Western Retail Lumbermen's Association NEWS

By ROSS KINCAID executive vice president

\I'fITH THE National Research Council, YY a group at Northwestern Lumbermens' Association and others tackline the intricate adaption of electronic data- processing to the retail lumber and buildine material business, success cannot help but be just around the corner. To this date, however, few firms have reported satisfaction.

A WRLA test group, after two years of study, has placed its stamp of approval on an initial course of action. Chairman of the pilot group, A. H. "Ike" Parker, outlined the procedure to the Western's board of directors on July 25 at the mid year meeting at Alderbrook Inn, Washington. The programming followed closely a six year proven system of WRLA President Ansel Hyland at the Eugene Planing Mill, Eugene, Oregon.

Members of the Western are now ofiered the opportunity to participate with the system with steps fully outlined and a service center keyed in at Portland, Oregon. The objectives are

(l) Sales analysis by product, including sub-classifications (there are twenty-five major product classifications with some 250 subs)

(2) Sales analysis by product by customer class (up to nine are possible)

(3) Sales analysis by product by salesmen (allowing production control)

(4) Inventory status report (this control by dollars and percentages turnover).

V/hen the program really gets rolling there will be area and industry reports each month for comparisons, allowing a further firm check.

The key document required is a costed sales ticket which of course means that a participating member must have on a current basis both a sales price book and a cost book. From there on it is easy with the only equipment required being a tape punch data recording machine or other input device.

The association has been able to achieve a substantial reduction in cost for its members' entry in the program and the proc- essing. There are a number of members contemplating early adoption of the system though it is recognized that for the major number of dealers, there is much work to be done in getting ready costing tickets, building price and cost books. This will be a strong part of the Western's program, providing guidance in these areas.

As President Hyland reported to members in nineteen district meetings, o'Our job of management is so cornplex that we simply cannot establish goals, control our operation and achieve satisfactory results without EDP. With this program we know monthly exactly how we are doing in the important phases of our business, with a few simple reports and at a very low cost. It does take determination and cooperation on the part of everyone in the business to keep price and cost books up, cost tickets and take care in completing sales tickets, but believe me" it is worth it!

"Even our sales people now appreciate knowing what they have sold in customer and product classifications and more importantly, what they have achieved for the company and themselves in gross margins."

Unfortunntely, lnst month's airline strike, which held, up deliuery ol U.S. Airm.ail, preuented, the inclusion ol Northuest News in our August issue.

THE PlCl't llL5 r,,rr sr.(' on rhis pirgr. r rrcre taken rr hr.rr TH !: \t I.:RCH.\\'t. \r'as young, as was tht: u'orld. back in the t'arly 20s and 30s. Er en llre most extrr.mr. of statements can only hint at the staggcrine amount of change that has happened sinct, then. Probably it is safest to say that tht. onlt thing that has been constant sint.t' we first opcned our doors on Juh' l. 1922. has l,ecn r.hangr. itsel f improvr:d ancl more meaningful for them. llrthr.r lhan a one-sllle outlook. THE t\rERcHANT will lrring them. everr- month. a look at the rt'gional lricture. thl s,,-callecl Big Picture that affects the lrusiness of us all.

Just as changc is a con,stant companion with all ,,f us lrersenally, so the l,uslnesses whert' wc work and the businesses that servo us and that wo encounter everydav mtrke their changes as the vears -*lide b)-.

It is with this issue of our magazine that we are continuing the tradition of change that started with thc ler\. fir-st issue of the magazine n hen Jack Dionne founded it.

As those of 1.ou who knerv Jack Dionne will recall. while he mav have had a healthy respect for the past and all the good that might be brought forrvard from it. hc ccrtainlv was never onc to stand in the way of a change u'hen it rvould improve tht: magazine.

So norv. with this namt-r:hanging issut'. we like to think that \{r. Dionne would approve rvhole-heartedly our plan to cxpand and change the magazine so that his Iriends. the readers and advertisers. rr'ould be lrettcr off for reading the magazine.

Just as thc brrsiness itsel{. both in lumber and building materials has changed. so has the magazine adapted to the West's climate of perpetual <'hange. S'ithout that fleribil. ity, as you all well knorv" it is lerl diflrcult, if not impossiblt'. to maintain a business, lt.t alone makt' anv progress.

Thus n'e {ound. especialll in thc past few 1ears. a -.ituation l'here California Lumber Merchant rvas spreadine all over the V-est. despire the rrorcl Cali fornia in its name. and as rvith any modern retail yard. rvas dealing in paint, hardware, tools and the like as well as the usual business in lumber.

Our -qituation was like so many companit's. The name rith lhich thev hcsan irr l,rrsiness \\ ds no longer represerrialir e of tht'ir present dat- operation. A re<:ent examplt' of this is tht. change Colorado Fuel & lron madc. Tht y have become CFI Steel (iorporation. Citics Serr.ice Gas Co. became Oitgo.'fcrrrrt'sst,c Gas Transmission became 'I't'ttnt,co Inc. and L nion Bag-Camp Paper Corp. {whew ) has mercifully slimmed the name dorvn to [-nion Camp Corp.

The many readers that we have outside the state of (lalifornia will now benefit to an even gr('al.er dt'grce than t.r'er before. For them it means more and rnon. news of their area, the busincss operations within it and news of their friends.

For the California rt'aders, the change. over means that the look thev take at the market in rr hich ther do l,uiin,... rr ill 1,,.

Make no mistake about it. we are not about to slight orrr friends in (lalifornia. Far from it. If anything, we think our streamlined operation rvill allow rrs to bring our present readers even mor(. news of the Golden State.

The fact that our market area had srown {rom one state to encompass the cntirc \{'t'st u'as recognized earlier this ycar by tht' major association for trade magazines in this area. At Iheir annual Arvurds u[ \4r,rit presentation, the V'estern Societv of Busirrrss Pul,lications awarded rue irEn.u.*rr fir-.t prize (and a huge. Oscar-likt' trophr') for Western Markct ldentification. Thert were more than il00 entrits in thc compctition. so we felt prettr. good alrout it.

The award did hring home to us. however. thc fact that thc namt' wt, began with in 1922 was not realll tt'lling our story in 196(r. So we lrcgan in etrrnest the delilierations that had started vears bclore about finall1 r'hanging tlre nam. to more acclrrately rcflcr:t our readership.

As we have said elsewherc in this issue (see page six). it was not a r:hoice that we madc either quickly or easily. But it was one that we owed to vou. the readers.

We dicl rnhat has alual's been done, moved forward rvith the times and the oeople in it. If no had heen in other parts o[ the countrr'. perhaps rr'e rvould not har-e made the decision to move forward and change (or adapt. if vou rvill) a name that is the original

Bur- had become known to all in the c.ourse of ,4,5 ycars of publishing and st'rving thc industry.

Fortunately we live in the \I-est. the larrd o[ the future, where much of that future is often presented to us toda).. Wc like to think that our readers are not affiictetl with the stuffy, hidel-round backrvardness of other areas.

Thus the decision to change. The der:ision to opt for the future and the desire to keep alive the tradition of i.hange that was given the magazine bl its founder.

We most sincerely hope rou find the neu. name-in-full as sensible and modern as do we. If you don't. well. we have hope{ullv supplied you with an eas,\-to-take alternative you can continue to r:all us THE ]IERCHANT as so manv have for so manv of the ,vears since 1922.

FMPAT , White Fir , Sugar Pine up to l8'. Fine old growth timfrom our YollaTree Farm.

- c0Rl{ilc

. PASKEilTA