• Trading Partner Connect's ability to seamlessly exchange EDI documents with manufacturers enables ABE to reduce clerical and data-entry errors, according to Dantes Rosete, IT Manager for Above Board Electronics. "Information is managed electronically, so we're able to reduce the chances of an error occurring during a transaction," says Rosete. "If something does happen, we'll know where and what caused it, so a lot of the backtracking and grey areas are eliminated as well."
• "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," says Jeff Tloczynski, operations manager for Action Industrial Supply. He estimates that Trading Partner Connect's EDI capabilities save Action Industrial over 400 dollars a month.
• With an inventory containing more than 800,000 items, Gary Lane, IT director of All Brand Appliance Parts, appreciates how Activant B2B Seller allows customers to search for items using the same codes All Brand's employees use in their backend system. "Short codes have simplified things on our end, and they are really making things easier for our customers."
• "We know we're catching sales that might have slipped through the cracks before," says Joe Murphy, COO of Arbill Safety. Activant B2B Seller has helped the distributor extend geographic reach and improve customer retention.
• Arc Abrasives, an abrasives manufacturer, has harnessed the Power of Trading Partner Connect to streamline purchasing processes and improve their relationships with the distributors they work with.
• Bergen Industrial Supply Co. needed to streamline customers' requests for information without jeopardizing customer service. Activant Trading Partner Connect enabled them to open a Web-based storefront that significantly reduced the time and associated costs of dealing with customer calls by giving customers access to all of their pertinent information online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Bergen Industrial Supply Co. has revolutionized the way it handles its customers' stockrooms and anticipates doubling its revenues at one customer location alone, with a little help from Activant.
• "We've saved - and made - thousands buying and selling inactive inventory with other distributors," says Michael LaPorte, vice president of Bergen Industrial Supply Co. Thanks to Activant Trading Partner Connect, Bergen has been able to reduce buying costs and move inactive stock.
• Ken Ankli, president of Brammall Supply Company, uses Activant Trading Partner Connect to communicate with manufacturers and deal with dead stock. Says Ankli, "We use purchase requirement reports to focus our dead stock purchases toward items we have on backorder, which ensures a buyer on the other end."
• To stay on the leading edge of technology and enter the world of e-commerce without a full-time IT department, Care Safety, LLC knew they had to do something different. Now, with Activant Prophet 21, Trading Partner Connect, and ASP, they have quick and easy access to information and unlimited opportunities for Internet trading.
• When City Plumbing and Electric unveiled its B2B Seller site, customers responded enthusiastically - even though they never requested the ability to do business over the Web: "We do our best to beat customers to the punch," relates systems manager Roger Moore.
• Customers are not demanding, says Ken Mynes, executive vice president of Control Corporation of America. Instead, they just have high expectations -- and CCA employees use Activant Prophet 21 to meet and exceed those expectations.
• Cole Wire and Cable, distributors of specialty electrical and electronic wire and cable, wanted to provide expanded customer service to its existing customer base, so the company implemented an Activant B2B Seller Web site. The results took them places they never imagined.
• Jeff Brackett, general manager at C.W. Hayden, recently talked about his B2B site in a press release: "October was the first month that the site was live," said Brackett. "During that month, 3.5 percent of our total sales were placed over the Web. We average four to six orders per day from the site." By February, 6.2 percent of C.W. Hayden's total sales were over the Web.
• "B2B seller has enabled us to meet our customers' needs during the busy summer season. Real-time pricing and availability have been extremely helpful," says Derrek Schlottmann, system administrator for Downeast Bicycle Specialists. Since implementing B2B Seller, Activant's integrated Web-based storefront, Downeast Bicycles has been able to reach a wider customer base, increase sales, and more efficiently manage their inventory.
• Duncan Equipment Company recognizes that the role of distributors is changing as customers demand more in the way of services. To stay ahead of the curve, the company has embraced technology. Trading Partner Connect allows them to provide the services their customers demand while streamlining the supply chain without sacrificing relationships.
• DXP Enterprises, Inc, of Houston, TX knows the importance of e-business for the future of the distribution industry. That's why Little is so impressed with Activant's newest offering, Trading Partner Connect. "They're doing the same thing I am, but (they) can leverage it"... across a large base of customers.
• Empire Machinery wanted to quickly respond to their customers' requests for a customer service-oriented Web site, so they worked with Activant to get their Activant B2B Seller site live in just 31 days.
• Robert Rolfe, systems administrator for General Pacific, shares his thoughts on Activant's Internet trading network, Trading Partner Connect.
• General Tool and Supply Company of Portland, OR has always been on the cutting edge of Activant technology. According to Derville, Trading Partner Connect will give Activant distributors a competitive advantage. End-user, distributor, and manufacturer all win!
• According to Ron Overton, marketing manager for Henry A. Petter Supply Co., teaming up with Activant Trading Partner Connect is like adding another salesperson to your work force: "But this is a sales rep that doesn't require commission."
• For any distributor, managing thousands of customers, hundreds of thousands of stock items, and millions of part numbers is no minor undertaking. Prophet 21 and B2B Seller have helped Herman Electronics simplify those tasks while improving customer service, increasing efficiencies, and reducing costs.
• Hub Supply understands the impact that the Internet has had both on its existing and potential customers. That's why he enlisted the help of Activant to build a fully hosted Web-based storefront. According to James Simmerman, Hub Supply's Director of Technology, "the return on our investment (in B2B Seller) is already 100 percent."
• Henkel Loctite Corporation, a national industrial manufacturer/supplier based in Connecticut, wanted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness and strengthen relationships and collaboration with distributors. They realized all that plus reduced transaction costs and increased time savings by joining Activant Trading Partner Connect.
• Don Ireland, president of Industrial Supply Co., knows the importance of evolving with the times and with technology. To help his business grow, he's moved from Acclaim to Prophet 21.
• Iscar Metals, a Texas-based carbide metalworking tools manufacturer, wanted to further innovate supply chain processes. To do so, the company joined Activant Trading Partner Connect.
• Ronny Cooper, purchasing agent for J Supply Company, Inc., estimates that 80 percent of the business his company conducts through Trading Partner Connect involves purchasing. Says Cooper, "We've been able to expand our lines and we've gotten some great deals."
• Activant Trading Partner Connect helps JMC Sales & Engineering streamline vendor transactions. Says system administrator Rachael Mayer, "Since all orders are sent automatically through the network, our inside sales people are now free to enter more orders."
• According to Rick Doerr, an executive at M.A. Ford, sales revenue from distributors using the Trading Partner Connect to do business with M.A. Ford have grown at about three times the rate of the average distributor not using the Internet trading network.
• To satisfy bottom-line conscious end users and keep ahead of competitors, M.A. Ford knew they had to move beyond traditional methods of doing business. So, they invested in Activant's Trading Partner Connect - and have witnessed increased revenue and market share through better customer service.
• Thanks to Activant Trading Partner Connect, Rhode Island-based Massasoit Tool Company has reduced stock levels by 12 percent and decreased purchasing time by 40 percent - all while improving customer service levels and relationships with its manufacturers.
• Medical Specialties Distributors executives knew they had to act fast when a $4 million dollar account demanded online ordering capabilities within 120 days. Luckily, partnering with Activant helped them beat the deadline and win the account.
• "Trading Partner Connect had everything the EDI solution had and more, for about the same price," explains Bryan Menard, System Administrator at Menard Electronics, Inc. "When we factored in the VPN connection to Activant and the ability to source other distributors for product, we really saw the value in joining the network."
• Activant Acclaim and Trading Partner Connect helps Midwest Industrial Tools, a growing industrial equipment and supplies distributor, live up to their mission of putting customers first.
• Activant Trading Partner Connect helps Muenz/Engineered Sales Company representatives streamline processes with manufacturers, better help customers -- and, best of all, do more with less resources. 'It's a great tool,' says Tom Washington, vice president.
• For National Marker, Trading Partner Connect proves to be a low-cost, efficient way to get its innovative products to end-users. The Internet trading network has simplified and streamlined processes, and reduced costs for the signs equipment and supplies manufacturer/distributor.
• Norton Abrasives representatives know that in order to succeed, manufacturers and distributors must work together. That's why they joined Activant Trading Partner Connect - and, as a result, have seen reduced transaction costs and more.
• Oliver H. Van Horn of New Orleans, LA was one of the first Activant companies to sign on to Trading Partner Connect and envisions great success for both itself and Activant in the digital age. Company CEO, Lee Eagan states, "We think that Trading Partner Connect will revolutionize our industry."
• Pitt Auto Electric Company utilizes Activant Trading Partner Connect B2B Seller to improve customers' perceptions.
• Quality Mill Supply Company, Inc., Indiana's largest independent industrial distributor, relies on Activant Trading Partner Connect B2B Alliance and B2B Buyer to improve customer satisfaction, maximize efficiency, and reduce operating costs.
• With 40 percent of Quality Mill Supply Company's business revolving around spot buys, President Mike Baker is grateful that Trading Partner Connect prevents them from having to break packages or order surplus stock. "We're able to buy smaller quantities from other distributors without being penalized or having to reach minimums," he explains.
• Quality Mill Supply management knows that dead stock can be poison to any distributor. That's why they joined Activant Trading Partner Connect, and, with Action Industrial Supply, learned how to shed their expensive, slow-moving inventory.
• An Activant customer for over 20 years, Richards Equipment increases sales and improves customer service with Activant B2B Seller.
• Trading Partner Connect B2B Seller has strengthened Safety Source of New England's market presence by helping the company increase sales and expand its geographic reach. "The B2B Seller site really offers my company something most of my direct competitors don't have," says Robert Kingman, company president.
• For Seco Tools Inc., formerly Seco-Carboloy, choosing Trading Partner Connect was a way to cater to an established customer base, while extending their market share. "Since many of our distributors operate an Activant solution, it made sense to implement Trading Partner Connect," explains Craig Berryman, Seco Tool's electronic commerce technology developer. "Trading Partner Connect gives us an efficient, trouble-free way of conducting business. This helps to make Seco Tools easy to do business with."
• "If one of my customers was looking at me versus a competitor, and the competitor has his literature, and I have my literature and Web address, then I'm one step ahead," explains David Shaw, CIO of Selecta Products. With Prophet 21 and B2B Seller, Shaw has a tool that allows Selecta to gain a competitive advantage while offering an unmatched level of customer service.
• To drive transaction costs down and keep profit margins stable while ensuring end-users get the best prices available, Selecta Switch, a master distributor, joined Activant Trading Partner Connect.
• For SGS Tool Company,, Activant Trading Partner Connect is a time- and money- saving tool and a manufacturer-distributor relationship enhancer, as well as a portal into the future.
• In 2003, Stromquist & Company, an HVAC and industrial controls distributor, decided to implement Activant's Web-based storefront, B2B Seller; four years later, the solution channels approximately 17 percent of the company's business through the Web. Says Inside Salesman and System Administrator Chuck Chittick, "We basically treat our B2B Seller site like another order taker, only this one accepts orders 24/7."
• Superior Abrasives refines their business with Activant Acclaim and Activant Trading Partner Connect.
• When the president of Teeco Products, a California-based distributor of liquid petroleum gas products, recognized that no one within the industry was riding the e-commerce wave, he jumped at the opportunity to be the first. "I believe that to succeed you need technology that is ahead of the curve," Goodwin says. "That's why we operate an Activant solution and chose to open a B2B Seller storefront."
• In addition to using Trading Partner Connect to send suppliers purchase orders, Toledo Abrasive employees regularly scour the network for inventory collecting dust in other distributors' warehouses.
• For more than a century, Weiler Corporation has focused on providing superior customer service. To maintain the highest levels of service and decrease supply chain costs through the digital age, they invested in Activant's Trading Partner Connect.

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