Bossier City
Do You Know Your Cylinder Count?
Dewitt, NY – October 14, 2009: "How many gas cylinders do you have?” This may not seem like an important question at first, but not knowing the answer has a potential impact on your income and your relationship with customers.
A smaller business owner might give a range of 1,000 to 2,000 cylinders. A larger business owner might say 15,000 to 20,000. Distributors who know exactly how much their customers owe them often have a hard time answering this simple question about their cylinders.
Is not knowing a big deal? Absolutely, according to Jim Broughton, president of DataWeld (Bossier City, LA), a software company that helps companies track cylinder assets. “For close to 30 years, I have worked in the gases and welding industry, and I have long since lost track of how many times I have asked this question,” Broughton says. “But one thing I do know: The answer is almost always the same.”
Broughton suggests thinking of gas cylinders from an asset standpoint. “Cylinders have different prices,” he says. “For the sake of discussion, let’s use an average of $200 per cylinder. A variance of even 1,000 cylinders represents an investment of close to $200,000! That is a lot of change in anybody’s book. Would you be upset if you went into your accounting office and the person responsible for accounts receivable told you that you had between $200,000 and $400,000 in receivables? Probably.”
If you are in a business with physical assets whose counts you are having difficulty tracking, read Jim Broughton’s article “Know The Count” at Welding & Gases Today Online—the leading trade journal for the welding, welding equipment, industrial gases, medical gases and specialty gases industry—and find out how you can better track your inventories to enhance your business.
For more information, contact Jeffrey Charboneau, editor of Welding & Gases Today, at editor@weldingandgasestoday.org or 315-445-2347.
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About the Author
About GAWDA
Founded in 1945, the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. Through its member journals (http://www.weldingandgasestoday.org), e-magazines, newsletters and industry wiki (http://www.gawdawiki.org), GAWDA connects suppliers of gases and manufacturers of related equipment as well as manufacturers of welding equipment and distribution leaders, for the purpose of safely delivering optimal solutions to the users of those products. GAWDA publications are the industry’s voice for all matters related to the latest technology and the most up-to-date processes spanning welding equipment and products and services related to industrial, medical, specialty and cryogenic gases. A 501(c)3 organization, GAWDA members are located throughout North America.
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