ASA's efforts to create an industry-wide, standard product database got a big boost on May 30th, when the F.W. Webb Company hosted a large group of manufacturers representatives in for a day-long presentation. Twenty-one manufacturers reps, whose presence represented more than 150 different manufacturing companies, spent the day learning about how F.W. Webb will employ the new industry database (once it's available) in their operations.
Webb, the Northeast's largest distributor operating 65 locations throughout the region, is leading the way of the industry by making plans to adopt electronic commerce in a big way. Says Jack Hester, the company's president, "I wanted to host these manufacturers reps to give them an opportunity to understand, first-hand, what EDI can do to help streamline our transactions and make us all more profitable."