Airgas works with buyers on total cost reduction
Industrial gas distributor provides associates with additional training
By Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 2/2/2009 4:24:00 PM
As more and more MRO buyers take a total cost of ownership (TCO) approach to purchasing maintenance, repair and operations items, industrial distributors like Airgas are beefing up service offerings that help their customers better meet their goals.
It’s what purchasing professionals are looking for in a distributor. In Purchasing’s, 2008 Distribution Report, results of an annual survey on measuring distributor performance found that respondents give more weight to availability and total cost criteria when selecting suppliers to provide plants with nonproduction goods and services.
Mike Molinini, executive vice president and COO at Airgas in Radnor, Pa., sees this in his work with MRO buyers. "It's not enough just to have a low price," he said in an interview with Purchasing. "Buyers are asking us to work with them to reduce their supply chain costs. We have many ways to support them, and are ready to do what we can to help them reach their goals, from volume discounts and product subsitutions to process changes and employee training."
To help better manage associated with administering customer accounts such as working to eliminate billing errors, Airgas is embarking on a Core Strategy II program which Molinini said would help to enhance the customer experience.
“While we think we are good at stocking, fulfillment and delivering on time, there are opportunities for us to make it easier for the customer to do business with us,” he said.
To that end, Airgas plans to provide additional customer service training for its associates.
“Even in this economy, we are not backing off on training,” Molinini said.
The company’s Core Strategy I program focused on efforts to help improve stocking, fulfillment and ontime delivery.
“We think we made some good strides, now it’s time to take it to the next level,” he added.
Ease of doing business is one of the qualities buyers look for in a distributor when they make the initial supplier selection decision, according to results of the Purchasing distributor performance survey.
With $4.02 billion in sales, Airgas ranks fifth on Industrial Distribution magazine’s Big 50 for 2008.
See also: Purchasing takes new look at distribution
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