright 2006 Stephen Furnari

So you put your cash, ego and pride on the line and started
your dream business.  You have the business strategy that
will make you rich.  All you need is the cash to take your
business to the next level. Your plan is to look for
funding from venture capital firms (VCs) or angel investor
groups.  Not so fast.

VCs and angel groups are like the movie stars of the
financial world.  Stories about the “hot” VC market and how
VCs are virtually throwing money at companies sell
financial newspapers like Brangelina sells copies of US
Weekly.  The reality is, the average entrepreneur has as
much of a chance of closing a deal with a VC as they do
landing a date with either Angelina or Brad.

(more…)

Copyright (c) 2006 Cash Flow Connections

What’s a busy retail merchant to do when it needs extra
working capital?

“Oh, NO!!! - Not the gauntlet,” you think – taking your
valuable time (and patience) to deal with the “paperwork”
required by traditional sources!

Correct!  You got it!  Not the Guantlet!  And let me tell
you why!

Today — there is a better, easier, more reliable,
convenient and FAST way to obtain lines of business credit
for merchants!

“HOW?” you say; tell me more!

(more…)

Copyright (c) 2006 Scott Heath

Of all the files taking up storage space on your computer
or server, PowerPoint® (PPT) presentation files require
more storage space than almost any other file type.
Photographic and other images require huge amounts of
storage space because of their complex nature. Most PPT
presentations are filled with these images, resulting in
the need for extensive storage requirements. Additionally,
files of this size are often too large to email, or take a
huge amount of time to transmit via internet or intranet. (more…)

Copyright 2006 Peter Renton

I was having breakfast at a local restaurant the other day
when I noticed on the table there was a bottle of hot sauce
with the restaurant’s name on it. I was impressed because I
knew this was no chain – it is just a small independent
restaurant who was taking advantage of private labeling.
It is one of a growing number of small restaurants that
enhance their brand by putting their own name on products.

First, let’s be clear about what I mean by Private
Labeling. According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia,
private label products or services are typically those
manufactured or provided by one company for offer under
another company’s brand. So this covers everything from
Wal-Mart brand products to the small restaurant putting
their label on someone else’s hot sauce.

(more…)

Copyright 2006 Jorge Olson

This is truly one of the most frequently asked questions
that I get from readers and customers.  “How do I find good
wholesale suppliers”?  It is not different to find
Wholesale Suppliers or Wholesale Products, or even
Wholesale Prices. Read on to learn how to get started.

If you’re ready to start your own wholesale business, you
need to find supplier that will supply you with the
products you wish to sell.  However, when you’re first
starting out, you may find that this search takes time –
especially when you don’t know where to start.

Before you even begin searching, you will want to apply for
a resale license.  This allows you to purchase products at
wholesale prices and will also require that you keep
records of your sales for review on a regular basis.  Some
suppliers will ask for this license number before they sell
to you, so it’s in your best interest to have this ready to
go.

To start your search for suppliers, you may want to start
going to local trade shows that are geared toward your
industry.  These are great resources for finding suppliers
as the suppliers are there to specifically meet up with
others that will buy their products.  This will take a
little mingling and business card swapping, but you will
find out more from one afternoon at a trade show than you
could by surfing the Internet.

A side note on looking for suppliers through the Internet:
this is risky in many cases.  Many online suppliers will
act as though they are suppliers when they’re actually
middle men, so you’re not actually paying the lower
wholesale price that you could be.  Why waste your money in
this way when there are plenty of suppliers ready to serve
you?

Another way to approach your search for wholesale suppliers
to find products you like and read the labels to see who
makes them.  You can then take that information and get in
contact with the manufacturer yourself.  When you’re out
and about, look for products that you would like to sell,
buy one, and find out who might be willing to sell it to
you.  The plus to this approach is that you’re already
seeing the product and what it looks like.

You will also want to join any local trade organizations in
order to find out about suppliers that other businesses
use.  In addition, you will be able to make contacts
throughout your chosen industry and be able to stay up to
date on trade shows and other local business news.  There’s
the added benefit as well of getting to hear about any
suppliers that might not deliver on their promises.

And when all else fails, there’s always the local phone
book.  Go to the industry or the product that you are
selling to see if they have a whole sale supplier listed –
you may be surprised at what you find.

No matter which wholesale supplier you choose, you will
want to make sure that they are a legitimate business by
researching them with the Better Business Bureau.  The
www.BBB.org website is a great resource for finding out if
there have been any complaints against a business or not.
While there are some businesses that change their names
frequently in order to not be on the BBB list, this is
generally the best way to spot bad suppliers.

—————————————————-
Jorge Olson is a consultant, speaker and entrepreneur and
owns several Wholesale Distribution companies. Learn more
“Wholesale” by visiting his information packed website
http://www.DistributionBusiness.com