Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Set up email alerts for important industrial development news

In order to make sure that you don't miss special announcements and headlines from industrial goods vendors that will affect your business, register with news feeds to get regular industrial research updates. Watch for news that also affects your customers with consumer industrial goods user and commercial clients.

I recommend: Get news on industrial product announcements from GlobalSpec and ThomasNet. Industry Week and Plant Engineering cover industrial products from the manager's point of view.

Go for in-depth industrial goods sources

Take time to read in-depth industrial product reports and magazines that cover the industry further than the headlines. Watch for the articles that provide information that can help drive your own business decisions. Subscribe to print magazines that cover developing industries or read them online.

I recommend: What’s Trading is a great site for finding out the latest market news about industrial goods and service companies. Keep up with the global news that drives the industrial goods industry through the specific pages of the Financial Times that are devoted to the industrial sector.

Participate in trade groups for industrial services

By joining other professionals in the industrial goods and services field, you can build relationships that can help you stay ahead of the news and perhaps be involved in the news even before it happens. You can meet vendors and get sales leads to sell your industrial services when you've got those business relationships built.

I recommend: The National Association of Manufacturers is the leading trade group for industrial products makers. The American Hardware Manufacturers’ Association offers a wealth of information and news that covers the industry as well as research and specific articles that you can access to get more in-depth coverage. Find a niche association to serve your business to get news that matters to you through groups such as the American Brush Manufacturers’ Association.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Attend trade shows and conferences for industrial suppliers that provide useful seminars and industry reports through meetings and speakers as a way to keep up with news and trends on a firsthand basis.

Guide to Finding Industrial Supplies

Where to find the critical operational supplies your business needs day-to-day

By Jennifer Baljko, Freelance Writer and Editor

You can stock up on supplies while keeping costs under control by:

1. Anticipating what kinds of non-manufacturing-related purchases your company is likely to make.
2. Setting budget parameters.
3. Reviewing supplier contracts frequently to get the best prices.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buy online

To save time and resources, order what you need via an online shopping cart.

I recommend: Grainger has set-up the classic online shopping experience for buyers, and has added other services such as resource center where you can get material safety datasheets. Find a local Grainger outlet by Zip Code at the home page.

Get a quick education

Don't know a butterfly valve from a ball valve?Web research can give you the basics.

I recommend: Try Industrial 101 for information on a long list of industrial equipment and safety supplies.

Pick a supplier

Getting hooked up with the right supplier is always a challenge. Online directories help ease the burden.

I recommend: ThomasNet, Industrial Directory, and Industrial Supplies Directory offersearch by product or company.

Attend an auction

Now that eBay's online auctioning model has gained so much popularity, it's becoming more common to put the bidding and request for proposal process online.

I recommend: Companies like DoveBid and Overstock.com run business and industrial auctions.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Centralize buying habits, giving a select group of purchasing people authority over materials management.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Start saving money on industrial goods and services at auctions

Depending on your specific industry, slightly used equipment is often just as effective as brand new without the high price tag. An auction is usually a more reliable resale solution for industrial goods and services than your local flea markets. There are also many great discounters available online if you are not keen on the idea of bidding on your supplies and are interested in more warranty and service options.

I recommend: Government Liquidation has a huge selection of industrial equipment and heavy machinery, as well as a wide variety of other potentially valuable items available for auction with incredibly low reserves most of the time. If you are looking for a good discount retailer, Global Industrial offers everything from food service supplies to office furniture. They have service plans and warranties available as well.

Plan on saving money on industrial goods and services with bulk discounts

Consider buying the supplies you must continuously replace from a wholesaler or bulk discount club to find some steep discounts. You may benefit most if you negotiate a loyalty discount agreement with one particular vendor. Many suppliers will offer discounts to loyal repeat customers.

I recommend: Sam's Club has reasonable prices and caters to smaller businesses. Memberships are inexpensive, and business members enjoy special perks such as the store opening earlier exclusively for them to shop before the crowds hit. They sell some industrial supplies, such as tools, equipment and utility trailers. Wholesale Industrial Supplies offers a customer loyalty discount program.

Begin saving money on industrial goods and services by going green

Remember to look at all the angles when examining your budget. If you initially spend more money on an energy-efficient machine for your business, but it ends up saving you more in yearly energy costs than you could have saved in total by purchasing a less expensive piece of equipment in the first year alone, then you have probably made a very wise investment. Even simple upgrades to your existing equipment to increase energy-efficiency could mean big savings at the end of the year, especially when you consider the tax incentives.

I recommend: Grainger has a huge selection of products to help your business go green without completely blowing the budget. Alibaba is an open global trading auction. They have many items available to help make your current industrial equipment more energy-efficient without overspending.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Data base marketing

This term refers to the organization of industrial goods usage and statistics kept in a record in a computer. Businesses use this information for marketing, as well as referrals to other business resources and customers.

I recommend: You can learn more by visiting the Direct Marketing Association which offers resources and a seminar for working with data base marketing for industrial goods. It also provides analytic and marketing solutions.

Functional wholesalers

A functional wholesaler, sometimes called a functional middleman, is an agent, merchant or broker who facilitates the exchange of an industrial goods between resellers and producers. The functional wholesaler generally receives a commission for services rendered.

I recommend: Bizcovering offers an article about functional wholesalers, along with other terms.

Heterogeneous shopping goods

This term refers to industry goods that consumers find unique in attributes and quality.

I recommend: Babylon.com offers a definition of heterogeneous shopping goods and offers links to related definitions.

Liquidity

Liquidity is another term for a company's current assets. It demonstrates a company's capability of paying for current liabilities.

I recommend: The Online Investor discusses ways liquidity services operate when dealing with industrial goods.

Retail mix

Many companies involved with the retail of industrial goods utilize services that offer recommendations for a retail mix. This is a mix of variables such as merchandise offered, location, services, prices and other similar strategies related to selling industrial goods.

I recommend: The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System offers an analysis for small downtown shopping venues, specifically villages and cities that have populations of 2,500-15,000. It addresses the way a retail mix benefits the small populations.

Transactional functions

A transactional function is the buying and reselling of a product with all the risks involved in keeping the stock.

I recommend: You can learn more by visiting the Great American Group, which defines how one uses transaction services with industrial goods. It describes transactions for asset management.