Wholesaler-distributors who are looking for a few good ideas on managing through the current recession can now find them online. The Council for Research on Distributor Competitiveness (CRDC) has launched a monthly blog called "Managing in an Uncertain Economy." It appears online at nawinstitute.blogspot.com and is also accessible through the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors' NAW SmartBrief e-newsletter.

Each blog entry—essentially a full-length article with accompanying graphics—focuses on best practices that can make an immediate difference for wholesale distribution firms. The first installment features Dr. Barry Lawrence of Texas A&M University discussing inventory stratification. The second, by Dr. Lawrence and colleague Dr. Malini Natarajarathinam, addresses customer segmentation. The CRDC was created by the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence and the Supply Chain Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M.

For a free subscription to the NAW SmartBrief e-newsletter, go to www.smartbrief.com/naw.