New Orleans, Louisiana (2/12/2003) --- The Johns Manville Roofing Systems Group (RSG) announced today that in order to develop more strategic relationships with its supply chain network, it is evaluating all of its distributor relationships. The goal is to optimize its distributor relationships with those that are of strategic importance, provide extensive support to JM roofing contractors, carry a broad range of RSG product inventory and are dedicated to the JM product line.
“It is critical that everyone in the RSG product delivery chain is doing everything possible to bring value to our customers,” said Kevin Coughlin, director of sales and customer service. “To accomplish that, RSG needs to develop strong partnerships with everyone involved with our products. We recently asked some of our distributors how to develop a mutually beneficial partnership with them. They told us they wanted a more differentiated and supportive relationship from us. We’re dedicated to responding to their needs.”
Johns Manville developed a performance-based scorecard to evaluate distributor relationships on an ongoing basis. The scorecard includes criteria such as distributors’ strategic importance, the support provided to roofing contractors, the range of inventory that distributors carry, and their commitment to understanding and marketing the RSG product line.
Concurrent with the evaluation process, RSG is developing tools to assist its distribution network. The company is committing resources to provide additional training and marketing materials, which already are in production.
“Our customers depend on our distribution partners to help them make good product decisions, to carry a comprehensive product selection and to provide quality service,” Coughlin said. “Roofing contractors can now rest assured that if the distributor is carrying the JM line that they are focused on service, have experienced and knowledgeable sales people and have a long-term commitment to serving the industry.”
Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building and specialty products. In business since 1858, the Denver-based company has sales in excess of $2 billion and holds leadership positions in all of the key markets that it serves. Johns Manville employs approximately 9,000 people and operates 46 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China. Additional information can be found at www.jm.com.
