Posts Tagged ‘distribution’
How To: Get a Manufacturing or Wholesale Distribution Job After College
Monday, October 27th, 2008
A recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers revealed that in light of an economic downturn, employers plan to hire 1.6 percent less college graduates than they anticipated in August
But while more than half of the 146 organizations surveyed also said they planned to cut hiring, the study revealed stark differences in hiring expectancies between the manufacturing and distribution industries. While manufacturing industry plan to hire nearly as many college graduates as they did two months ago,the distribution and utilities industry expects to hire 17.6 percent less.
The association typically conducts its job outlook survey annually, said Andrea Koncz, its employment information manager. Researchers felt compelled though to poll the respondents again for more than a week in October, seeking more up-to-date information.
"We kept hearing more bad news coming from Wall Street," Koncz said, "and with the original projections in August… we didn’t feel comfortable going with that."
Despite expected cuts, today’s employers still plan to hire 1.3 percent more college graduates than they did from the class of 2008, In response to the study’s findings, Heath Weems, National Association of Manufacturers director of education and workforce policy, and Phyllis Russell, Power Transmission Distributors Association Foundation executive director, talked with goWholesale about these industries’ abilities to hire and how college graduates can find jobs in both.
The Current State of the Industries
In general, manufacturers are downsizing unless they export or carry a product with a niche, Weems said. He attributes this trend to increasing global competition, though he also argues that its full impact has yet to be seen.
In a National Association of Manufacturers survey conducted three years ago, 81 percent of manufacturers responding said they faced a moderate to severe shortage of qualified workers. About 65 percent of them said also that they could not find enough scientists or engineers. Not much has changed since, Weems said.
Meanwhile, because of their close ties with manufacturers, distributors are just as affected by the economic downturn, Russell said. But college graduates can also look forward to a number of job openings to come, due to, at the very least, the number of baby boomers retiring.
"This year’s tough everywhere, but that is not a long-term trend," she said.
"Homework" Assignments for College Graduates and Industries
From a manufacturer’s perspective, "just because you’re unemployed doesn’t mean you’re employable," as Weems said.
A lot of positions available in the industry now require some sort of post-secondary training, by either working toward a two-year degree or participating in some other credential program. The great question then becomes, "How do we target resources to the unemployed to give them the training and skills employers are looking for?" as Weems said.
With that, the time for an answer is now. Since training programs take anywhere from six months to two years to complete, Weems says that the manufacturing industry needs to make them more readily available as soon as possible.
"If we don’t try to address those challenges now, we’re going to be back to where we were before, in need of those skilled workers. It’s going to hurt our ability to rehabilitate."
Meanwhile, Russell assures college graduates that they still have a number of job opportunities available – but they cannot wait for them to come knocking.
College graduates first need to look beyond the bigger distributors, to the smaller ones located outside of the cities.
"We still hear from many industrial distributors that they are hiring, that they are interested … that they are looking for folks," Russell said. "But those companies are not always located in the biggest cities."
In such an economic environment, college graduates also need to be assertive. They need to be seeking employment in those smaller distributors, for they "are not going to be showing up necessarily at college career days," as Russell said. Graduates can also still approach the bigger distributors, or any distributor they wish.
"If you know that you’re prepared for walking in and introducing yourself, not waiting for those openings, but rather saying, ‘this is the work that I want to do’ … that is tremendously appealing for an employer."
Bottom line: whether college graduates want careers in manufacturing or distribution, they must understand the industry and develop the necessary skills. As for the industries themselves, they may need to prepare themselves as well for the class of 2009’s arrival.
"Now may be a great time to snatch up some talented graduates," as Modern Distribution Management said last week .
Tags: Andrea Koncz, christina lee, college graduates, distribution, employment, Heath Weems, manufacturing, Modern Distribution Management, NAM, National Association of Colleges and Employers, National Association of Manufacturers, Phyllis Russell, Power Transmission Distributors Association Foundation, PTDA
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Finding Distributors for Your Products
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007
If you don’t sell your products straight off the manufacturing line to your customers, you have to find a way to distribute them to a wider market through other means. You need a distributing partner on your side to get your products moving. But what exactly does a distributor do, and how do you find the right one for your business?
The following are some options for distribution you may want to consider:
1. Open bricks-and-mortar stores across the country and start selling your product that way. Of course, this is the most expensive and time-consuming option, but it is a possibility. You can only do this if you have tons of extra money lying around for start-up.
2. Sell your product through a mail order catalog. Unless your product is something truly unique, this option may not work out very well either. Although not as costly as opening up stores, it is still an expensive option.
3. A more reasonable idea is to approach stores and chains with the opportunity to carry your product line. This is a practical way to distribute, especially for new businesses, and has worked well in the past for others. At the same time, it does have its drawbacks in that you have to spend time convincing companies to carry your product and will have less time for the manufacturing end of things.
4. Contact more than one distributor and compel them to carry your products. This final option is the best one of all, simply because it gets the job done and allows you to focus on manufacturing a great product. It gets your product out to a larger audience without too much effort or hassle. Look for a distributor that sells other products related to yours, as this will only help move your product more quickly and get you in touch with key retailers in the industry.
So how exactly do distributors work their magic? The distribution process is invisible to most people, yet they are one of the main components in getting products from around the country - and world - to the consumer. They are the link between the people who create great products and the customers who want to use them. Distribution makes the economic wheels turn.
Basically, distributors transport the goods from large warehouses to retail establishments. As a manufacturer, the cost of moving goods all over the place is too much, but the distributors are set up for this. Retailers can’t afford to obtain products on their own, so distributors bridge the gap. Distributors also handle warehousing and paperwork, invoicing and collection.
How do you find a distributor for you? It will take a lot of grunt work, unless you have a really unique product that hasn’t been seen before. If you’re competing with the thousands of other products being distributed, you’ll have to do some heavy marketing directly to the distributors themselves. It’s your job to convince them that your product will sell well and is worth carrying. Use word-of-mouth referrals to find a distributor you can trust.
Tags: advice, distribution, dristributor, Generating More Sales, Sales, sell your product
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Distributing Your New Product Globally
Friday, September 28th, 2007
Everyone has an idea that they are certain will change the world. However, although the idea for an invention may come from one person, it takes a world of “interested parties” to truly get the idea up and going. Bringing an invention from idea to fruition requires the work of designers, licensing agencies, manufacturers, marketing experts, and distributors. This article assumes that you have already completed the proper paperwork to patent and license your invention.
Target your worldwide market
If you have spent any time in the social circle of other inventors, you are already familiar with the phrase “target your market.” No matter how beneficial or practical, an invention doesn’t have a chance if it’s not marketed to the right people. Since you’re considering international distribution, you will have to put some creative thought into your marketing campaign. Each country is culturally, socially, even scientifically unique. For example, electrical devices run off a different voltage and current system in Europe and Asia than they do in the United States and Canada. While this might seem like a trivial fact, it can mean the difference between success and failure if you have invented an electronic device.
When you’ve decided where you would like to sell your invention, it is time to begin the marketing process itself. But because you cannot know all of the traditions or taboos of each country you’re marketing in, you might want to consider working through a foreign sales representative. This person is already familiar with market conditions in the country you’re trying to appeal to. He or she might even have connections to local distributors. Of course, a foreign representative works on commission, and will often ask for a multi-year contract, so it is in your best interest to choose your representative carefully.
Trade shows are a good place to find a foreign representative. You can find out when and where a show is in your area. By calling ahead, you can find out what sectors are represented and how many booths are set up. This will tell you if the show is worth your time and money. But don’t go to a trade show expecting to find that perfect rep. Just as you had to sell your idea to your friends, family, designers, or capitalists, you will have to convince this person that your invention is the best thing to come along since the wheel. If you’re lucky, you might even meet foreign buyers, who often frequent trade shows to scout out products that they would like to distribute in their country.
If you don’t have the resources to attend trade shows, which may be counties or states away, you can often find a foreign representative by contacting your local Department of Commerce for a list of leads. By going this route, you bypass some of the legwork of the process, but you’ll still have to sell your idea. You may find someone who expresses an interest in your product right away, but don’t let your excitement lead to an impulsive decision. You want someone who has as much passion for the potential of your invention as you do.
Export Management Firms
For some, going it alone is just too much to handle. If you are one of these types, you can try to find an export management firm to serve as your invention’s agent. This firm will represent your product to foreign distributors. However, an export management firm won’t work with you if you cannot prove that your invention will be in demand where you plan to market it. This means you’ll have to do your research before approaching them with your product. You will also want to consider the business atmosphere of the country you’re planning to work with. In the United States, business owners often make decisions on their own, but many foreign entrepreneurs are attached to a group, and must have their approval before accepting a new product.
Having an export management firm doesn’t mean that you are free from the menial tasks of marketing. New products need exposure, and that means putting them out for everyone to see. Place advertisements in popular magazines, develop a direct-mail campaign using lists from the Office of International Trade, attend international trade shows, or hire a translator to help spread the word about your invention. If you’re patient–and a little lucky–your product might just become the “next big thing.”
Tags: distribution, Doing Business Internationally, export, global business, jennifer ratliff, Trade Shows
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The Business of French Cinema
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007
The French Cinema has historically been one of the most rich and influential since the dawn of the medium. In fact, debate still rages over which country actually invented the movie camera and, subsequently, the motion picture business; America and Thomas Edison’s appropriation of a machine actually invented by William Dickson, or France and the Lumiere brothers. The evolution of cinema as an art is one that finds France among the elite of history that includes Hollywood, the Soviet Union and pre-Nazi Germany. The apex of the influence of French filmmakers resulted in generic description that has been applied to revolutions in all media: the New Wave.
That new breed of filmmakers typified by Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut not only changed the face of French cinema, it changed the entire approach to filmmaking in ways that were described as radical at the time, but are simply the most natural way of making movies today. By the 1970s, however, French cinema began to lose much of its glamour and appeal as Godard turned his back on the mainstream to embrace the radical avant-garde while the other members of the New Wave sought the embrace of the very mainstream they had earlier indicted. The 1980s witnessed the occasional international success from France, while the newer generation of French movie stars such as Gerard Depardieu or Juliette Binoche achieved worldwide recognition through appearances in English-language films backed by Hollywood producers. Meanwhile, the only French director to achieve anything even remotely close to the kind of worldwide acclaim granted earlier generations is Luc Besson, and that success has been based almost entirely on his English-language movies starring Hollywood superstars. All was not bad news, however. Beginning in the 1980s and continuing through today, French films were not entirely unfamiliar to audiences for Hollywood movies. Several big box office hits to come out of Hollywood were in fact retooled or reworked versions of French classics ranging from Three Men and a Cradle to The Tall Blonde Man with One Black Shoe to The Return of Martin Guerre. One can well make a case that more Americans actually saw stories made popular in French movies during the last three decades than in the previous half century as a result of watching such remakes as Three Men and a Baby, The Man with One Red Shoe, and Sommersby.
The troubles experienced by French cinema since the 1980s is not entirely due to changes within the country itself. Foreign films routinely get distributed and screened throughout Europe, but without the exposure that comes with success in America the difficulty in establishing an international reputation increases. No further evidence is necessary to argue this contention than by comparing the number of international directors whose names were recognized by film fans across the globe prior to the 1980 to the number of those who have achieved equal fame since. The revolution of the film distribution process in America that coincided with the rise of what may be termed the "blockbuster opening" in which just one film may be projected onto as many as 4,000 screens at once heralded the death knell of foreign-language films there. The result was far more damaging than to the French cinema-the entire international cinema-than merely ending the longstanding influence of foreign directors on the next generation of Hollywood filmmakers. The lack of a revenue-producing stream for France and other countries as a result of the constriction of the American distribution channel created a domino effect on the French film industry.
This reduction in revenue was further undermined by the progressive among the cinema-goers within France itself. The precipitous drop in box office receipts was partly due to the growth of television as a viable competitor to the film industry. The 1970s and 1980s witnessed the rise of French television as a robust distributor of high quality cinematic entertainment, in addition to showcasing many of the French masterpieces of the past. To offset this dangerous trend, the Societe de Financement desmatographiques et Audiovisuelles program (SOFICA) was instituted in 1985(1). The primary benefit of this program was the introduction of a complex tax shelter system designed to lure more investment in cinematic film. The infusion of money reinvigorated the French film industry, but did so at a time when the country was undergoing the same shift in a distribution model as America. French cinema owners moved to centralize film viewership in the multi-screen theater, thereby creating a distribution process that sought to maximize profit potential and reduce risk associated with rising production costs through market saturation(2). This approach in France produced the same result as it had in America: the economics of the distribution of film influenced the artistic choices involved in the production of film. In other words, the blockbuster mentality of Hollywood had immigrated to France.
Even worse, it has been the Hollywood blockbuster that has continued to attract French audiences, contributing to a decline in box office revenues for French-made films not just around the world but in France itself. A 1999 study claimed that French films were seen in theaters by less than 30% of the country’s population, compared to over 60% who attended Hollywood blockbusters(3). Since that study, the situation does not appear to have improved much, despite the increase in anti-American sentiment related to the war in Iraq. The distribution system for French films remains committed to pursuing the quick return based on the saturation model, while American distribution remains difficult at best. In addition, internal disputes have erupted into attacks on film reviewers from filmmakers who assert that their negative reviews are hurting not just the individual films themselves but the perspective that French filmgoers bring a native work of cinematic art. Debate also rages over the practice of what has been derisively termed "cultural protectionism" expressed in the government mandates on the percentage of French-produced films that must be shown on television and be screened in local cinemas. On one side is the argument that these mandates ensure that Hollywood doesn’t completely co-op every screen inside a multiplex. The other side argues that the mandates actually serve to hinder the ability of France to compete in the international market because too many mediocre films are being made that have contributed to the exodus of French movie fans from films made by their own countrymen(4).
Toward the end of the 20th century it was suggested by more than a few that the French cinema was in a deep and profound crisis. From the competition natively produced films faced from Hollywood blockbusters to the fact that there was no singular French film "movement" to rally around to the adoption of a distribution system that relies on saturating the country’s multiplexes with a single movie, it is true that the French cinema may well have sunk to its lowest point since World War II. Despite that unsettling truth, however, it must be remembered that the French cinema has always been a vital and influential part of the history of the movies. Just as the country recovered from the devastation engendered by World War II to become even more influential on the world stage, so is it possible that one day the French cinema might again produce a revolution comparable to the New Wave.
In fact, that revolution may very well be on its way. Since its low point in the late 1990s, French cinema has held the promise of a strong re-emergence. Admission figures have been increasing since 2001, hitting an all time high in 2004. Although figures dropped somewhat in 2005, that potential downward trend was reversed quickly the very next year(5). Another promising development is the noticeable increase in popularity of French-made films during this period, coincident with a drop in attendance for films from America. Leading the charge is a significant rise in the popularity of homegrown comedies and animated films, as well as a resurgence of the French art-house film that gain an overseas audience. Although the current state of the French cinema has yet to produce internationally acclaimed stars and directors as in the past, there can be no denying that French audiences are flocking back into the theaters in numbers not seen since the 1970s. Cover your necks, there just may be another French revolution around the corner.
1 "Distribution and Effects of Television: The 1980s." Film Encyclopedia. http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/France-DISTRIBUTION-AND-THE-EFFECTS-OFTELEVISION-THE-1980s.html
2 Ibid.
3 Charles Paul Fruend. French Farce. Reason. Vol. 31. Issue 10. 2000-03-01.
4 Ibid.
5 Review of 2006 at the French Box Office. UniFrance. http://en.unifrance.org/news/4796/review-of-2006-at-the-french-box-office
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