Norine Carlson-Weber

ISO-certified Alpha Source Inc, Milwaukee, furnishes health care facilities with new and replacement medical equipment and components in seven categories: lamps, batteries, power protection and supplies, fiber optic cables, O2 sensors, monitoring accessories, and diagnostic instruments and supplies. The company stocks more than $1 million in inventory, but prides itself equally on what it gives away.

24×7 recently spoke with the founder and president, Norine Carlson-Weber—who possesses a law degree and an MBA—about the company’s genesis and how it manages to prosper in lean economic times.


24×7: What is your background, and what was your impetus for starting the company?

Weber: I am a graduate of the University of Wisconsin’s Journalism and Executive MBA program and Marquette University’s Law School. After graduation I began my career as a marketing manager for an information system company, where I developed inside sales, direct marketing, and product development plans. During this time I pursued my executive MBA and shortly thereafter, my law degree. After I was let go from my marketing role, I started Alpha Source in July 1986, focusing on my experience from a previous employer selling specialty lighting. Beginning with an initial investment of $10,000, the company has grown to carry seven product categories, including xenon and replacement lamps. We have become a distributor for over 200 vendors and have over 40 employees—including international sales and customer service teams.

24×7: What is your company’s niche?

Weber: It is a woman business enterprise (WBE) providing diversified medical products to health care institutions, the federal government, municipalities, and international distributors. We focus on clinical engineering departments and third-party maintenance organizations.

24×7: What is a WBE?

Weber: A WBE is an enterprise that is at least 51% controlled by women, or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least 51% of the stock is owned by a woman.

24×7: What is the greatest challenge for your company right now?

Weber: Being able to compete globally. Buyers are more sophisticated and require more options. We have invested a great deal into making sure our products and services are top quality and meet global regulations. As we compete with other companies who have not done the same, our challenge is making sure we remain competitive.

24×7: Can you tell us more about your green efforts?

Weber: We offer our customers a battery recycling program, and we use RoHs-compliant materials in the manufacturing of battery packs.

24×7: You expect to report $12 million in sales for the fiscal year ending in July. How does that compare with last year’s earnings and with projections for next year?

Weber: It is a 20% increase from last year. We also project double-digit growth for this upcoming fiscal year.

24×7: Despite lean economic times, your company just hired a dozen sales reps and recently moved into a 42,000-square-foot facility. What fuels the growth?

Weber: Our focus on customer retention, quality products, and additional product lines.

24×7: Will you expand particular aspects of the business?

Weber: We are always looking for opportunities to expand. Our current R&D efforts are opening doors for new products that offer useful, quality, environmentally friendly, and energy-saving solutions for our customers.

24×7: Do you cast a wide net for new recruits?

Weber: As we continue to grow we also have increased our recruiting efforts and training programs to provide career and management opportunities for minorities and women. We provide internship opportunities for students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and I serve as a volunteer mentor for small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs.

24×7: Donating to worthwhile causes is part of the company’s mission statement. Tell us more.

Weber: We support and promote employee fund-raising activities by matching funds raised by employees. Fundraising activities have been for cancer research and muscular dystrophy. We also hold food drives. My husband and I regularly make financial donations to nonprofit entities focused on providing quality health care and education to people all over the world, and the company donates medical supplies and instruments to organizations that use these products internationally.

24×7: Are you adapting to trends in the marketplace?

Weber: As costs increase across the board in our economy, we find that being able to offer diverse OEM and other-vendor products helps our customers who are looking for cost-saving alternatives. We consider ourselves a one-stop-shop alternative for those small and large facilities in need of medical devices and components. Since helping to improve our environment is a priority, we have taken the necessary steps to ensure our standards and processes are environmentally friendly. Many of our customers must meet various regulatory requirements; and because we invested time and resources, we are able to support their efforts. In terms of technology—though we pride ourselves on the personal sales and customer service team we have built—our customers may also order their products online or through EDI. We are improving our online system and look forward to the added value it will produce.

24×7: Are you a preferred trading partner for any lines?

Weber: We are an authorized distributor for Welch Allyn, GE Healthcare, Medtronic, Perkin Elmer, Tripp-Lite, Heine, Advantage Medical, Philips, and Osram/Sylvania. We are also a value-added center for Enersys battery products.

24×7: Tell us about key operational improvements you have made.

Weber: Bar coding for the automatic shipment of customer orders and an integrated ERP system help us achieve a 97% fill rate and 99.9% on-time shipping. We implemented the Pilgrim Software quality management tool to capture customer feedback and continually improve our processes.

24×7: How is the industry changing?

Weber: Customers have more interest in multivendor part suppliers and consolidating their purchasing to achieve cost savings.

24×7: How does that affect your business?

Weber: We offer more product lines, and carry a larger inventory and more brand selections to accommodate our customers’ consolidation needs.

24×7: What is the greatest challenge for your company right now?

Weber: Being able to compete globally. Buyers are more sophisticated and require more options. We have invested a great deal into making sure our products and services are top quality and meet global regulations. As we compete with other companies who have not done the same, our challenge is making sure we remain competitive.

24×7: What are the key brand names in your inventory?

Weber: They include Welch Allyn, Medtronic Physio-Control, GE Healthcare, Panasonic, and Perkin Elmer.

24×7: What distinguishes you from the competition?

Weber: Alpha Source was a first mover and is still one of the few in the medical device industry to receive ISO 13485:2003 certification for our manufacturing and our distribution services—having obtained and maintained certification since 2006. This certification ensures product quality and safety and requires the demonstration to external ISO auditors of the development of internationally conforming business systems, procedures, and documentation.

24×7: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Weber: Employees are our most important resource; and through their development and dedication, we help our customers deliver superior health care.

Judy O’Rourke is associate editor of 24×7. Contact her at .