Many recent inquiries to the Foundation have focused on customer profitability. It seems that with resources becoming more and more limited, wholesale house operators need to spend their time, efforts and services on the profitable customers, while the unprofitable customers only pay enough to help absorb fixed costs. When not enough attention is paid to customer profitability, sales can go up, but selling, general and administrative expenses can go up even faster. Over time, this can destroy profitability.

Joel Becker of Torrington Supply Co., Inc. has lectured on this subject in his daylong seminar at the Foundation's management institute and at various other venues. Wholesalers can still hear from Joel as well as from two other wholesale industry "gurus" capable of addressing how to improve customer relations while maintaining customer profitability at SWA's Profit Enhancement Institute. Information on the SWA Institute is available from SWA at (770) 534-1155.