Catalog

It's been awhile since my last post.  I have been working hard on our new catalog and trying to decide what to take out and what to put in.  This is the first time I have done this and so far I have really enjoyed it.  The next step will be to double check everything from copy, skus, prices, and images.  Overall, this process will take a couple months from the time we started, to when it gets mailed out to the end users.  I tried to make my impact on my product line and hope that it drives good sales our way.

With my official first quarter almost over, I am happy to say it was a successful first quarter.  My product lines have exceeded last years totals for the third quarter compared to last year.  I am hoping to continue this momentum into our fourth and usually best quarter of the year as holiday spending goes up and departments spend up their budgets.

While we dont publish firearms on our website, we do publish them in our catalog for people to see.  One of the coolest guns that will be in our newest catalog is made by DPMS, called the PDW.  While it is restricted to LE agencies because of the barrel length, it would be very fun to play around with.

http://www.dpmsinc.com/PDW_ep_115-1.html

Until next time....

Green lasers are cooler than red ones

Well I survived my first fantasy football draft on Wednesday.  It only took 2 hours and 15 minutes with 12 guys.  I had the third pick, so I was able grab Ray Rice from the Ravens.  I chose him over Lynch because of his pass catching ability, since we get a point per reception in the league.  Overall, my team looks ok, it's so hard to tell after the draft.  It wouldnt shock me to be one of the best teams or one of the worst teams.  It's all about playing the right guys during the right week and hoping our opponent doesnt have huge weeks from their guys.  My only goal is to try to win my division and at least make some money.

Yesterday I went out to Maple Plain, MN to visit Viridian.  Viridian makes green laser sights for both handguns and rifles.  I got to see those whole manufacturing process from start to finish.  A lot goes into making laser sights for guns.  It was cool to see this side of the industry, as I usually just see the finished product.  Viridian has come up with some really cool, innovative lasers for handguns.  They recently came out with lasers for Ruger LCPs and LC9s.  In about a month, they will release one for the Smith & Wesson Shield.  One of the best features about getting your laser from Viridian is that you get a pocket holster with the sight that has a magnet in the holster that automatically turns off the laser when you holster the gun.  This way you can always have the laser on and dont have to fumble turning it on when drawing the gun.  They also make kydex holsters for the popular gun models like Glock, Smith & Wesson, and Springfield XDs, that do the same thing when they are using the Viridian X5L or C series laser and light combos.

Why a green laser?  Well green is easier to see in both the dark and in bright light.  This makes it much easier for the eye to find in intense situations.

Check out the X5L

http://policehq.com/Products/VGL-X5L

Presentation

Tonight is my last day of Global Economics.  This class was very challenging, but also an important class to take.  I feel like I learn quite a bit about how the global economy works and how intertwined we all are.  In class tonight, my group was one of two (go figure) to be picked to present our project.  Our project was to take a country and introduce a new product into it.  We had to discuss the cultural, political, market, and economic risks involved with the country.  The country that we used was Germany, but we had trouble figuring out a product.  So instead, we chose to use Target as our product.

After doing our research and analyzing the risks involved, my group decided that Target should not move into Germany at this time.  Some of the major reasons for this finding are that Germany has Europe's oldest population, starting business is costly, and the unknown future of the Euro and eurozone's debt crisis.  Target just opened in Canada and are learning that life is not peachy in a market very similar to the US.  A country like Germany would provide an even bigger challenge than Canada.

Magpul mags are still readily available.  We have an online sale going on for both Gen 2 30 rounders.

http://bit.ly/17KAAsd

Championship Game

My hockey team won last night, meaning we are playing in the championship game next Sunday in our league.  What does the winning team get?  The coveted T-shirt!  Yep, we pay a lot of money to win a T-shirt.  I actually have one, from when we won a couple years ago.  It is as exciting as it sounds, a white T-shirt with the Minnesota Wild logo on it.  I did chip in with two goals last night, so I dont just take up space on the ice every game.

It is also time to start studying for my fantasy football drafts.  This year, I am in two leagues, one which is going to have an auction style draft.  I am pretty excited for this, since I have been hearing for the last five years that this is the way to play fantasy football.  Many of my league members have been hesitant to try this, so we had to do a second league with 8 of us to be the guinea pigs.  I am glad we are drafting in the next few weeks.  With all the injuries in preseason, it is nice to do it as close as possible to the start of the season.  I will fully admit that I really want AP on my team(s).

During Streichers Days, a rep from Command Arms came in to show me their new Red Dot Reflex Sight.  This sight was very impressive and comparing it side by side with EoTech showed that it should be a force to be recon with in this category.  To check it our for yourself click on the link.http://policehq.com/Products/CAA-AQC1B

Textbooks

It is almost the end of the summer and time to order text books for the fall semester.  My wife asked me to order her books for her for her upcoming classes and clinicals.  Well 13 books later and $650 later, her books are ordered.  It's crazy that textbooks cost that much and that we are still using them in today's highly technical society.  Couldnt we just download a copy for a tenth of the price?  I know you can rent them to save money, but one of her books actually cost more to rent then to buy.

This made me start to look at my text books for the semester.  My books havent been that bad so far, so I figured it would be even close to her total.  Well it isnt $650, but it will still going to be around $200 if I buy them.  Luckily I will be able to rent both of these and it should be under $100.  So this will only set us back $750 for the semester in books.  I cant wait until December when we are shopping again for spring.

I worked on my first magazine ad this week.  We advertise in Recoil magazine and I used co-op funds from EoTech to pay for the ad.  I think it turned out pretty good and I look forward to seeing it when the next issue is published.  Hopefully it will bring in some new business as there will be a free shipping code for your next online order on it.

Since EoTech is paying, I better at least give a link for my product of the day.  These are new and featured in the Call of Duty games.  It's a very nice setup for an AR if you have the money.

http://policehq.com/Products/EO-HHS1#.UgEzaZKsiM4

One Week

Well Streicher's Days is almost here.  By this time next week, I will be looking out my window seeing a giant tent filled with customers and vendors.  We are still finalizing last minute deals for customers, but hopefully it will be a successful event.  In the past, we have been extremely busy on Thursday and less busy on Friday, the second day of the event.  I would expect that same this year, as we will have the same stuff going on both days.  There was talk about having another big draw on Friday, to get more traffic, but that didnt go anywhere.  The big draw of the event is for customers to donate a pair of pants the the Salvation Army and they receive $20 off any pair of 5.11 pants.  This is a slight modification from the last few years, as it was 50% off off tactical pants.  While 50% is about $5 more on most tactical pants, this years discount can be used towards uniform pants and their other high end pants like the Traverse.

Besides the pants, we will be offering specials on a number of things.  We have a few updated on the Streicher's days webpage.  We will be having a separate sale online during the event.  Certain things are forbidden from being sold online at a discount, but there will be certain things online that are not in the store.  It will hopefully be a nice balance.

http://policehq.com/content/streichers-days

Thirsty Thursday

I am actually not going to talk at all about drinking, sorry to disappoint you.  Well I made it through another paper for school.  This one was shorter, only four pages.  It was almost rougher though, since I had to cram a lot of information on the US economy in a four page paper.  I actually do feel I have a better understanding of how the economy works and what things really mean when they are talking about consumer confidence, consumer price index, value of the dollar, etc.

This week I get to write a paper on the US trade policy and how I might change it or implement new ideas.  I am leaning more and more towards free trade and opening markets to foreign competitors, even if it costs the US jobs in the short run.  I have learned that we as a nation pay close to a billion (yes a B) dollars a year paying rice farm subsidies.  Little did I know, and probably most people, that Arkansas is the largest producer of rice in the US.  The problem seems to be is other areas of the world produce rice at a much more efficient rate then we do here, but we still pay out these subsidies which just causes overproduction and inefficient methods.

Two more weeks until Streichers Days at work.  Still finalizing the details of all the specials we are going to have.  This has been a completely different process for me compared to the past.  Up until last week, I felt like it wasnt going well, and we really didnt have much ready.  What a difference a week makes, now I feel better as we have finalized more details with vendors, with purchase orders placed and product delivered for the big event.

For more details visit our Twitter https://twitter.com/PoliceHQ and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PoliceHQ

Until next time........

Supply and Demand

As I am taking a global economics class right now and learning about the basics of economics, it really has me thinking about how global our world is right now.  I wrote a paper on the economics of Germany this week and found out some interesting information.  Germany is Europe's largest economy but it also has it's oldest population.  Half of their Gross Domestic Product comes from exports and that is forecast to grow in the next 10 years to almost 70%.  They rely heavily on China and the United States economies and any slowdown would have a great effect on the German economy.  All this got me thinking how much the global economy effects our daily lives.

Just thinking about what products I have used today, they come from all over the world.  My car is a Chevy, but I know for a fact that not all the parts are from the US.  My laptop bag was made in China.  My work laptop is a Lenova ThinkPad, also a Chinese company.  It has Windows 7....USA.  My USB mouse...China.  The grapes I am eating.....from California.  Camelbak water bottle....China.  Under Armour polo.....Bangladesh.  I have a box of .380 ACP ammo at my desk.....made in Minnesota.  Everything you have and use is from many different countries.  As much as we here people saying we should only buy US products, I wonder if that means they don't eat fruit because a lot of fruit is imported.  I am not going to stop eating bananas because they are not produced in the US!!  My point is to just pay attention to the stuff you use and buy and see where it comes from.  You'll be amazed to find out how many different economies effect your daily life.

Speaking of supply and demand, it looks like ammunition supply is easing up a little bit.  We actually have some Federal Cartridge.40 SW HST 165 grain in stock right now and available for sale.  Hopefully this trend continues for both suppliers and consumers.

http://policehq.com/Products/FC-40HST

Dogs Days of Summer

Well it is supposed to be the hottest week of the summer so far and luckily for me, I only have a 4 day work week as I am heading down to Wabasha, MN for a little fun on the river.  This week will be a little hectic for the fact that I have a policy paper to write for my global economics class that is due tomorrow.  I am in a group that will be studying Germany for the next 6 weeks, so I will be learning all about my favorite European country.  This paper is only a 4-6 page requirement, but I always get anxious when turning in my first paper with a new professor.  Once I know what they are looking for in my writing, then I feel much more comfortable with writing.  I will get plenty of practice, as I have a paper due for the next 6 weeks straight.

In other news of the day, I will be going to Italy with my wife in January.  This will actually be through her grad school program.  In her program, she is required to do a mission type trip overseas.  There was extra room for this Italy trip with their business program, so they asked if nursing students wanted to tag along.  The best part is that spouses can also go, so that is why I am going with.  She will have to write a paper on her experience to meet the requirements for her program, but overall it should be a nice experience for both of us.

To beat the heat, the product I am posting is a perfect solution!!


http://policehq.com/Products/VCL-551.ZIP

Spy

http://bit.ly/12mNnl6

Windy City

I spent a couple days with my wife in Chicago.  It was her first time in the Windy City and my first time back since watching the Brett Favre lead Vikings lose to the Bears in Soldier Field a couple years ago.  Once again, I had a great time in Chicago.  We ended up doing quite a bit in our two and a half days there.  My favorite activity was probably taking the boat tour down the Chicago River and then out to Lake Michigan.  That was a great way to learn some history on the buildings and get some great pictures of the skyline.

We ended up eating at two different pizza places, Giordano's and Lou Malnatis, for Chicago-style deep dish.  I cant honestly say I dont know which was better, as both were fantastic.  You cant go wrong with either place.

Another fun thing we did in Chicago was attending a show at the Second City.  This improv show did not disappoint, and for the $32 we spent on tickets, it was probably the best bang for our buck in the city.  I would definitely recommend going to see a show if you have time in the city.  The Second City has a great alums who have performed there in the past, including John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroid, and more recently Amy Poehler and Steve Corbert.

Product of the day

Here is a great price on a multi-tool from SOG knives
http://policehq.com/Products/SOG-B44N#.UdsnPfmsiM4

Until next time......

Milwaukee

I had a great time in Chicago and Milwaukee this past weekend.  I flew into Milwaukee on Friday to be greeted by my lovely wife, who picked me up and drove us to her campus at Concordia in Mequon, WI.  The campus was very nice and had amazing views.

After leaving the campus, we headed to the Streicher's Milwaukee store.  This was my first time visiting our Milwaukee location.  It was nice to finally put some faces with names that I have had the pleasure of working with over the last 8 years.  The retail space of the Milwaukee location is smaller than here in Minneapolis, but they had a great location.  They also had it well stocked, which always looks good to customers.  It gave me a good idea of their space as I find new products to introduce to them.

Friday night we attended the Tom Petty concert at Summerfest.  While Summerfest is a cool event and attracts some pretty big names in the music industry, the amount of drunk people stumbling around got old quick.  I thought people in Wisconsin could hold their liquor?  Apparently they just like to drink it and not care if they are stumbling drunk.  The concert was good, nothing special though.  It also was raining during it, so that really puts a damper in an outdoor show.  I can say I have been to a concert at Summerfest now and really wouldnt need to go back unless someone I really wanted to see was there AND not coming to the Twin Cities.

Saturday we went to the Miller Brewery Tour.  I have been on this tour multiple times and always enjoy it.  It  is always cool to see how much beer they just have sitting in the warehouse waiting to be shipped out.  It was also weird that they now make Coors Light in Milwaukee at Miller because of the MillerCoors merger.  I think I have been on the tour when it was owned by Phillip Morris, then SAB, and now MillerCoors.  The fun fact we found out was that 40% of what is produced there goes directly to Chicago.  Which will lead me into my next post.

Until Next Time............

Wow

What a finish to the Stanley Cup finals last night!  Chicago was the team to beat all year and finished the job in dramatic fashion.  Once they tied it, I was thinking they were just going to overtime.  I think Boston did too and fell asleep, which cost them the game 17 seconds later.  I cant recall seeing a finish like that in a hockey game before, well one that I am not part of losing!!  Hopefully the Wild can make a few changes this off season to compete with their new division rival Blackhawks.

Well I survived one week without my wife.  With my survey project, 3 hockey games, and 2 softball games, I have been busy.  I also went to Wabasha this past weekend to do a little fishing.........I caught an ugly sheepshead.  At least my dad caught a nice walleye that we got to eat for lunch.  Only a few more days until I go to Milwaukee/Chicago for a mini vacation.

That new sunglasses line came through, and my company is now selling Spy sunglasses.  They are along the lines with Oakley and that customer base.  We should be getting our shipment this week and I should have them loaded on our website by tomorrow.  I have been busy loading products on our website to utilizing the power of the web.  One of the main lines I loaded in the last week is Plano products.  They make ammo and gun cases that are reasonably priced.  http://policehq.com/Search/plano

Until next time.............

Survey

In my current MBA class, my group is conducting a survey about online shopping vs. brick-and-mortar stores.  For this project, I need to get as many responses as possible to get the best results.  If you have a couple minutes of free time, I would be very grateful if you could take this survey and help me out.  It should not take longer than 5 minutes, as it is only 10 questions long.  Results are completely anonymous.  My group needs results before Saturday.  So if you are planning on taking it, please do so before then.  The only qualifier is that you must be at least 20 years of age.  Please click on the link and follow the instructions.  

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PT3PP5T

Sunday Funday

Well the weekend is almost over and tomorrow starts another week.  My wife left me today......not forever thank goodness.  She will be gone for about two weeks for her grad school program.  It already doesnt feel right with her not being here.  It's going to be a long couple weeks, but at least I still have a week and a half left of class.  We are working on a survey project in my class.  Of course it is a group project and it is a little frustrating when your main communication is through our discussion board for the class.  Everyone has their own things going in life and it seems like we are always waiting for someone to post their thoughts.  Overall, I am actually happy I have the group with only three instead of four.  A couple of the groups seem to be a long ways from administering their survey and I think my group is ready.

I played hockey tonight and we lost 5-2.  We were not very good, and have continued to play very inconsistent.  I actually have a game tomorrow night for some reason and was asked to play softball before.  I will probably be very beat tomorrow night.  I havent played softball in probably two years, thank goodness it's like riding a bike.

For work this week, I am working on getting Plano products on the website.  They are a very nice, inexpensive line of gun and ammo cases.  I'll post some links once they are up and running.  I am also working on acquiring a new sunglasses line, and will talk more about that once it is finalized.

Still some 5.56 ammo in stock http://www.policehq.com/products/fc-xm193i#.Ub6XWPmsiM4

Until next time............

Relief

Well I feel relieved to be done with my paper.  I have a few minor details left, but for the most part it is ready to turn in.  It ended up being 21 pages with references and appendices.  I could have probably written more but had to limit myself.  There will be more time to expand on it later in my MBA program.

The Stanley Cup finals begin tonight!!  It should be a good series between the Blackhawks and the Bruins.  Both teams are on a roll after beating a couple of very good Kings and Penguins teams.  I have a feeling that the Bruins are going to win.  They dont win pretty but they are just going to be too tough for Chicago.  The Blackhawks received the kiss of death when they won the Presidents Cup for the best record in the regular season.  Chicago will be favored and has the home ice advantage, but I just have a feeling Boston is going to win.  I'll predict 6 games.

Good news for those who want some 5.56 mm ammo.  500 round cases in stock at http://policehq.com/Products/FC-XM193I

Until next time........

Crunch Time

As I am writing this, I should be working on my industry analysis paper for class but need to clear my mind.  This paper has been very stressful.  I still have one main section left and then my executive summary and conclusion to write.  I should probably do a couple appendices as well.  The good news is that class was cancelled tomorrow night to give us time to finish up the final details of the paper.  It will be nice once this is all over and I can work on the final project for the class, which is a team survey.  That should be a pretty fun assignment to end the class in a couple weeks.

Our big Streichers Days sale is coming up in August and with my new position, I will have a different role than years past.  I will be contacting vendors to invite them to come and represent themselves at the sale.  Hopefully we get a great turnout in both vendor participation and customers.  In the past, our big draw was to offer half off 5.11 Tactical pants with a donation of a wearable pants to the Salvation Army.  This year this will slightly change as we are only giving $20 off 5.11 Tactical pants with a donated pair.  The good news is that there is not limit on what style 5.11 pant you can use the $20 towards.  In years past, customers were limited to only their tactical pants, and not their uniform pants.  With most of our customers being in law enforcement, many should like to be able to use that $20 towards new uniform pants.

I added a lot of knives to the website in the last week.  http://www.policehq.com/Knives-and-Tools/

Until next time.........

Defense Technology Demonstration

Here is the flyer I helped create for Defense Technology.  This will be sent out to agencies in northern Minnesota for a hands on demonstration of munitions and tactical equipment in August.

Marketing 101

Well I officially started in my marketing position yesterday.  It has been an interesting and exciting couple of weeks and even though I am just getting my feet wet, I fell confident in my abilities.  The first major task I am working on is a flyer for ATK and their Federal Premium ammunition.  I need to create a flyer for contract ammo pricing to hand out to Minnesota departments.  As of right now, I am just waiting on the proofs as I have all the information and images sent over.

I have also been loading a lot of new items on www.policehq.com and trying to get images uploaded as fast as I can.  I have learned that it is not an easy process getting an item on a website, but it has been very rewarding seeing my items uploading.  We are running a 15% off flashlight promo for a week, so if you are interested, check out http://policehq.com/flashlight-top/flashlights  Promo Code FLASH15

Until next time......

Interview Analysis

Interview Analysis

Justin Hogan

MBA 510 – Managerial Research

May 29, 2013

Interview Analysis

            Firearms manufacturers utilize distributors to sell firearms directly to consumers in commercial, military, and law enforcement market.  It is important for manufacturers to find distributors that fit the mold of their business objective and fulfill their need to reach their target customers.  With so many manufacturers and distributors available to each, it is important to find what factors make a relationship strong between a manufacturer and a distributor. 

Objective

            The objective of this analysis is to find out what makes a relationship strong between a firearms manufacturer and a firearms distributor.  This relationship is important because of the high number of both potential manufacturers and distributors that each could choose to do business with.  Keeping a strong relationship between the two entities helps both businesses thrive in a highly competitive market.  In order to find out more about ways to strengthen these sorts of relationships, interviews were conducted among each party.  

Population

            The individuals that qualify for the interviews come from both manufacturers and distributors, creating two populations for the research.  Individuals from manufacturers should be sales representatives of the manufacturer who have a direct relationship with distributors, actively pursue new distributors for the manufacturer, and work hand-in-hand with the distributors selling to customers.  Individuals should be between the ages 30-50 and have over 10 years of experience in the industry.  Interviewees should have worked with multiple distributors and, if possible, worked for more than one manufacturer.  Using these standards gives the researcher the best perspective of the relationship between a manufacturer and a distributor because of the number of years the individual has been involved with the business.

            The population for the distributor should be individuals in upper management that have a direct relationship with manufacturers.  These individuals also make the business decisions for the distributor on what manufacturers they carry, establishing a direct relationship with sales representatives from the firearms manufacturers.  They should also have over 10 years of experience and be between 30-50 years old.  The individual’s distributor should also carry more than three manufacturers at a time.   Individuals who make the final decisions within a distributor will give the best knowledge of the distributor in relation to the manufacturer.

Protocol

            The interviews were conducted on an individual-to-individual basis.  Because of time constraints and location of the interviewee, the interview with the manufacturer representative was conducted over the telephone.  The concern with the telephone interview was the inability to read body language and facial expressions in response to the questions.  Overall the telephone interview was successful and the interviewee answered every question with no reservations.  The interviewee of the firearms manufacturer was asked nine questions relating to the relationship to a firearms distributor from a manufacturer’s standpoint. 

Questions to the manufacturer:

·         What are the important factors in choosing a distributor?

·         What is the process in selecting distributors? Who is responsible?

·         How many distributors do manufacturers typically have per territory?

·         What support from a distributor is needed to build the relationship?

·         Do manufacturers push customers to certain distributors over others? Why?

·         What is the most important part about the relationship with a distributor?

·         What actions or processes by a distributor would make the relationship strong?

·         What actions by a distributor would make the relationship weak or put it in jeopardy?

·         Have you ever terminated a relationship with a distributor?  Why?

The questions to the distributor were also asked on an individual-to-individual basis during normal business hours.  This interview was conducted face-to-face in the interviewee’s business office.  The biggest concern with this interview was time constraints with the interviewee and keeping answers focused on firearms manufactures and not manufacturers in general.  The interviewee was open and honest with answers.  The interviewee of the firearms distributor was asked ten questions relating to the relationship to a firearms manufacturer from a distributor’s perspective. 

Questions to the distributor:

·         What do you look for in a manufacturer?

·         How do you decide what manufacturers you carry?

·         How many manufacturers do you have?  How do you feel about that number? 

·         Do you push certain manufacturers more than others?  Why?

·         What is the most important part about the relationship with your manufacturer?

·         What actions or processes by a manufacturer hurt the relationship?

·         What support from a manufacturer is needed to keep your relationship strong?

·         What is the biggest challenge keeping a strong relationship with a manufacturer?

·         What do you think the manufacturer wants from a distributor?

·         Have you ever lost a manufacturer that you wish you could have back? What would you do differently?

Analysis of Interview Results

            The overall results of the interviews showed that the relationship between a firearms manufacturer and a firearms distributor is one that needs to be strong to survive.  Each participant of the relationship needs to fulfill certain roles for the relationship to progress and grow.  It appears from the data that the firearms manufacturer has the upper hand in the relationship with the distributor, meaning he or she has the power to hire and fire distributors over concerns with the relationship.  Even with the overall power, the role of the manufacturer needs to be supportive of the distributor and provide support to the distributor with marketing materials, armor’s clinics, and sales support to customers.  Manufacturers also know that by supporting the distributors with sales and marketing, those distributors will promote their products over competitors to potential customers.   

            The most important factors to the firearms manufacturer in their relationship with a distributor can be broken down into three categories: business, credit, and sales force.  The overall business includes factors as their market share, history, and a good reputation in the industry.  The credit of the distributor was the second factor in the relationship.  Having strong financial backings and overall good processes in their shipping and receiving was important for manufacturers, giving them confidence that they can rely on the distributor to pay their bills and get their product to the end user in a sufficient fashion.  The third factor was the sales force of the distributor.  Employing a competent sales staff that supports the manufacturer’s products was a key factor in the relationship to the manufacturer. 

            The firearms distributor looks for a number of different factors when looking for a firearms manufacturer.  Pricing structure, initial buy requirements, reorder requirements, delivery timeframe, return policies, and territorial restrictions are general concerns of a distributor when looking to carry a firearm manufacturer.  Distributors are also concerned with the demand and quality of their products, along with their representation in the field.  Lastly, the distributor looks at their overall brand and how the manufacturer markets to build it. 

            When selecting who to use as distributors, manufacturers break it down regionally.  They typically have at least two or more distributors per territory.  The reason for this is for competitive bids within a territory for customers, creating a competitive market for both distributors and customers.  Manufacturers would advise customers to see certain distributors over others because of their relationship with the distributor.  This practice was also found with distributors, who likewise push customers towards certain manufacturers.  Generally, distributors would do this with manufacturers they have a stronger relationship with and have a potential for larger profit margins. 

            The most important aspect in the relationship between a manufacturer and a distributor, according to the manufacturer, is trust and the distributor keeping up with financial responsibilities with the manufacturer.  The manufacturer having trust with a distributor includes trust in their sales staff to fully support their product and to fulfill their role of selling the manufacturers product to customers within their territory.  Actions like negative feedback about the manufacturer and no other sales supports were the biggest factors in the relationship getting worse. 

            The distributor’s most important aspect of the relationship was the overall partnership in general.  Having trust in each other in promoting the products and getting support from the manufacturer is the key to the relationship from the distributor’s point of view.  Distributors also need strong support from field representatives on the manufacturer’s side to help drive business to distributors when needed.  Both the manufacturer and distributor found that open communications between both entities helped facilitate any misunderstandings in the relationship and to solve any issues between the two.  Any critical issues with the partnership were to be discussed immediately in order to stop any possible termination of the partnerships by the firearms manufacturer.    

Conclusion

            This project was developed to show what makes a strong relationship with a firearms manufacturer and a firearms distributor.  One-on-one interviews were conducted with representatives from both manufacturers and distributors.  This process gave an evaluation of the relationship from both sides, but time constraints restricted the sample size.  Future research to be conducted should include more samples from each side of the manufacturer and distributor relationship. 

The relationship between a firearms manufacturer and a firearms distributor is one that needs to remain strong for both businesses to succeed.  Both sides of the relationship need to support the other in terms of trust, communication, and sales support.  In the relationship, there are certain roles that each play in order for the partnership to be successful.  The manufacturer looks for a distributor that he or she can trust with their products and that also have strong sales support.  It is important for the manufacturer to choose distributors that are financially capable and have market share in their territory.  The distributor also knows the importance of trust in the relationship with a firearms manufacturer.  Distributors look for manufacturers that have a demand for their product and produce a quality product. 

Memorial Day

Well the weather was not the best in Minneapolis this past weekend.  I think it rained a little everyday over the holiday weekend, so my wife and I didnt get to do anything fun outside.  What we did do was paint our porch.  She has a break from school right now, so she is on a mission to get things done around the house.  I like her ambition, it is just hard for me since I am in class right now and still have plenty of reading and writing to do.  I was able to help her with the painting and get my interview analysis written for class this Wednesday.  I'll get some pictures up soon.

A couple game 7s in the Stanley Cup playoffs are on in the next two nights, so I am hoping to catch some of them while I do some homework.  It has been hard for me to watch without cable, but I have found a way to stream online.

Here is a brand new holster from Bianchi that looks to be a nice option to carry a gun with a mounted light on it.  http://policehq.com/Products/BI-140

Until next time....

Long Weekend

I spent some time training today in my new marketing position.  While I have a lot to learn, I am really looking forward to the move in another week or so.  Using the back end of a website is quite interesting and very in depth.  I couldnt tell you a thing I learned today, but I might be able to show you.  I'll be in charge of making sure my products from the categories that I am managing are showing up on the website and will have full control over the marketing of them.  My MBA program has already been paying off as I feel I have a general understanding of marketing to today's customers.

I'm excited it is Friday and will be staying in town this weekend.  I have a paper due next Wednesday and need to work on that while continuing to keep up on my reading and researching for my industry analysis.  My industry analysis will be on firearms and I will be focusing all my efforts on that topic through my MBA program.  I hope to be almost an expert on that industry by the time I am done, which will work nicely with my new found position.

For my product of the day to check out, please visit http://policehq.com/Products/GER-02068#.UZ_AWbWsiSo

Until next time.....

Super Tuesday

I'll start by saying that my thoughts and prayers are with those in Oklahoma.  All those pictures and videos out there showing the devastation is amazing.  It is always fascinating seeing what damage mother nature can do to this world.  It was just over two years ago that the area I live in was hit by a tornado.  I was lucky enough not to be in the direct path, but still remember the day like yesterday.  My house was missed by 2-3 blocks, it was the only time in my adult life where I actually ran downstairs for a storm.  I could see that something major was happening outside.

On to a lighter side of life, I am in the process of an assignment for school which involves interviews.  My objective for this research is to find out what makes a strong relationship between a firearms manufacturer and a firearms distributor.  Since I work for a law enforcement distributor, I am focusing my whole MAP for my MBA on firearms.  I am hoping this will help myself understand the industry better and as I move into marketing here in a couple weeks, it will hopefully help me succeed in finding new and exciting products for our customers.  Interviews are happening Thursday and I found some great people to interview.  The first will be the President of my company and the second will be a former sales representative for both Glock and Smith & Wesson.

Speaking of products, there is a great deal on a Gerber Essentials Kit II right now at http://policehq.com/Products/GER-02068#.UZwdMbWsiSp

Until next time....

Hello

Welcome to my blog.  This has been something I have thought about doing for awhile and for what ever reason, today is the day I am starting.  I need a break from homework, this management research class is going to be challenging I think.  I am a little nervous about this first assignment due in a week and a half.  I need to schedule interviews with people and with the Memorial Day Holiday coming up next weekend, I could see this being a challenge.  The reason I have homework is I am pursuing my MBA right now and unlike a lot of schools, I have class straight through the summer.

I am also playing hockey for the first time in five months later tonight.  I am pretty excited for it but am not amused that the game doesnt start until 10:50 PM.  This is going to make for a late night and rough start to the week.  The good news about work is I was offered a new position as the Product Category Manager at my current company www.policehq.com.  Check it out!  There will be more posts about this as I start up the position.