The first time a new reseller calls us, the question is almost always the same: "What diameters and lengths should I actually keep on the shelf?" It is the right question, because chrome plated rod ties up more capital per meter than honed tube, and a straight, mirror-finished rod that gets dinged o
A distributor in Rotterdam once walked me through his warehouse and showed me two racks of honed tube. One rack was nearly empty by the end of every month; the other had not moved in almost two years. Both had cost real money to buy, ship, and store, but only one was earning its keep. That contrast
A trader in the Middle East once returned a shipment of chrome plated rod to a previous supplier, not because it was defective, but because he could not get the certificates his customers were suddenly demanding, and without paperwork the rod was unsellable in his market. He had bought on price from