Email Story
Print Story![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
SEATTLE, WA - When it comes to the detailed inner workings of the business, it's the "guys in the back" that really know what's going on, according to Rick Peterson, president of All-West Components & Fasteners. And that's why his outside salespeople and designated bin stock technicians work hard building relationships with "the guys in the back."
"We negotiate pricing and develop a program with the 'guys in the front,' but from then on all they want is no purchase orders, no running out of what they need… no worries," he explains. "Those guys in front don't need to see us; it's the guys in back that become our day-to-dayallies in the business."
All-West's auto-replenish bin stocking program, a true vender-managed inventory system, is credited for putting the Seattle-based company on the map in the electronics business.
"We started helping companies manage their fastener inventories and quickly realized the same system works for almost every product they need," he explains. "It's been a real door-opener for us, especially with smaller companies. We not only keep them supplied with the hardware they need, but we organize them and help them become more efficient as well."
A place for everything, everything in its place
The program includes installing a series of basic cabinets to hold the raw materials of the electronic assembly process. These sleek cabinets replace a lot of different storage styles from random to chaotic.
"Not only do we go in and organize their storage so it's clean, readily accessible and complete, but we can also give them buying power they never had before," Peterson points out. "Many of the smaller companies don't have the volume to warrant separate auto-replenish programs for fasteners, fuses, wire, connectors and all the other things they need. But when we can group them together, they can bring that business to us. Then, we do it all and it becomes a decent sized program."
All-West manages as many as 800 different line items for some customers, committing to ensure that the assembly process is never without product. "We agree that they will never run out," Peterson says.
