Rubber & Specialties, Inc., of Mobile, Ala., has been fielding a lot of requests for hose testing lately, especially from its marine industry customers. The Coast Guard, for example, recently called on the industrial rubber distributor to check all of the hydraulic hoses on one of its vessels.

Instead of serving in the typical distributor role – that of product seller – Rubber & Specialties put on its consultant hat, hopped aboard and identified all of the hoses, and made up about 75 metal tags to identify the service and piece of equipment that each hose belongs with. On those tags, the distributor included information like the material and capability of each hose and its own company name and phone number.

For its efforts, the distributor charged an hourly service rate that covered both the labor and materials. Now, Mike Lentz, company VP, will wait until those hoses need replacing and hopes the Coast Guard calls the company name that they see on those little metal tags.

"The thinking is that when the Coast Guard gets ready to replace that hose," says Lentz, "they'll call us."

Lentz says Rubber & Specialties' industrial customers are also requesting help with hose testing, especially on critical application-type hoses, such as hazardous chemical, hydraulic or high-pressure hoses. Able to pressure test hoses up to 10,000psi, Rubber & Specialties' broad testing capabilities keep it ahead of its competition, especially the integrated supply houses that sell hose and accessories.

"Integrated supply is still on the upswing around here, but those integrators by nature can't possibly be experts on 800 different lines," says Lentz. "By serving as true experts in our field and by going into a plant to offer these services, we're able to effectively differentiate ourselves."

An increasing number of hose and accessories distributors are finding that end users come to them not only for good products, but also for consultation on how to use and maintain those products. At the Mersco Division of the Branham Corp. in Johnson City, Tenn., for example, sales manager Curtis Sprague says his company also helps customers diagnose why a hose fails — a step that ensures better future purchasing decisions and less downtime.

"Downtime due to failed hose or other equipment is a very bad situation at any plant," says Sprague. "By helping on the preventative maintenance side, and advising them about system changes or better hose selection, downtime can be greatly reduced."

Like Lentz, Sprague has also seen demand for such value-added services increase in recent years, and says it's being driven by savvier customers who want their plants to work longer and who realize that distributors can help them achieve those goals.

"Customers want to do a better job in their plants and want someone who they can depend on to provide as many of these services as possible," says Sprague.

Buzz Hooper, VP and owner of Lakeland, Fla.-based Rubber and Accessories Inc., concurs, and says barriers to entry in the hose and accessories distribution field are low. As a result, many "so-called" distributors are unqualified to handle complex tasks, leaving a wide-open opportunity for distributors who know their stuff.

"Those who have been around for a while, and who are qualified to go into a plant and make the proper recommendations and do the proper testing," says Hooper, "will in the long run provide the customer with the best product at the best price."

Industrial distributors aren't the only companies noticing an increased demand for value-added services from end users. At manufacturing firm Gates Rubber Co., in Denver, Karl Moritz, marketing manager, says the company works often with distributors to help end users with preventative hose maintenance issues.

The need for such services has grown, says Moritz, because end users want to track inventory and control costs more efficiently. Doing so means running machines at full capacity, and that takes proper preventative maintenance to ensure that a hose doesn't unexpectedly burst, or that a bad hose design isn't purchased in the first place.

The value for distributors is even greater, says Dan Weitzel, Gates' industrial hose business unit manager. Those that test hoses, track failures and perform plant surveys effectively remove themselves from the commodity arena, he says, and become even more valuable to their customers.

"Distributors that don't have the capability, desire or initiative to perform these services end up competing on price," says Weitzel. "Everyone can beat you on price, but not on service."

Sam Foti, Jr., president of Cleveland-based metal hose manufacturer Hose Master, Inc., says he sees distributors divided into two camps: those who depend on relationships to make sales, and those whose sales forces are technically competent enough to go into a plant and recommend appropriate solutions. The first camp tends to have problems, says Foti, because such distributors wind up competing directly with catalog houses and Internet sales channels. The latter, however, have the opportunity to become an integral part of their customers' operation.

Getting there, says Foti, takes education, primarily on the part of the distributor's sales force. For many, that knowledge comes from the hose or accessory manufacturer, which he says should be tapped as the "end all" authority on the product. Seek out manufacturers that have the facilities and technical staff to answer difficult questions, he adds, and lean on those vendors for knowledge, training and support.

By combining that knowledge with a desire to help customers with their internal decisions and problem solving, distributors can effectively get out of the commodity arena and become a true partner to their end users.

The Mersco Division of the Branham Corporation in Johnson City, Tenn., recently conducted a plant survey for a customer in the airline industry who wanted to standardize to a single brand roughly 150 regulator air filters and lubricators.

To get the job done, Mersco's salesperson first scoured the entire plant to find the products, recording each regulator's size, brand and location along the way. Then, he turned that report over to the customer. A few days later, the company got the purchase order to standardize the company on one specific brand.

That's just one example of how distributors are using plant audits – also known as plant surveys – to increase business while also upping their value in the customers' eyes.

According to Sam Foti, Jr., president of Cleveland-based metal hose manufacturer Hose Master, Inc., an effective plant survey takes a keen understanding of the product installation and an identification of critical variables, such as the motion level a hose should handle, its pressure and what media is being conveyed through it.

"These are the technical questions that every salesperson should go out and have answered so that they can come back and determine the right assembly," says Foti.

"They should also be able to determine the life of the hose by tracking how long it lasted on the prior installation."

When a hose fails, Foti suggests taking the time to analyze why, and then determine what product will be more suitable the next time. The key, he adds, is to analyze the installation by reviewing the raw data, then work with the hose manufacturer to design an assembly that works better.