ABA Journal: Group Buy-In – 9/1/2010

Prime Advantage, a buying consortium that historically catered to the discount needs of small and mid-sized manufacturing companies, launched Prime Advantage Legal in June to offer law firms ongoing savings on a range of products.

LawSitesBlog.com profiles Prime Advantage Legal – 7/26/2010

Robert Ambrogi interviews Prime Advantage's Mike McDonald and gives his impressions of this new offering to the legal industry.

Press Release: Prime Advantage Legal Offers Group Purchasing Power for Law Firms – 6/10/2010

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for small and midsized North American companies, has announced the launch of a new service, Prime Advantage Legal, which is designed to bring the valuable savings programs and expertise of the firm’s supplier network to the legal community.

Press Release: Prime Advantage Named to Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 – 5/21/2010

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, announced that it was just named to the ninth-annual listing of the Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100.

Press Release: Industrial Manufacturers Show Confidence in a Sustained Recovery in 2010 – 5/10/2010

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, announced the findings of its fifth Prime Advantage Group Outlook (GO) Survey, revealing the top economic concerns of midsized industrial manufacturers for the remainder of 2010. Predictions of revenue and capital spending increases, along with a shift in product development processes to make products more sustainable are among the highlights of the latest study.
[Press Coverage: ACHR News, Business Wire, CBS 2 Chicago, Electro IQ, Euroinvestor, Industry Market Trends, istockAnalyst.com, Medical Design Technology, Material Handling Management, Procurement Leaders, Quality Magazine, Supply & Demand Chain Executive, Yahoo! Finance]

Prime Advantage's Mike McDonald Interviewed by Products Finishing Magazine – 5/2010

In an economy where manufacturers are being challenged in intense global competition, mid-sized firms can only ask their suppliers for so much. One way to leverage this relationship, however, is by banding together with other businesses in the same situation—through a buying consortium.

Press Release: Small and Midsized Industrial Manufacturing CFOs Reveal Their Top Concerns of 2010 – 3/5/2010

Despite Rising Energy Costs and Dim Employment Data, Small and Midsized Manufacturers See Signs for Optimism. Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, announced the findings of its Group CFO Survey, revealing the top financial concerns of its member companies’ CFOs in 2010.
[Press Coverage: Automation World, Business Insider, dBusinessNews, Logistics Today, Manufacturing.net, MFRTech.com, Modern Metals, Plant Services, Seeking Alpha, Supply & Demand Chain Executive, ThomasNet]

Press Release: Prime Advantage’s President and CEO Named a “Pro to Know” by Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine – 2/24/2010

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, announced that President, CEO and Founder Louise O’Sullivan has been named a 2010 Supply & Demand Chain Executive “Practitioner Pro to Know.” O’Sullivan was also named a Practitioner Pro to Know by the respected trade magazine’s editorial selection committee in 2009. The magazine announced the tenth-annual listing of Pros to Know in its February/March 2010 issue.

Press Release: Prime Advantage 2009 Fall Conference Attracts Record Numbers – 11/18/2009

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for industrial manufacturers, recently concluded its 2009 Fall Conference in Louisville, KY. The semi-annual event ran from October 27-30, and again featured the Executive Summit, which is Prime Advantage’s education track for manufacturing executives. Attendance at the Fall Conference saw a growth of 32 percent over last spring’s conference as companies are preparing for what many feel is a sustained recovery.

Press Release: Latest Group Outlook Survey from Prime Advantage Indicates Manufacturers Becoming Optimistic About Economy – 9/2/2009

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, announced the findings of its fourth Prime Advantage Group Outlook (GO) Survey, revealing the top economic concerns of midsized industrial manufacturers for the remainder of 2009. The study results reflect a growing sense of optimism returning to the manufacturing sector, in terms of improved revenues, customer demand and hiring expectations.
[Press Coverage: BtoB, Industry Week Sep. 9, Industry Week Oct. 21, Investors.com, Quality Magazine, ThomasNet Sept. 10, 2009, ThomasNet Oct. 6, 2009, ThomasNet Jan 5]

Prime Advantage Member Speaks About Supplier Partnerships,
and Prime Advantage benefits:
Supplier partnerships pay off for midmarket coffee equipment maker – 8/13/2009

Proactive partnerships with quality suppliers helped Wilbur Curtis, a Prime Advantage Member since 1998, lower its direct materials costs significantly, says Ron Wilson, director of purchasing. His four-person team manages a $40 million annual spend for the family-owned firm, which manufactures commercial coffee, tea, and specialty beverage brewing equipment.
John Day — Purchasing.com

Press Release: Prime Advantage Named to Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine’s Top 100 Supply Chain Solution Providers – 6/29/2009

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, announced that it has been named to the eighth-annual listing of the Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100. This recognition follows the announcement in March that President, CEO and Founder Louise O’Sullivan was named a 2009 Supply & Demand Chain Executive “Practitioner Pro to Know.”

Can GPOs Help Ease the Pain? — 6/17/2009

As manufacturers look for cost-cutting that won't cripple them in a recovery, group purchasing organizations let them "swing a bigger bat." At Prime Advantage, a GPO serving midsized industrial manufacturers, officials are seeing an uptick in the number of large companies inquiring about their services...
Steve Minter — IndustryWeek

Press Release: Prime Advantage Named a Most Valued Partner by Packaging Industry Association PMMI – 5/1/2009

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a new partnership with the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI). PMMI, which organizes the PACK EXPO tradeshows, has named Prime Advantage a Most Valued Partner (MVP), in order to offer its members reduced costs and optimized buying power through Prime Advantage.
[Press Coverage: Market Watch]

Prime Advantage CFO Survey Featured in Modern Metals
Cover Story - 4/2009

Business conditions are tough--and that’s putting it mildly. Demand, inventories, shipments and prices are just some of the factors that must be watched closely, and charting a course while waiting for the storm to lift is challenging. Modern Metals’ Lauren Duensing takes a closer look at the issues facing mid-sized industrial manufacturers and cites the Prime Advantage CFO Survey to illustrate her point.

 

Press Release: Latest Group Outlook Survey from Prime Advantage Indicates Revenue and Capital Spending Projections are Among Top Economic Concerns in 2009 – 4/14/2009

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, announced the findings of its third Group Outlook Survey, revealing the top economic concerns of midsized industrial manufacturers, as well as an opportunistic outlook for 2009 and beyond. Survey findings reveal not only that industrial manufacturers are prepared for another tough year in 2009, but that they are counting on the conservative measures taken over the past couple years to help carry them through to better times by year end.
[Press Coverage: The Earth Times, IndustryWeek, Quality Magazine, Reuters.com]

Prime Advantage's Mike McDonald Interviewed for IMPO Magazine's April Edition – 4/2009

Mike McDonald, vice president, new business relationships for Prime Advantage, reflects on the concerns of more than 550 member companies in the manufacturing buying group. Discussion includes changes in sentiment from 2008 to 2009, as well as emerging challenges due to the economic recession.

Press Release: Prime Advantage’s President and CEO Named a “Pro to Know” by Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine – 3/24/2009

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, announced that President, CEO and Founder Louise O’Sullivan has been named a 2009 Supply & Demand Chain Executive “Practitioner Pro to Know.” Supply & Demand Chain Executive, the executive's user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, announced the ninth-annual listing of Pros to Know in its February/March 2009 issue.
[Press Coverage: Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine, Supply Chain Market]

Press Release: New Study from Prime Advantage Reveals Top Concerns of Midsized Manufacturing CFOs – 2/27/2009

Prime Advantage announced the findings of its first Group CFO Survey, revealing the top financial concerns of its member companies’ CFOs in 2009. Among the top findings from this study is that the credit crunch is not yet having an adverse direct impact on these midsized U.S. manufacturers. Instead, other factors that are related to the economy are creating more pressing issues.
[Request a copy of the Prime Advantage 2009 CFO Outlook Survey]

[Survey Press Coverage: Business Wire, Industry Week 1, Industry Week 2, Manufacturing.net, ModernMetals.com, PR-Inside.come, Quality Magazine, Reliable Plant Magazine,]

Press Release: Prime Advantage Recognized as Support Supplier of the Year by Enodis – 11/18/2008

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for industrial manufacturers, announced that it received the Support Supplier of the Year award from Enodis Plc. Enodis, a longtime global leader in the design and manufacture of commercial food and beverage equipment, has been a member of Prime Advantage since 2002.

Press Release: OMA-sponsored Supply Chain Strategy Webinar Features President of Prime Advantage – 09/9/2008

Webinar to address strategies and best practices for developing and recruiting supply chain management and procurement talent. Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for industrial manufacturers, announced that President and Founder Louise O’Sullivan will participate as a speaker in the September 9 webinar, Developing and Recruiting Today’s Supply Chain and Procurement Talent.

Press Release: Manufacturers’ Buying Group Releases Results of 2008 H2 Group Outlook Survey – 7/22/2008

Rising Raw Material and Energy Costs are Raising Concerns among North American Industrial Manufacturers in 2nd half of 2008.
[Survey Press Coverage: Manufacturing.net, Quality Magazine]

Power Buying Tools – 7/1/2008

Following the dictum that there is strength in numbers, group purchasing organizations (GPOs) use that extra muscle to help them buy anything from raw materials to office supplies. However, having the backing of an already established group can certainly help the cause.
Nick Zubko — IndustryWeek

Manufacturers surviving crunch but caution shows – 3/27/2008

Strong global demand and a large backlog of orders are keeping the U.S. credit crunch from hurting manufacturers' results, but some companies are becoming cautious about their investment plans.
Nick Zieminski — Reuters

Press Release: Prime Advantage Releases Results of 2008 Group Outlook Survey – 2/15/2008

Raw Materials and Energy Expenses Top a List of Economic Concerns in 2008 for Small-to Mid-sized Manufacturers.
[Survey Press Coverage: America Machinist, Earthtimes, Industry Week, Modern Distribution Management, ThomasNet]

Podcast: Ken Rayment interviewing Louise O’Sullivan – 2/14/2008

The Better Process podcast interviews Louise O’Sullivan regarding the latest news and challenges for small to mid-sized manufacturing companies.

Walking into Walls – 2/1/2008

Learn to overcome these five obstacles to building a reliable supplier network.
Small and midsized manufacturers are frequently challenged with finding reliable and qualified suppliers within limited networks...
Nick Zubko — IndustryWeek

Buying advantage: Today’s supplier networks offer more than
just reduced prices – 1/11/2008

"The process of vetting suppliers and obtaining competitive pricing is a challenge for all manufacturers. Small to midsize operations, where resources are fewer, especially feel this, and with some turning to supplier networks for help..."
Carolyn Heinze, contributing editor — Manufacturing Business Technology

Press Release: Prime Advantage Announces Award Winners
at Fall Conference – 11/12/2007

Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for industrial manufacturers, announced the winners of its annual member and supplier awards at its Fall Conference 2007: Improving Bottom Line Profitability in a Global Economy. Dewey Stevens of Wisconsin-based Curt G. Joa, Inc., a leading manufacturer of equipment for disposable products, was honored with the President’s Award, while office supply distributor Staples Inc. was awarded Supplier of the Year for Services and Supplies and industrial distributor Fastenal Company was honored with the Supplier of the Year Award for Raw Materials & Components.

Buying Consortium: Advantage Suppliers and Buyers – Fall 2007

Prime Advantage Corporation provides purchasing clout and more.
by Jack McGuinn, senior editor, Power Transmission Engineering
Sidebar: Two Prime Advantage Suppliers Endorsed for Success
Reprinted by permission of Power Transmission Engineering

Press Release: Prime Advantage to Mark 10th Anniversary at Fall Conference
in October – 09/24/2007

Top manufacturers and suppliers gather to share insights for improving bottom-line profitability in a global economy.

Stainless Steel: Nickel Buyers Investigate Material Substitutes (pdf 29KB)
Purchasing.com, July 2007

Buying Consortium Proven ‘Advantage’ for Metal Manufacturing Company (pdf 82KB)
The Fabricator, May 2007