IHFRA Reps Association Gets Record Increase In Membership

Furniture World Magazine

IHFRA, the International Home Furnishings Representatives Association, ended the October International Home Furnishings Market with a record increase in membership. The association, now in its 69th year of service to the home furnishings industry, offered the "Bring Home a Friend/Home Away from Home" membership campaign during the market to help bring awareness to the association and its benefits. While continuing to offer professional development, access to health insurance expertise, legal representation and a legislative voice, IHFRA, as President, Tom Schuckert, CHR, pointed out, also brought "additional exposure to representatives through the active Opportunity Center (where manufacturers seeking representation in certain territories list their need and members can post their resumes for manufacturers to review) and made available an industry specific software program geared to representatives for territory management and business development. At IHFRA, we want to serve as not only representation for, but a resource to our membership. We are excited by the reaction to our campaign." The software program, Showroom Solutions Inc. (SSI), allows the representative to generate sales orders quickly and transmit them to vendors efficiently; track invoice and commission information by vendor to the line item level if desired; receive and import vendor product updates easily as well as administer territory and customer data with ease. The program accommodates those representatives who use the "Know-It" software and SSI has already imported sales history, customers and product data from the "Know-It" system. IHFRA has negotiated special pricing for its members when they purchase SSI products (www.showroomsolutions.com). The membership campaign will continue through 2003. For additional information about membership, benefits, or the SSI software, please contact the IHFRA office at 800-889-3920 or visit the web site at www.ihfra.org.