Channel Marketing Group’s Q3 Pulse of Industrial Supply survey finds stronger-than-expected distributor growth, improving digital sales, and continued investment in inventory. But pricing, tariffs, and economic uncertainty remain important considerations heading into year-end. The industrial supply market appears to have found its footing. After a relatively sluggish second … [Read more...] about Industrial Supply Growth Accelerates: What Distributors Should Expect in Q4
Insights
Fastenal Firing on All Cylinders, Driven by Large Accounts, Market Share Gains and Data Centers
Fastenal delivered 15.5% revenue growth and record operating-income growth as large accounts, manufacturing demand, digital programs, and embedded inventory solutions drove market-share gains. Gross-margin pressure and moderating pricing remain watch items, but operating leverage, technology adoption, and data-center-related demand support the outlook. Fastenal announced … [Read more...] about Fastenal Firing on All Cylinders, Driven by Large Accounts, Market Share Gains and Data Centers
Changing Sales Team Behavior with Targeted Guidance
TL:DR Sales dashboards reveal what happened, but they rarely change behavior on their own. Distributors can improve execution by turning ERP data into timely, specific cues that tell each rep which customer to contact, why, and what opportunity to discuss—aligning daily sales actions with strategic growth, retention, and inventory priorities. Lessons From a Sales … [Read more...] about Changing Sales Team Behavior with Targeted Guidance
Joint Calls, Why Distributors Suffer from a Split Personality?
TL;DR: Joint calls create opportunity only when distributors balance supplier access with firm account ownership. Keep Factory Fred informed, use his application knowledge, set commercial boundaries before problems surface, maintain multiple customer relationships, and make the distributor indispensable through expertise, inventory, problem-solving, and relentless … [Read more...] about Joint Calls, Why Distributors Suffer from a Split Personality?
Why Industrial Parts Are So Hard to Identify and Match
Manufacturers maintain proprietary part-numbering systems, while distributors map products to their own SKUs, creating inconsistencies across ERP and product-data systems. A part fails. The line is down, and every minute costs money. The replacement might be on a shelf ten miles away. Before anyone can pull it, someone has to answer one question: what is this … [Read more...] about Why Industrial Parts Are So Hard to Identify and Match
Your Best People Are Retiring and Nobody Wrote Any of It Down
While inventory may site on your balance sheet as your most important financial investment, every distributor owner and manager knows that their people are their biggest asset and can also be their biggest liability. They are an asset as they are the #1 differentiator within your business. Without them, a distributor is a vending machine. People interact with customers, with … [Read more...] about Your Best People Are Retiring and Nobody Wrote Any of It Down
Myths of Selling to a Surplus House
Myths of selling to a surplus house All of them keep the profitable check on someone else's desk instead of yours. Every distributor and industrial plant is sitting on a bloated storeroom or warehouse full of parts, most have already talked themselves out of selling it. Usually for years. The reasons sound reasonable, in your head anyways. That's exactly what … [Read more...] about Myths of Selling to a Surplus House
Customer Stratification Delivers Focus, Profits
Industrial supply distributors sit in the middle of a demanding value chain: manufacturers rely on them to place products close to the market, while customers rely on them for availability, technical support, delivery, credit, and problem solving. That middle position creates opportunity, but it also exposes distributors to margin pressure, inventory risk, and rising service … [Read more...] about Customer Stratification Delivers Focus, Profits
Joint Calls, Am I Suffering from a Split Personality?
I've been thinking about joint calls lately. You know the drill… taking supply-partners out to visit your customers. As I sat down to write about the subject, I found myself conflicted. To the point of wondering if I were developing distributor directed personality disorders. As I sorted through dozens of conflicting thoughts, I even found myself putting a face on the whole … [Read more...] about Joint Calls, Am I Suffering from a Split Personality?
Q3 Pulse of Industrial Supply Survey Open
The industrial market continues to be one the economic highlights and that, coupled with data centers, is helping to drive the industrial distribution segment. While many may wonder how data center construction benefits the industrial distribution industry, there are three elements: Fastenal reported a strong August. They were up 16.6% (15.5% in the US) with their OEM … [Read more...] about Q3 Pulse of Industrial Supply Survey Open
