When Larry Schroeder runs his finger down the list of cutting tool lines that his distributorship carries, he sees names like Hannibal Carbide Tool, Garr Tool, Classic Carbide Tool and National Twist Drill. But as company president, Schroeder sees more than just names in black and white – he sees a handful of them that provide above par tooling support for the Oshkosh, Wis.-based cutting tool distributor.

"If you look at the lines that have really grown for us, it's primarily because those manufacturers have given us a lot of help and a lot of technical support – all kinds of support," says Schroeder. "We carry so many lines, and it's impossible to spend as much time with some as we do with others. Overall, however, our manufacturers have been very good to us when it comes to support."

From its manufacturers, Schroeder says Badger Mill Supply receives tooling support on electronic mediums like diskettes, CD-ROMs and email. Many have also created cost savings or cost justification programs for the distributor, which has felt the pinch of a combination of manufacturer and customer cutbacks over the last three years.

Schroeder says Badger Mill also works with a large number of manufacturer's reps who are knowledgeable and up to speed on the technical intricacies involved with cutting tools. That has raised his company's level of expertise in the field over the last few years, despite the pressures of economic downtown and cutbacks.

"With some manufacturers, there's probably been a little less help," he adds. "For the most part, however, many of our vendors have actually begun giving us even more support."

For cutting tool distributors, vendor support is vital. "Everybody's looking for cost reduction," says Bob Maxey, vice president of business and technical development for rotary cutting tool manufacturer Precision Twist Drill in Central Lakes, Ill., "which means distributors have to be able to add value and provide those cost reduction opportunities at the end-user level."

Those distributors who choose to ignore this facet of their business, says Maxey, risk losing market share to those who do provide tooling support. He says Precision Twist Drill conducts several, 3-day training sessions for its distributors every year. At the cornerstone of the program are hands-on problem solving sessions in which students are provided basic information and asked to select the appropriate cutting tool.

"We run their evaluations and they get to see how they would perform in real life," says Maxey. "We focus on the fact that the cutting tool is fairly insignificant in the price of the tool (representing about 3 to 4 percent of the total process cost), but that the overall performance of the tool is critical for reducing the process time."

Tooling support is also important for the distributor who wants to help end users get the most out of their specialty products and new machine tool technology – both of which can rack up a high cost of failure without the proper support.

"These tools require a highly educated individual calling on the end user," says Maxey. "For distributors to be able to provide cost reduction concepts both on the logistics and the product performance side of the business helps them differentiate themselves from one another, and brings value to the customer."

Dale Petts, global product manager, bandsaw products for cutting tool manufacturer Simonds Industries Inc., in Fitchburg, Mass., knows the bar is being raised in the cutting tool industry. For that reason, the on-site technical support, seminars and distributor and end-user training that Simonds provides through its "Little Red Schoolhouse" program has become more vital than ever.

"We have actually accelerated our Little Red Schoolhouse program in the last couple of years," says Petts, adding that Simonds also offers a quarterly growth incentive program for distributors that translates into cash awards for sales growth. "Improving the efficiency of the distributor sales force is a critical element in today's environment. Fine-tuning the sales effort between our respective sales forces is a key ingredient."

Susan Conrado, president of Hopkinton, Mass. cutting tool distributorship Kenneth Crosby, Inc., says her firm has been blessed with "fantastic factory support" from several of its key vendors, including Sandvik Coromant, Garr Tool, Enerpac high force tooling and Milacron coolant.

"If the service was not above par, we wouldn't be able to service our customers at the level that they have come to depend on us," says Conrado, adding that although the level of support has improved for her company's more technical lines, it has actually weakened on some of the commodity lines.

"There appears more of a desire to be flexible in an effort to get business," says Conrado, "but the office support at many manufacturers have certainly weakened at many companies."

Conrado says all of Kenneth Crosby's Tier One lines provide training to the company's inside and outside sales, distribute product literature and supply technical support to the distributor's outside sales staff via joint sales calls. The manufacturers also staff technical help lines for the distributor's inside and outside sales reps, and maintain price and availability data online for easy access.

"These tools are imperative to keep us efficient, profitable and productive," says Conrado, who – given the opportunity – says she would ask manufacturers for extra incentive to convert and bring in new business, plentiful and ready literature for new products, and more sufficient inventory for those new products.

Schroeder says he'd just like to see his manufacturers hold pricing as long as possible and provide more flexible payment terms. "All manufacturers know that's what our customers are looking for right now," he says.