Success Stories

Action Figures

"We don't do plumbing and we don't do electrical, but we sell everything else."

According to Jeff Tloczynski, operations manager for Action Industrial Supply Co., employees of the Muskegon, MI-based distributor have adopted this slogan to illustrate the wide range of products they deal in, which includes everything from cutting tools and abrasives to chemicals and safety supplies.

Offering such a diverse mix of product lines means Action Industrial has to work with a large group of vendors, a process that has grown significantly easier since they implemented Activant Trading Partner Connect.

An Internet trading network for distributors, Trading Partner Connect expedites sourcing, expands geographic reach, and streamlines transactions by opening an information channel that allows distributors and manufacturers to electronically exchange data in a secure environment.

"Since implementing Trading Partner Connect, we've been using it to communicate with some of our largest vendors," says Tloczynski. "Before, we'd have to worry about whether or not our faxes went through, but now our buyers can instantaneously send purchase orders over the network."

Besides improving communication with their vendors, Action Industrial has seen some cost savings as well. Since moving their EDI transactions from a VAN to Trading Partner Connect, Tloczynski estimates that they're saving more than 400 dollars a month in fees.

"Switching our EDI transactions to Trading Partner Connect was a transparent move," he says. "The only thing that's changed is the extra 400 that goes to our bottom line every month."

Win-Win

People always say that communication is the key to any successful relationship, so it seems only natural that as Trading Partner Connect offers distributors and manufacturers new ways to interact, profitable relationships would spring up.

In addition to using Trading Partner Connect to streamline communications with its vendors, Action Industrial has been able to conduct business with distributors outside of their marketplace, both sourcing hard-to-find items and selling from their own product lines.

"Sometimes if there's an item we need in a pinch and we can't get it from one of our vendors, we'll look to Trading Partner Connect and see if other distributors out there have it," explains Tloczynski. "We also have a couple distributors who buy a certain line from us, and that's win-win - they get a good deal and we get additional sales volume."

Relationships forged over Trading Partner Connect can give independent wholesalers another way to stay competitive by providing new avenues for doing business, whether it be buying or selling. Upon joining the network, distributors' offerings immediately expand without having to add manpower or warehouse space.

"I would recommend Trading Partner Connect for the EDI savings alone," concludes Tloczynski, "but then there's the opportunity to unload dead stock and the communication with other distributors and vendors - there's a lot to be excited about."

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