A Valuable Web-Based Tool - Gray Soper, Manager, ECommerce, Portland, OR

A year has passed since the rollout of TraderDirect (TD), the Web-based tool in use across North Pacific to improve communications with our customers, suppliers, and truckers. Over 200 salespeople and support staff have attended overview sessions and usage of the system has been entirely voluntary. Without exception, every single person who has dedicated at least two weeks to adapt TraderDirect to his or her unique business needs has seen measurable success. To date, more that $4,000,000 of incremental sales have been generated by TraderDirect -- all sales that our traders admit they would not have otherwise captured.

TraderDirect has found broad application across all North Pacific product categories and business models. The Portland Panel group and Saxonville USA post on-line plywood offers to their customers on a daily or even hourly basis. The Southern Division uses TraderDirect to maintain the weekly transit list, and share it among their sales team. The Hardwood group uses this tool to broadcast region-specific inquiries to their large supply base. Several traders use TraderDirect to post product photos or brochures and others use it to communicate relevant market information to their customers. The uses for TD appear to be limited only by the creativity and imagination of our employees, whose many suggestions are now part of the software's functionality.

One such example is the use of TraderDirect to post available loads to our truckers. Scott Wood in Hardwood, and Jimmy Trigg, Anthony Powell, and Regina Hudson in Southern are communicating with more than 500 truckers and brokers via TD every day. They are making fewer outbound calls and booking loads quicker and cheaper, with realized savings of more than $15,000 per month. Traders who book their own loads are also getting on TD and saving time -- precious time they can now devote to their sales efforts.

If you haven't visited TraderDirect in a while, please log in today. The look is cleaner and it's easier to use, with more practical features and better functionality. If you need help or have questions, feel free to call or email me at ****.

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