When more is better

Photo Courtesy of Robert Baker

Weld Air Alaska Inc. (www.weldair.com) has a lot of ground to cover — the 571,975 sq. miles that comprise the state of Alaska. That's more than three times the size of California and more than twice the size of Texas.

The distributor has customers as far as 1,100 miles to the southeast, 600 miles to the southwest, and 700 miles to the northwest. Serving that territory requires all the transportation that Shell Ewing, owner of the distributor, can find. He uses airplanes, trains, boats and trucks.

And, Ewing maintains an inventory that takes into account the fact that his nearest manufacturer's warehouse is thousands of miles away.

It is almost impossible for distributors in the Lower 48 states to face similar geographical considerations. Consider this: Product that ships from Maryland, for instance, takes seven to 10 days to reach the doorstep of a distributor or end-user in California, Washington State or Juneau, Alaska, requires 16 days to reach Weld Air in Wasilla, Alaska. More lead time is needed for Weld Air to deliver orders within its normal delivery zone, which is described by a 300-mile radius, or to ship an order to an oil producer on Alaska's North Slope, or to ship an order internationally to a customer in Russia.

Weld Air supplies gases, steel and aluminum — it has a metals service and processing center; welding machines and consumables. On any given day, it keeps more than 100 welding machines in stock. "I'm told by our customers, vendors and suppliers that we have more product on our floor than they see anywhere else in the country," Ewing says. That depth of product in inventory helps Weld Air to control shipping costs and service.

Alaskans are extremely savvy on freight issues, says Ewing. Whenever possible, Weld Air takes advantage of the savings and discounts offered by shipping companies, and similar offers from product manufacturers, to ensure it can fill a customer's order as quickly as possible. That is one of the reasons that it maintains higher inventories.

Weld Air also controls its costs and inventory through a point-of-sale system that Ewing says is efficient and essential. He explains that the system provides statistics needed for him and his staff to analyze sales and inventory levels.

Reaching and serving customers
Weld Air's decision to have a Web site is a no-brainer: In a state where an estimated 700,000 residents are spread across 571,975 sq. miles, marketing and advertising on the Internet is a cost-effective and an efficient way of getting the word out. Weld Air advertises across the state through traditional media, and its Web site generates additional phone calls, says Ewing.

Employees have had experience using almost every welding machine and tool that Weld Air sells. "We know what works well and what does not work well, so when we offer a product, it comes with our assurance that this is something that we have used recently," Ewing says. He says his and his employees' experiences in both selling materials and equipment and using those materials and equipment are good for his customers. "We have a great product knowledge about the weldability of the steel and of the equipment to be used on the materials," he says.