Success Stories

Trading Partner Connect Helps Signs Equipment and Supplies Manufacturer/Distributor Streamline Processes

Each year, distributors buy an ever-increasing number of signs - for customers and for their own warehouses. It's not just a trend; it's the law.

"Every distributor - and every one of a distributor's customers - is mandated by law to identify certain things, from non-smoking sections to exits to hard hat zones," says Michael Black, president of the Rhode Island-based National Marker Company. But, he adds, most distributors do not keep signs in stock and instead source them on a case-by-case basis.

Black's mission is to make the often-tedious process of finding signage easier for distributors. His method for simplifying the process: Activant Trading Partner Connect.

"Most distributors spend too much time sourcing their signage," Black charges. He recounts a scenario common in many businesses: First, a sales representative takes an order for an exit sign. Then, that person hands it off to a purchasing agent, who spends anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour flipping through binders in search of the correct sign. Finally, that person spends additional time creating a purchase order and sending it to a supplier. "Any profit a distributor would make on the sale is thrown out the window in the time people spend processing the order," Black says.

With Trading Partner Connect, distributors can search National Marker's inventory from their own enterprise solutions. "They push a button, order the item, and we ship it to the distributor, or better yet directly to the customer so costs are minimized," Black says.

Focused Offerings

National Marker offers its entire catalog through Trading Partner Connect - and Black stresses that his company's product offerings extend far beyond non-smoking signs and labor law posters. In fact, the company specializes in custom-designed items, and was among the first in the industry to focus its efforts on photoluminescent technology.

Photoluminescent technology has been utilized increasingly because it glows in total darkness, and needs no maintenance, batteries, or electricity. Used mostly in exit signs and other egress indicators, the technology's momentum is building as a result of recent nightclub tragedies in Chicago and Rhode Island - and because of the terrorist attacks of September 11. "We're taking the technology of photoluminescence, cutting it into arrow shapes, and rolling it out onto floors," Black says. "If the lights go out and the room fills with smoke and you have to hit the ground, there will be arrows pointing to the exits. It really saves lives."

National Marker also custom-creates photoluminescent signs for walls or floors - items that can be ordered through Trading Partner Connect. The company only sells through the distribution channel and even offers distributors its own catalogs to share with their customers.

"Trading Partner Connect is a low-cost, effective way to get our products to the end-user," Black concludes. "And, distributors get what they need - without jumping through hoops. It's a win-win situation."

For more information about National Marker and its offerings, please visit its Web site at www.nationalmarker.com.

For more information on Activant's enterprise software solutions, please fill out our Web Contact Form.

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