Glossary

Kent Graham is still on the telephone, receiving the good news that he has just

secured his largest order as an account manager for Dura-Stick Label Products. His

joy is tinged with uncertainty however.

Dura-Stick is a leader in label converting for the durable-products marketplace.

Label converting consists of converting log rolls of various substrates (paper,

polyester, vinyl) into die-cut, printed labels. The company specializes in highperformance

labels for the automotive, lawn and garden, and appliance industries.

Dura-Stick has a well deserved reputation for quality, technical knowledge, and

service that enables the company to command a premium price for its products in a

very competitive market.

Kent Graham has been with Dura-Stick for two years. Because he came to the

company with 10 years in the label industry, he was able to negotiate a very good

salary and compensation plan, but his accomplishments since joining Dura-Stick

have been mediocre at best. Kent fears that his time with Dura-Stick might be limited

unless he starts closing some big accounts. Furthermore, with a wife and two

children to support, losing his job would be disastrous. Kent was on a mission to

land a big account.

Kent called on Jack Olson at Spray-On lnc., a manufacturer of industrial

spraying systems for the automotive painting industry. Dura-Stick has been

providing Spray-On with various warning and instructional labels for about 20 years.

Jack has been very pleased with Dura-Stick's performance, especially the quality of

its manufacturing department under the direction of Tim Davis. After giving Kent

another excellent vendor evaluation report, Jack began to describe a new project at

Spray-On, a paint sprayer for household consumer use that needs a seven-color

label with very precise graphics. This label is different from the industrial two-color

labels that Dura-Stick currently supplies to Spray-On.

Jack explained that this was the biggest project that...