6
Fall 2013 •
Hardlines
Strategies
ideas for improving your operations. “Blish-
Mize doesn’t add on additional fees for your
sales representative,” says Long. “All of the
Blish-Mize programs in aggregate result in
more profit for our customers.”
3. Blish-Mize has
competitive prices.
One of Chappelear’s chief concerns as he
looked for a hardware supplier was finding
one that could allow him to find the prices
that would keep him competitive in his
market while still maximizing his profit.
“I found Blish-Mize had good prices,
especially on those price-sensitive items,”
he says. “That allows me to price those
items right for my customers and still make
a good margin on them.”
Through its Retail Pricing System (RPS),
Blish-Mize helps you establish prices based
on item sensitivity and on your competitor’s
prices. Each item in the Blish-Mize catalog
carries a sensitivity code from 1 to 8, with
1 being the most price sensitive and 8 being
a blind item. With that knowledge in hand,
you have complete freedom to price items as
you choose and maintain a balance between
competitive prices and high margins.
“You have several ways to manage your
individual store prices if you choose not
to use our benchmark prices,” says Long.
“The result is that you are perceived to
be more competitive at retail. That means
more sales and profits for you.”
4. Blish-Mize has
high order fill rates.
One of the most important services
Blish-Mize can provide to you is getting
you the products you need, when you need
them. As a result, the Blish-Mize team
uses a sophisticated warehouse system
to monitor delivery fill-rates daily so the
online catalog is always accurate.
After products from vendors come into
the Blish-Mize warehouse, team members
get to work. Items are spot checked and
marked as being received. RF scanners
are used to assign locations to inventory.
Team members use those same scanners
to pick and pack the products, moving
them down the line for palletization.
Orders are triple checked by the pallet
builder, using the same scanners to
check the order for accuracy. If there is
any discrepancy, the RF gun will send
a warning. The packing process cannot
continue until the issue is resolved.
The result is an average 96 percent fill
rate. “We usually exceed that goal, too,”
says Long. “When you can order and
receive a product due to our high fill rate, it
is a win-win for all of us.”
5. Blish-Mize has once-a-
month payment terms.
Blish-Mize knows that the best place to
invest your money is in your inventory.
It also knows that, during the slower months
of the year, it can be better to pay once a
month rather than twice.
So while many other distributors require
payment twice a month, Blish-Mize offers
once-a-month payment terms. This allows
you more control over your cash flow and
flexibility with other expenses. Similar terms
from other distributors typically come with
added fees. In many cases, distributors
charge a full 1 percent for these kinds of
terms. Blish-Mize knows this value-added
offering can help you stay competitive and
remains committed to offering this service at
no cost to you.
6. Blish-Mize has a
professional sales team
that visits you regularly.
No doubt you know that having an
outside perspective on your business can be
a valuable part of keeping you successful.
That’s the role of the sales team at Blish-
Mize. Unlike some distributors where a sales
representative will show up a couple of times
a year, or less, and try to push programs or
products you don’t want, each member of the
Blish-Mize sales team is designed to be your
partner in the business, your go-to person for
any questions or concerns you may have.
“My sales rep Janet Elias visits my store
on a regular basis,” Chappelear says. “All
of the help and suggestions she offers are
exactly what I need. When it comes to any
concerns I have, there’s never a question or
a hassle; she takes care of it right away.”
Your Blish-Mize sales representative
visits you on a regular basis and draws on
the arsenal of tools available from Blish-
Mize to help you grow your business. “The
role of our team is to bring new items and
ideas to our customers’ attention to help
them grow sales and profits,” says Long.
“Our team has the advantage of seeing a
number of stores during their travels. They
take those great ideas they see and pass
them on to make everyone a success.”
7. Blish-Mize has a regional
sales management team.
In addition to your own sales
representative, Blish-Mize also offers a
regional sales management team. These
managers help the sales team utilize the
many tools from Blish-Mize, and are your
STORE OPERATIONS
Blish-Mize Distribution Team Members use RF scanners to ensure the accuracy of every order.
