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 Whether a contractor who has a little inventory or a distributor who has a lot of inventory, there is one uniting factor between these two HVAC industry participants — both have inventory. Tracking and managing this inventory can be a challenge, especially for establishments that don’t have a strong infrastructure or that haven’t invested in electronic solutions or platforms.  

 Employee owned 100 percent, cfm Distributors Inc. is celebrating multiple successes this year. Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., the company has five other locations across the United States. According to cfm, each is built on the same framework of honesty and integrity. Together this group has processed its millionth order, expanded one of its locations, added new product lines, and opened an e-commerce storefront. These are just a few examples of the company’s progression, and with the year winding down, cfm is gearing up for new trends, expanded customer service, and a further push into the HVAC distribution market. What is the company’s secret to success?  

Grainger (Chicago) opened a new distribution center in Minooka, Ill.  More HVAC Distributor news briefs. 

 Fujitsu General America (Fairfield, N.J.) introduced a new single-zone line of compact cassettes and slim duct systems; other HVAC Manufacturers news briefs 

The HARDI Foundation’s Demand Quantification Project gained a new sponsor—Regal Beloit; other HVAC Organizations news briefs.

Tappan has begun including a Micro-Channel condensing coil in the 14/15-SEER FT4BE heat pump. 

October has arrived and it is the last quarter of 2013. Who knew that temperatures would range wildly across the nation or that the economic talk would span the good, the bad, and the ridiculous? None of us can predict the future, but I think it is safe to say that your salespeople could make a big difference to your bottom line as this year begins to wind down. I am not a salesperson by trade but from what I have experienced on both sides of the selling conversation, selling is more than vomiting facts and features to customers. It is an artfully crafted give and take relationship. 

In the past, manufacturers and their distributors have worked together closely, which helped ensure profitability up and down the supply chain. In the last few years, however, that relationship has changed, becoming strained as customers increasingly bypass distributors and go straight to the supplier for products. This action often leaves much of the burden of compensating distributors for their services on the supplier’s shoulders. 

Distributor tools for successful business come in all shapes and sizes. Consultants, suppliers, master distributors, and special promotions are just some of the items that help distributors do their jobs on a daily basis.  

 What does the industry get when it crosses a data warehouse and a business intelligence application? The simple answer is an interactive, cross-industry, real-time distributor benchmarking database. According to Greg Borr, corporate operations manager at the O’Connor Co. Inc. in Lenexa, Kan., this combined solution will allow distributors to key or upload data into the data warehouse on a quarterly basis. From there, the data will be compiled and posted to a business intelligence application.