Aep Industries Inc's Customers Performance

We believe that our ability to provide superior service to our customers is critical to our success. Even in those markets where our products are considered commodities and price is the single most important factor, we believe that our sales and marketing capabilities, our ability to offer a broad line of products to our customers, and our timely delivery is a competitive advantage.

We believe that our research and development efforts, much of our high-efficiency, automated and microprocessor-controlled equipment, and the technical training given to our sales personnel enhance our ability to expand our sales in all of our product lines. An important component of our marketing philosophy is the ability of our sales personnel to provide technical assistance to customers. Our sales force regularly consults with customers with respect to performance of our products and the customer’s particular needs and then communicates with appropriate research and development staff regarding these matters. In conjunction with the research and development staff, sales personnel are often able to recommend a product or suggest a resin blend to produce the product with the characteristics and properties which best suit the customer’s requirements.

We believe that the timely delivery of our products to customers is a critical factor in our ability to maintain and grow our market position. In North America, the majority of our deliveries are by contracted third parties, with approximately 12.5% of US shipments handled by the AEP private fleet in fiscal 2016. The private fleet is used strategically to support most of the AEP logistics facilities. The Company is increasing its use of the private fleet and will continue to do so as it provides the Company a cost effective option in areas where there are carrier capacity issues. We monitor and control all shipments through “On Demand” Transportation Management System (TMS) software. The TMS system provides detailed reports, tracking of every shipment to customer delivery and carrier management. This enables us to better control the distribution process and ensure priority handling and direct transportation of products to our customers, thus improving the speed, reliability and efficiency of delivery.