Embarq Logistics Enhances Pricing With SPA

Embarq Logistics is a $750 million distributor of telecommunications products and services.

Says Brad Clark, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing, of Embarq's utilization of SPA:
"Our division was in the process of soliciting buyers for divestiture and we needed to improve our EBITDA as much as possible. We employed SPA because our results had plateaued and we thought we might be leaving money on the table. And we were. SPA likes to talk about delivering 2-4 margin points but from our experience we were leaving 6-10 points on the table. We provide some degree of price flexibility to our inside sales reps and even with those modifications, we still see meaningful margin improvements. We expect these increases to continue, and we will continue to cash checks with each improvement!"

"We started working with SPA in early spring and we had new pricing for 140,000 SKUs analyzed, designed and implemented by September. Because we were nervous about potential customer backlash, we established a control group that didn't receive the SPA-determined price increases as a way to be sure that the SPA program would not negatively impact sales. This was tracked every week and not only did the SPA program not hurt sales, the margins for the SPA group improved over the control group."

To learn more, visit the SPA Newsroom.

New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software? Want to know how the software's features and functions can assist you? Please contact sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Distribution_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Guide

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.

Also, read our 2019 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Supp.

Developed through a partnership with Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.

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Join Us for SPA's Strategy Seminar

Equal parts strategy and practical tactics, the the SPA Strategy Seminar addresses key topics that are particularly relevant in a recovering economy. This year’s conference, held Friday, June 28 from 8am – 5pm at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, brings together an outstanding group of industry experts to offer strategies on driving shareholder value.

This big-picture seminar is focused on strategic topics of importance to the owners, CEOs, CFOs and general managers of distribution and manufacturing companies. Experts will address the topics essential to accelerating the customer value proposition, competitive positioning and market value of any distribution or manufacturing business. The seminar addresses the strategic, analytical, process and cultural issues that are fundamental to maximizing shareholder value. The seminar will focus on the high-level, strategic and structural issues that are easily neglected in the hustle and bustle of daily business demands. It will help you to refocus your organization on the drivers of economic value.

Register now at http://strategicpricing.com/events/seminars/LasVegas.php

The Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides for 2013 are currently available.

You can download each one directly, or visit our main website to request a copy. Please follow the links below.

2013 Distribution Software

2013 Manufacturing Software

You can also request these guides, as well as all other materials, via our website: http://www.software4distributors.com/vendor/resources_index.aspx

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Leading Your Company Through Strategic Planning

The notion of a serious planning effort means different things to different people. Does “strategic planning” conjure up the notion of military battle plans, mountaintop retreats, huge corporations or expensive consultants? How about a 2-day meeting with your top leaders, with good preparation and a strong commitment to fix what’s broken and come up with two or three ideas that will launch the company toward a “BHAG” (big hairy audacious goal)?

There are three essentials to getting your first (or renewed) strategic planning project started: get the leaders involved; create a rigorous process to explore new initiatives; execute the initiatives by building them into the way you do business.

Read more on the I.B.I.S. blog.

The Brown Smith Wallace 2012 Mid-Year Supplements are available. Visit our website to download your copy!

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The Value of Working Together

A unified business strategy will push results to the bottom line and provide advantage over the competition by strengthening ties to customers and suppliers and promoting efficiency and cost prudency by replacing manual and paper-based processes with digital counterparts.

Exact Software's Gary Chervitz was recently featured in Supply & Demand Chain Executive where he discusses four tips to building a collaboration strategy:

• Corporate culture and behavior must reflect collaborative principles
• Use integrated technologies to revitalize ERP
• Reinvent the paper trail and increase accountability and visibility
• Monitor, measure and manage

Read the full article >>

Collaboration projects successfully help companies do more with less, work leaner and greener with fewer resources and lower operating expenses. Becoming more collaborative is truly a process, and keeping an eye upon continuous improvement efforts is essential. By combining these basic principles with the right collaborative technology, an organization will definitely find itself working together more effectively.

For more information about Exact Software, please visit: www.exactamerica.com or contact us: 1-800-468-0834, ext. 2650.