ISA Today

Upcoming educational opportunities

As part of our goal of helping all members increase sales, reduce expenses and increase profitability, ISA is proud to bring you news about upcoming educational opportunities to help you in your day-to-day business. The sessions cover timely topics such as the economic forecast for 2006 and beyond and the truth about China’s economy; credit and collections; inventory management; and managing a distributor sales network. See below for more details.

Economic Forecast for 2006 and Beyond, AND the Truth about China’s Economy

This Webinar from Alan Beaulieu of the Institute for Trend Research will cover short- and long-term U.S. and global economic forecasts. Scheduled for February 21 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, you can participate in this event without leaving the comfort of your office. Participants will also learn how to plan for and prosper through the business cycle, determine what leading economic indicators to track, and more. The cost for the Webinar is just $149 per site for ISA members. Click here to download a PDF with more details.

University of Industrial Distribution (SOLD OUT)

Give yourself a pat on the back if you signed up to attend the University of Industrial Distribution on March 5-8. We’re pleased to announce that the 2006 UID on the campus of Indiana University/Purdue University in Indianapolis is completely sold out. ISA will provide information about next year’s event as soon as it becomes available.

Credit and Collections & Construction Law Workshop

Geared toward Canadian distributors, branch managers, supply chain managers, financial managers and sales professionals, this all-day workshop at the Mississauga Convention Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, will cover two timely topics. Mike Morley will lead the session on credit and collections, where participants will learn how to set the right credit limit, define roles and responsibilities in establishing credit policy, and the relationship between sales and credit. The Construction Law workshop will be led by Anna Esposito, who will provide an overview of the lien provisions of the Construction Lien Act. She’ll help attendees understand liens, getting and keeping a lien, limitations on the amount covered by a lien, and more. Click here to download a PDF with more details and a registration form.

One-day Effective Inventory Management Workshop

Learn how to take control of what is probably your largest asset by attending this workshop in Brampton, Ontario, by inventory guru Jon Schreibfeder. The all-day workshop will be held April 13 at the Pearson Convention Center. ISA members pay just $259 (a $50 savings over non-members) and will learn the elements of good inventory management; inventory benchmarking — meaningful goals to improve productivity and profitability; when to order a product, and how much product to order. Click here to download a PDF with more details and a registration form.

Managing the Distributor Sales Network

“Managing the Distributor Sales Network” is the title of a three-day seminar sponsored by the American Management Association (AMA). It will be presented May 15 – 17 at the AMA Center in San Francisco. The seminar is designed for vice presidents, national sales managers and regional sales managers who work for manufacturers that sell all or some of their products through independent distributors. The leader of the seminar is Ed Runner. Information about the seminar can be obtained by calling AMA at 800-262-9699. The seminar number is 5590-413.

ISA Industrial Supply Conference and Trade Fair

ISA will hold two pre-convention workshops and introduce a new track-based educational package at the ISA Industrial Supply Conference and Trade Fair in San Antonio. The pre-convention workshop, “Understanding the Power of Working Together” will be presented by Dan Carapellucci on May 19. He’ll teach participants how to create a spirit of togetherness to help organizations work together for common goals. The second pre-convention workshop, “ABC Inventory Stratification Methodology,” will be led by Dr. F. Barry Lawrence of Texas A&M University. He will speak on Texas A&M’s ABC methodology, a tool used to classify each inventory item with three criteria: sales, hits and gross margin return on investment. Both sessions are free to convention attendees. Or, pay $150 to attend either pre-convention workshop if you can't stay for the convention. To learn more about these pre-convention workshops and the track-based educational sessions scheduled for May 20, download the PDF.
Distributor version. Manufacturer version.

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