Seiche Sanders' portraitInside this issue you’ll find our Buyer’s Guide — an essential product-sourcing tool for jan/san distributors. Each year we update our carefully compiled database of industry manufacturers, their products and brand names, and craft it into one, easy-to-use volume. Our 49th edition includes a special section listing industry wholesalers, and we’ve marked each section with “tabs” to help you quickly find what you’re looking for. If you have any ideas for improvements for next year’s Buyer’s Guide, please send them my way.


In July, SM will pay homage to jan/san distribution pioneers when we publish our tribute to the “10 Oldest Distributor Firms.” If your business is a non-manufacturing distribution firm founded in or before 1926, we want to hear from you. Please send us your contact information, and include the year the company was founded. E-mail the information to me by February 25th to be considered for this special issue.

The business rebound of 2004 will continue into 2005, although growth will return to historical ranges, predicts Adam Fein Ph.D. of Pembroke Consulting in a December 2004 report. Fein predicts wholesale distribution industry revenues will grow by 7.7 percent this year — less than 2004 growth, but it’s good news for distribution, nonetheless.

It’s bound to be a busy year for jan/san industry distributors as they struggle to gain market share and grow their businesses. The editors at SM want to remain privy to the forces affecting this industry. If you have an idea for an article, want to alert us to an emerging trend, or if you would simply like to chat about what’s going on within your own operations, please give me a call, or drop me an e-mail.

   




POSTED ON: 2/1/2005