About the company
Headquartered in Phoenix, American Refrigeration Supplies, Inc. (ARS) is a one-stop wholesaler of refrigeration, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning equipment, parts, and supplies. With 33 locations in six states, the 69-year-old company sells primarily to licensed contractors for the repair and replacement market. The company stocks approximately 17,000 items from roughly 300 different vendors.
For more information about American Refrigeration Supplies, visit www.ars-net.com.

Setting the strategy
In an increasingly difficult economy, there is little margin for error with respect to how it manages its clients—and its vendors as well. The company has to perform in an operationally efficient manner if it is to remain competitive and profitable. One area where the company has been tested is tied to electronic data interchange (EDI).

A growing number of product vendors have sought new data exchange methods to increase efficiency in the supply chain, pushing ARS to upgrade its processes and approaches. "Our vendors were asking us to use EDI for sending our purchase orders," says Wendy Jindra, manager of IS, American Refrigeration Supplies.

"There really was not an advantage for us to use EDI. It's not cost-effective for us. Nothing about it was enticing for us, but vendors were requiring it. We had to act." At the risk of losing its authorization to sell certain product lines, ARS decided that it needed to take steps to meet this demand.