Purchasing - October 7, 2004

There are scores of ways industrial distributors can help purchasing operations pump up plant profitability. They help buyers consolidate the supplier base, streamline internal processes and manage inventory levels. But, perhaps the biggest impact distributor suppliers can have on their customers' bottom line, is through their in-depth knowledge of the products they provide and the manufacturer...

• CPI Edition
• Chemforecast
• Expect prices to stay inflated;capacity is close to demand
• Chemicals
• United Airlines finds route to savings by decentralization
• Hot Ideas in Chemicals
• Expanded service roster adds luster to distribution
• Paints and Coatings
• Record feedstock costs make resins and pigments pricier

• Departments
• Buylines
• Kudos
• Will "soft patch" derail GDP growth?
• Visteon's plan: Buy better with a smaller supplier base
• Who's got strategic sourcing on the brain?
• Buyers give mixed reviews on the state of economic growth
• Higher interest rates drive increased interest in leasing
• Who's News
• Measuring indirect spend via KPIs
• Small mistakes can be costly when it comes to contracting
• Version *.*
• Ford opens Chicago supplier park
• Briefs
• Global Procurement Conference
• Achieving Greatness: Buy Like the Best-in-Class
• Inside Purchasing
• Purchasing names new Editor-in-Chief
• Logistics
• Briefs
• Tracking total logistics value from the inside out
• What's Hot
• MRO
• Sonoco MRO team unearths savings from screen cylinders
• What's Hot
• Professional Profile
• Professional Profile: Robert K. Harlan, Director of Corporate E-procurement, Motorola Inc.
• Readers Sound Off
• Putting a price tag on an international procurement office (IPO)

• Features
• E-Sourcing Survey
• Online buying gathers steam, one buyer at a time
• Supplier Management
• Toro takes supplier management approach to reducing costs

• Metals
• What's Hot
• Metals Chips
• Aluminum
• Foreign trade deficit may set record in 2004
• China Copper
• Macquarie Bank: Imports likely to stay subdued
• Copper
• Domestic use in most markets dropped in 2003
• Exclusive Business Data
• Metalworking isn't so robust
• Metals Outlook 2005
• Seeking Balance
• Metals Trade
• Ivan's impact was more annoyance than catastrophe
• Steel
• Severstal North America ramps up specialty products
• Crude production may top 1.1 billion metric tons by '08
• Steel Trade Wars
• Steel imports expanding again; WTO rejects Byrd Amendment

• News
• Economy
• How Supply Managers See Business
• Prices
• Factors Affecting Product Cost
• Supply
• What's Happening in Markets
• Tip Sheet
• Key Metrics and Supply Alert