DisTribute

UPS and FedEx Roll Out 2012 Rate Hikes

UPS announced that new rates will kick in, effective January 2, 2012.

Company officials said that 2011 rates will include a net increase of 4.9 percent for UPS ground packages and a net increase of 4.9 percent on all UPS air services and U.S. origin international shipments. This increase is identical to the one for 2011.

UPS Next Day Air Freight and UPS 2nd Day Air Freight rates for shipments within and between the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico will increase 5.9 percent. UPS 3 Day Freight rates will remain unchanged.

In July, UPS Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload subsidiary rolled out a general rate increase covering non-contractual LTL shipments in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico of 6.9 percent, which took effect on July 25.

UPS’s biggest competitor, FedEx, announced in September that it plans to increase shipping rates by a net average of 3.9 percent for U.S. domestic, U.S. export and U.S. import services, effective January 2, 2012. They added that FedEx Ground and FedEx SmartPost pricing changes for 2012 will be rolled out by the end of 2011.

Read the full article by Jeff Berman in Logisitics Management.

Happy Thanksgiving!

All of us at Tribute would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to our customers, partners and supporters! You inspire us every day to provide the best distribution management software, support and services in our industry. We hope you have a relaxing and thankful day!

Take Advantage of the Section 179 Savings Before They Expire!

Did you know that there are only 39 days left to take advantage of the IRS’s Section 179 Tax Savings Benefit?

It’s never too early to start thinking about investing in new technology and taking advantage of the Section 179 of the IRS tax code tax deduction that allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment from your gross income for this tax year.

For 2011, the deduction limit is $500,000, for new and used equipment, including new software purchased or financed during the tax year—that’s up from $250,000 last time! The incentive was created by the U.S. Government to encourage businesses to buy software and equipment. Think of it as a boost for your business to become more successful. Don’t let the time fly by because to take advantage of this deduction, the equipment needs to be in service by December 31, 2011. Check out the Section 179.org website for more details.

If you’ve considered upgrading your server, this is an excellent time to do it. Many ask: How long should my server last and at what point should I seriously consider replacing it? The traditional rule of thumb is to expect 5-7 years for the life of the server hardware.

But the age of the equipment is not the only factor to consider:

• If using the server is core to your business, are you losing efficiency because of the slowness of older equipment? Today’s servers today are light years better than those sold just 5 years ago. They come with Quad Core Xeon processors that have much faster processing capabilities. With a redundant power supply and expanded memory, investing in a new server is an investment in speed, efficiency and security for your company.
• How well has the server been maintained? Has someone, at least once a month, taken care of issues as they arise, even ones that may not be visible to users but that are logging errors in the event logs?
• How stable is the power to the building? Are you using a voltage regulator? Does your UPS kick in more than once per year?
• How confident are you in your backup? Do you know where all of your CD’s, license keys and account passwords are?

In a single server environment, you have to get serious about considering replacing the server before it breaks. In other words, waiting until the server has problems to begin thinking about replacing it is not a wise strategy (some would argue it isn’t really a strategy at all). While laptops can be replaced by walking into a number of stores, that is not true for servers. If it crashes and the only option is ordering a new one, you are, at best, going to be down for a week.

With the tax incentives, now’s a great time to invest in a new server and redeploy the old server to add value in non-business-critical areas.

Bosch Rexroth's Powerful New Informational Tool: The Rexroth GoTo eBook

For engineers and OEM project managers on the go, Rexroth has developed a powerful new informational tool: The Rexroth GoTo eBook. Optimized for iPad, it combines all current GoTo Focused Delivery Program catalogs into an easy-to-use digital format, with added features such as embedded videos, helpful white papers and links to online Rexroth resources.

The new GoTo eBook makes it easier and more convenient for machine builders, system integrators and end-user manufacturers to use Rexroth’s GoTo Focused Delivery Program to specify and obtain the high-performance, in-demand products offered through the program.

Rexroth’s GoTo Focused Delivery Program provides industry-best delivery times for a broad range of Rexroth‘s most popular electric drives and controls, hydraulics, pneumatics, linear motion and aluminum structural framing products.

The GoTo eBook contains the same information as the print catalogs: all product descriptions, product photos, system specifications and other data needed to select and specify required products. What it adds is the convenience of a single, integrated digital resource that puts a wide range of Rexroth product information at user’s fingertips – on the factory or shop floor, in working sessions with clients or project partners, or anywhere they choose to work.

The GoTo eBook has been optimized for use on the Apple iPad®, supporting multimedia features such as videos and touchscreen control. Additional, more basic versions are available for E-reader platforms like the Kindle™, Nook and other system, with functionality limited to the specific reader capabilities.

Rexroth designed the new GoTo eBook to make effective use of digital e-book features:

• All individual GoTo catalogs can be accessed from the eBook Quick Links and Resources page
• Individual product listings digitally link product pages with one click or finger tap – no more paging through multiple pages
• Search functions let users enter product names or other terms to find products in any catalog
• Product and part number tables are expandable so users can view specific product details
• Prominently placed links connect users with Web access to product-specific GoTo program web pages for up-to-date information

In addition, the GoTo eBook has added informational resources: For iPad users there are multiple video segments that include system demos and operational training information. There are also links to informative Rexroth case studies and technical papers, to help engineers and systems designers make the most effective use of the Rexroth GoTo products they specify.

Downloading the new GoTo eBook is easy: a dedicated download page has downloading instructions and links for downloading versions compatible with the iPad, Kindle, Nook and other e-reader platforms. The download page is www.boschrexroth-us.com/gotoebook.

Protecting Your Company from a Data Breach

Last month was National Cyber Security Awareness Month and 2011 looks to be the “Year of the Data Breach”. It is more important than ever to be ever vigilant about the security of your data.

A study conducted by the Verizon RISK Team with cooperation from the U.S. Secret Service and the Dutch High Tech Crime Unit gives us some significant statistics on data breaches:

• 92% stemmed from external agents
• 50% utilized some form of hacking and 49% incorporated malware
• 83% of victims were targets of opportunity
• 92% of attacks were not highly difficult
• 76% of all data was compromised from servers
• 86% were discovered by a third party
• 96% of breaches were avoidable through simple or intermediate controls
• 89% of victims subject to PCI-DSS had not achieved compliance

In light of these statistics, our previous articles on Beefing Up Your Passwords, PCI Compliance, and the Top 10 Best Practices for Fighting Credit Card Theft Fraud by our partner, 3DSI, are worth a revisit.

It’s also a good idea to check if your email address or username and associated information may have been compromised. Brian Krebs offers a good article on his blog, Krebs on Security, on new website called Pwnedlist.com that can check to see if your account information has been published.

Honoring our Veterans - 2011

Tomorrow is Veterans Day and we’d like to thank our fellow employees and customers who've served in the military. The number of Americans serving in the military is a small slice of the U.S. population – the total number of veterans comprises less than 9% of the total US population and active military personnel make up less than 1%.

Many charitable organizations have created a variety of ways that you can thank or help a veteran. Parade Magazine published an article with 11 Ways to Help Veterans on 11-11-11, mentioning a few of our favorite organizations, including the Wounded Warrior Project and Cell Phones for Soldiers.

November is also Military Family Appreciation Month and with the recurring deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, many families can use some help. The DoD provides a web resource for families and Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden are asking Americans to get involved in any way they can through their initiative Joining Forces.

In August, President Obama issued a challenge to the private sector to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans and their spouses by the end of 2013. If you’re hiring, consider hiring a veteran – a great way to thank them for their service.

If you’re a fan of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, they’re airing a special edition tomorrow night: “Rise and Honor” A Veterans Day Special. Net proceeds raised from the airings and online streaming of the one-hour special benefit several veteran-serving organizations, including Fisher House Foundation, Hire Heroes USA, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, USO, Volunteers of America and Welcome Back Veterans.

 

Tribute has sponsored events benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project like the golf outing above.

Tips To Get Paid Faster

Cash flow is important to all businesses, especially in this economy. It is frustrating to deal with that handful of customers who are slow to pay. Here are some simple proactive techniques to get those customers to pay a little sooner, courtesy of this article by Mike Michalowicz for the OPEN Forum:

1. Set the stage early. Get your payment policy out in the open at the very beginning.
2. Establish an internal process for payments. Be sure that a formal payment process is followed every time and for every customer.
3. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Make it easy to send the check back to you.
4. Take credit cards. Although you may have to pay a 2 to 3 percent credit card fee, having 97 percent of the cash right now is far better than having 100 percent of it a year later. (Tribute recommends 3Delta Systems for secure, PCI-compliant credit card processing.)
5. Disarm the excuses. Call the customer five days after you send out the invoice to confirm that they have in fact received it. Ask if they have any questions or concerns about the invoice and make sure they are aware the payment is due in 30 days.

You can read the full article here.

Can the wording on your invoices get you paid faster? Check out our blog post from August 2011 for more details on an interesting study by the FreshBooks company, and instructions on how to change this wording within the Tribute and TrulinX software.

You may also find these other blog posts helpful:

Ten Signs Your Customer Is Tanking

Cash Discounts: Take 'em, Don't Give 'em

Evaluating Your Suppliers and Vendors

As you begin thinking about budgets and plans for 2012, it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate your relationships with your suppliers and vendors.

This article by Rachel Hochhauser for Inc. proposes three questions every small business owner should ask themselves about their supplier relationships:

1. Are the lines of communication open? Especially in these financially unstable times, proactive communication with your suppliers along with regular audits is more important than ever. Your suppliers should also be eager to check in with you.
2. Are they reliable? Purchasing research from a third party such as Dun & Bradstreet or Equifax can give you information on your current suppliers. Independent customer referrals and a trial run are great ways to evaulate a new vendor.
3. If my business grows, will they be able to support me? Will working with a certain supplier become easier or more difficult? Are they investing in technology and innovation? Will you be able to leverage your buying volume to get better pricing?

Need more specific tips for evaluating your vendors? Try the seven steps outlined in this article by Carolyn M. Brown, also for Inc.:

1. Establish Performance Indicators (your Tribute or TrulinX software can help with this)
2. Classify Multiple Suppliers and Vendors
3. Devise an Evaluation Method
4. Determine Who's Calling the Shots
5. Maintain Good Relationships
6. Decide When to Issue a Red Flag
7. Cut Loose Weak Links

You may also find these earlier blog posts helpful:

Building a Vendor Report Card

What is the future of manufacturer / distributor working relationships?