It was a year of continued economic malaise. If a month began with an upswing or apparent set of optimistic figures, it ended in the red, and vice versa. Hopes for an accelerating lift out of the doldrums were raised and then dashed many times. In times like these, distributors look for ways to increase their market share, gross margin and net income. In a shrinking economy, they need to find other ways to survive. Innovation in purchasing processes, inventory methods, products, services, customer relationships and salesmanship becomes a key ingredient in the recipe not only for survival but for real growth.
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