Name: Stellar Industrial Supply
Location: Tacoma, Wash.
No. branches: 8
No. employees: 104
Specialty: General-line industrial distributor
Approx. sales: $40 million
Nominated by: Eric Pfeiffer
    Business Development Manager
    Simonds International

Good things happen when you assemble an All-Star lineup. Stellar Industrial Supply president John Wiborg believes his team of employees and vendor partners fit that description. In fact, Stellar calls key supplier partners the Stars Lines.

Every fall, Stellar employees select the supplier companies they believe earned the designation, based on sales volume, product lines, market opportunities and other factors. They invite these preferred vendors to a January meeting where Stellar hands out its Supplier of the Year award and holds a dinner to thank the companies for their efforts. The real work begins the second day, when branch managers, division heads, senior management, sales and purchasing staffs sit down with suppliers to map out plans for the year ahead.

“They’re constantly looking to develop new programs. They want to involve their manufacturer partners, and they’re very tenacious when they go after new business,” says Eric Pfeiffer, business development manager for saw blades manufacturer Simonds International, who nominated Stellar for the award.

In order to build successful business relationships with suppliers, Wiborg says it’s crucial to communicate current market share data and have a detailed plan of action for going after new business.

“Our vision statement is to create ideal customer/supplier relationships,” says Wiborg. “It’s a simple, straightforward vision statement, but executing it is complex. When we work with our Stars Lines, our conversation is always about how to make this partnership mutually beneficial.”

It’s that kind of determination and dedication that Pfeiffer says makes Stellar Industrial Supply a Most Progressive Distributor.

“Stellar Industrial is very progressive in terms of business systems and automation. They are also aggressively building their business both in terms of new geography and same-store growth,” says Pfeiffer. “They take full advantage of the programs, education and technical support that we offer and work hand in hand with our field sales team.”

Name: Crown Industrial Supply
   (a division of Steiner Electric)
Location: Elk Grove Village, Ill.
No. branches: 7
No. employees: 500
Specialty: Cutting tools, abrasives, chemicals (Crown)
Approx. sales: $250 million (Steiner)
Nominated by: Brett Cline/Mark Westrom
   Regional Sales
   Managers Sandvik Coromant

Founded in 1916, Steiner Electric is known as one of the largest independently owned electrical distributors in the U.S. The acquisition of Crown Industrial Supply in 1999 was a strategic decision. It enabled this northern Illinois area distributorship to expand its core competencies into other complimentary product segments to meet the changing needs of OEM/MRO customers.

“Manufacturers of all sizes understood transaction cost savings and the benefit of consolidating their supplier base. Doing more business with fewer suppliers contributes to their bottom-line profits,” says Steiner president and chief operating officer Richard Kerman. Over the next few years, the company focused on strengthening Crown’s sales force, improving its marketplace position and establishing new supplier relationships.

Brett Cline and Mark Westrom, Sandvik Coromant regional sales managers who nominated Crown Industrial for a Most Progressive Distributor Award, said Crown’s sales force spends more than half of their time focusing on selling Sandvik Coromant products. The effort has paid off handsomely, with sales growth of more than 20 percent a year for the past two years.

“When you are given the opportunity to represent one of the cornerstone companies in the industry, it makes sense that they receive a disproportionate amount of our team’s mindshare to achieve our objectives. It was time well spent and a great investment,” says Kerman.

On customer visits, Sandvik employees focus on Sandvik’s Customer Value File while Crown employees explain Crown’s Account Strategies Action Plan. Both programs capture hard and soft savings implemented for the customer through cycle time reductions, increases in tool life, cost-per-unit reductions and inventory rationalization efforts.

“Crown has grown Sandvik Coromant sales from zero to several million dollars over the past seven years. This growth has not come easy, but together, we have successfully penetrated new accounts, developed long-term relationships and taken market share from our competitors,” says Cline.

Two years ago, Crown held its first annual Field Marketing Summit, inviting the company’s largest vendors for a full day of planning meetings. Each vendor met with Crown account managers and senior management to discuss sales and marketing issues, target accounts, schedule joint calls, promotions, new products, customer issues and other business topics.

Cline says the Summit is an example of how Crown builds relationships with suppliers.

“In today’s competitive manufacturing environment, success often lies in the people, strategic plan, and execution of the plan,” says Cline. “Crown Industrial Supply, a division of Steiner Electric Company, is a true example of a progressive distributor that will continue to grow and become more profitable for years to come. From the top of their organization down, they are a pleasure to work with and my nomination for a Most Progressive Distributor.”