TOOL - General Tools And Instruments

General’s Innovation…
Looking forward…to serving you
Over the past decade, we’ve made a lot of changes at General to grow
our business. Those initiatives continue to bear fruit. Last year, they contributed
to the best year we’ve ever had, both in terms of new product
launches and revenue generated.
Despite having hundreds of tools and instruments in our portfolio, we
know we must continue our history of innovation or General will be history—competitively
speaking. I believe that, unlike genius, technological
innovation is not “one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent
perspiration,” in Edison’s famous words. From my perspective as a businessman,
profitable innovation today is fifty percent communication—
listening to customers explain what they need—and fifty percent
dedication—going the extra mile to nail down a new product design so
our factory can ship it out so you can build it in.
As the number of new products in this catalog makes clear, innovation
remains a linchpin of General’s tradition of excellence. But another key
to our ongoing success is the powerful behind-the-scenes infrastructure
we continue to install and upgrade to keep you—our valued customer—satisfied
and coming back for more.
A good example of our unchanged commitment to improved customer
service is our revamped website (www.generaltools.com), one of
several technology initiatives that continue General’s tradition of
innovation.
Like any new parent, we’re over the moon about our new website. What
you can’t see from the baby picture above is how smart the site
already is and how it will continue to develop. For example, if you’re
one of our certified distributors you’ll shortly be able to set up your own
T-2
Joe Ennis
account with a custom profile for yourself. Through your profile, you’ll
be able to submit orders to us directly through the site at your current
pricing and also check the status of your orders. Retail customers will
be able to see who is currently stocking a particular product and connect
to their preferred vendor directly with a single click.
Two other electronic initiatives exemplify our ongoing efforts to streamlining
your ordering experience with us. One is the launch of our new
mobile store, accessible by smartphones and tablet computers, and the
second is our first implementation of QR (Quick Response) codes—
those black-and-white patterned squares you may have seen in magazines
or on billboards. Through these two new web-commerce
initiatives, any of our distributors will be able to access—and submit
orders through—either our mobile store or our new website store simply
by visiting www.generaltools.com and logging in to their profile.
The final initiative, our first implementation of QR (Quick Response
codes, enables you to capture a QR code with a software-enabled
smartphone which will then instantly take you to the product URL on
our mobile web site. Curious? Just turn the page and use your smartphone
to capture a QR code from one of our new products at the
bottom of the page. In all cases, our goal is to make researching and
buying products much more efficient.
Thanks for checking out our 2011 catalog! I and my colleagues at
General look forward to your feedback—positive or negative—as we
strengthen our existing relationships and forge new ones. Call me at
212-431-6100 or email me directly at j.ennis@generaltools.com if I can
help you or if you have any ideas that would help us serve you better.
Joe Ennis, President and CEO