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FEDA members can save with FEDA/LMI Freight program

In a recently released statement , FedEx Freight and its FedEx National LTL units said they will implement a 5.9% general rate increases (GRI) effective February 1. Purchasing.com recently reported that two other LTL carriers, Old Dominion Freight Lines and ABF Freight System, were increasing their rates as well. In December, UPS Freight announced a 5.7% rate increase effective this month. Several analysts say LTL demand and capacity will firm this year and, if industry giant YRC fails, significant capacity will leave the market, giving existing carriers more leverage with shippers and freight buyers.

FEDA members should be aware that they can avoid the recently announced LTL rate increases of up to 6%, using the FEDA / LMI Freight program. Members can call Tim Walsh of Logistics Management Inc. at 908.879.2940 or twalsh@lmiservices.com for details so they can protect their freight budgets this year. Also, diesel prices continue to rise and are back near $3.00 gallon level which provides members with more savings on fuel with LMI as fuel prices increase.

Sources on MRP/MAP Policies

Maryland Bans Minimum Resale Price Agreements

Overview of State RPM

State Resale Price Maintanance Law After Leegin

New York says, Hold the Salt

Click here to read the full article from the New York Times.

MHEDA Webinars for 2010

MHEDA has opened their webinars to FEDA members in the new year. There are 20 webinars that will be offered throughout 2010. You will find each of these webinars to be of great interest to you and your sales team. Webinars can be purchased individually or as a series for a low price. To see the webinars offered this year click here.

To register for these webinars click here for the form.

Special Educational Offerings from the ASA

The American Supply Association has been so kind as to partner with FEDA to provide our members with special educational offerings. These educational tools will help increase the profitability of your business by providing your staff with the information they need to succeed. All of the programs are relevant to distribution in general. All order forms should go directly to ASA. To download an order form click here as well as descriptions for the various programs the ASA offers.

AQNet

TO:                  FEDA Members

FROM:            Kimberley Gill Rimsza, FEDA President

SUBJECT:      Special FEDA Member Only Features on AQNet

The response to AutoQuotes new web-based version, AQ360 has been outstanding.  This new technology provided by AutoQuotes and its two principals Michael Greenwald and Kent Motes is a tremendous asset for the industry. As a membership benefit, FEDA members have exclusive features within AQNet that are not available to non-FEDA members. They are as follows:

• FEDA members can export AutoQuotes Product Data (total of 400,000 Products) and use this data to update inventory prices or company web catalogs. The export includes Model Numbers, Specifications, List Prices, physical data (weights, dimensions), Pack sizes and Brand Names.
• FEDA members can also export the entire database of Color Pictures. There are single shots and group shots for 321,000 Products, a great addition for web catalogs and point of sale systems.

FEDA supports AutoQuotes and deems this to be an important technological advance for the dealer community and the industry as a whole.  Our March/April issue of News & Views will be focused on All-Things AutoQuotes.

In the meantime we hope you’re on board with AQNet and reap the benefits. 

The Foodservice Great Recession In Pictures (Mostly)
Addendum to FEDA E-Blast
By Robin Ashton, Publisher Foodservice Equipment Reports

Robin Ashton has been so kind as to provide us with an article looking into 2010 for our first FEDA E-blast which will be sent in early February. Click here to view a PowerPoint slideshow Mr. Ashton has provided.

The next FEDA First Thing will be sent out Monday, January 11th. Happy Holidays!

2010 Agenda
The agenda for the 2010 FEDA Convention has been posted here.

To access the entire "Back to the Future: The Hope for Enactment of BATSA Legislation" article Click Here.

Go to the Member's Only Section under Education/Miscellaneous to view Hal Becker's YouTube video's for your salespeople.

Logistics Management, Inc.
FEDA members can now connect with Logistics Management, Inc to receive freight rate quotes in the "FEDA Member's Only" section under "Business Management Tools" and "Freight Class Directory."

Victory Likely in Florida For Dealers Providing Design and Layout Service
After a long and difficult battle, it appears that the efforts by FEDA, FEDA executive team members, and several of FEDA’s Florida members to protect foodservice equipment dealers’ rights to offer design and layout services will soon be successful.  Florida House Bill 2262 and Florida Senate Bill 425, each containing language allowing foodservice equipment dealers to continue their design practices, both passed unanimously and will soon become law once Governor Charlie Christ signs the legislation, which is expected.  With similar efforts to block foodservice equipment dealers from offering design services underway or being considered in other states, Florida’s legislation should help pave the way for success in those regions as well. 

Aside from the requirement to add a few additional notes on the drawings, once the legislation is signed into law, foodservice equipment dealers in the state of Florida should be free to continue offering design services similar to those presently offered – without breaking the law.  FEDA wishes to extend its sincere appreciation to all those who contributed their time and energy on behalf of the foodservice equipment dealer community in this battleground state. 

For those wishing to read the exemption themselves please click here.

Increase Your Profitability on Individual Customers
The FEDA Education Foundation in conjunction with Dr. Albert Bates of the Profit Planning Group created the "Customer Profitability Tool" especially for FEDA members. This new tool arms you with systems and procedures to quickly and easily measure customer profitability and a powerful system to implement changes with problem accounts. To learn more about this program and to download an order form please visit the "FEDA Members Only" section of the website.

Tom Reilly's Special Report
FEDA members can now read Tom Reilly's special report on "Prevailing in Tough Times". To view this report please go to the "FEDA Members Only" section under FEDA Education Programs.

FEDA 2009 Annual Convention Audio Recorded CD's
To download an order form please click here or visit Rollin' Recording's online store at http://store.rollinrecording.com/feda.aspx

Anti-Business Proposal: Card Check
By Dan M. Blaylock, Adams-Burch, Inc.

One of the most anti-business proposals in history is pending in Congress and FEDA members need to recognize and react to the threat it presents. The so-called Employee Free Choice Act, a.k.a. “Card Check”, would make it immeasurably easier for labor officials to unionize foodservice distributors of any size.

Currently, if the union targets your company, they need to get 30% of your workforce to sign a card saying they would be interested in being unionized. The company then has the option of requesting an NLRB supervised election wherein both sides campaign for a set period to make their case to the employees. That culminates in a secret ballot election which allows each employee to vote in his own enlightened self interest without fear of undue pressure or retaliation. Under these guidelines, the unions win 51% of all elections which suggests the current system is well balanced, since each side wins about half the time.

The proposed “Card Check” legislation would dramatically alter this scenario. All the union needs to do is to get the card signed by 50% plus 1 of the targeted group of employees. When that happens – GAME OVER! The National Labor Relations Board would immediately recognize the union as the collective bargaining agent for your company. Since card signatures can be gathered off-premise, it is quite possible that the first your management team will even know that your workforce has been organized is when union officials come in and let you know that you are no longer allowed to talk about work rules or wages with your employees because all future negotiations will have to be through them.

Your management team would never have the opportunity to mount an informational campaign explaining the downsides of unionization. The members of your workforce that didn’t sign cards, possibly as much as 49%+, would get no chance to vote against or lobby against the union. Potentially even worse is the fact that if the employer and union fail to reach a contract agreement within 120 days, the union can demand that the negotiations be referred to a 3rd party arbitrator. This arbitrator will have the unilateral power to impose a 2-year contract on the employer and his decision is non-appealable, no matter how devastating it may be to the economic health and profitability of your business.

This very measure passed the House of Representatives in 2007 and came within three votes of passing in the Senate. Its passage is the unions’ highest priority and President-Elect Obama has committed to signing it in to law if it gets out of Congress.

In a globalized economy where supply dramatically exceeds demand, we all face significant margin compression at every level of the supply chain. Survival in an environment like this is dependent upon relentlessly finding ways to provide better service and value at lower, more competitive prices. Card Check will severely undermine your ability to do that. It will decrease your logistical flexibility and increase your wage and benefit structure. Your overhead costs will inevitably increase, which is the exact opposite of the efficiency gains that the marketplace demands.

Don’t stand by passively and allow this to happen. Take a few minutes now to call or write your congressman or send a contribution to the forces fighting against Card Check. For further information on how to easily send a message or contribution, please email the following website: defeatcardcheck@naw.org

 

Welcome to our New Members as of January 2009

B & B Equipment & Supply, Inc.
5070 Copper Ridge Rd.
Morristown, TN 37814
Patricia Bible, CEO
Phone: 423-586-5758
Fax: 423-586-5294

Dubick Fixture & Supply
6201 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44103
Mark Cipriani, President
Phone: 216-391-7189
Fax: 216-431-4431

Grand Restaurant Equipment & Design
Eric Skogrand, President
3650 Annapolis Ln. N., Ste. 107
Plymouth, MN 55447
Phone: 763-746-3410
Fax: 763-746-3415

Prima Supply LLC
Andy Lowe, Owner
4603 Poplar Level Rd.
Louisville, KY 40213
Phone: 502-966-4578
Fax: 502-966-5024

Global Restaurant Equipment & Supplies, Inc.
Zarina Raja, President
650 NW 123rd St.
Miami, FL 33168
Phone: 305-688-8700
Fax: 305-688-9455