Scott Sinning from MarginMax Partners has been sharing ideas to help industrial supply distributors improve their profitability this year with his articles on plugging leaks, using SPAs, and more. Now he's offering a webinar on SPAs next week. The Cost of a Broken SPA If you are involved in sales management, purchasing, finance, SPA administration or have anything to … [Read more...] about Stop the SPA Leak: Don’t Let Margin Slips Away – Free Webinar
Insights
Full Warehouse, Empty Wallet – The Surplus Inventory Trap
What can an inventory holder do with excess inventory, why does it happen? In MRO & Industrial, inventory is a double-edged sword; it’s the lifeblood and the weight. With gross margins around 30%, it is pretty attractive, but all distributors have experienced a "just-in-case" order for a critical part turning into five years of dust-collecting deadstock. Looking into … [Read more...] about Full Warehouse, Empty Wallet – The Surplus Inventory Trap
Thriving Amid Consolidation: Talent Opportunities for Independent Distributors
Independent distributors know that business is won based upon their people. It's relationship and knowledge that makes the difference, In a word, it's "caring." Achieving that level of customer intimacy requires staff that genuinely care for customers, each other, and their company. This is why employee retention is higher at independently owned industrial supply … [Read more...] about Thriving Amid Consolidation: Talent Opportunities for Independent Distributors
NetPlus Members Forecast a Successful 2026
NetPlus Alliance, the industrial and contractor supply distributor marketing group that represents over 400 distributors who purchased over $600M through the group, recently shared their members’ 2026 outlook, in conjunction with a recap of their Q4. And the membership, by and large, is looking for growth to continue in 2026. NetPlus Delivers Growth in 2025, Forecasts … [Read more...] about NetPlus Members Forecast a Successful 2026
Unlock Margin and Cash Flow Through SPA Enterprise Governance
SPAs, whether you define them as special pricing agreements or ship and debit initiatives, are a way to simultaneously capture business and ensure, perhaps improve, gross margin ... if you manage them right. But like most things, the devil is in the details and, with SPAs, because the administrative process touches so many people within a distributor, many distributors do … [Read more...] about Unlock Margin and Cash Flow Through SPA Enterprise Governance
AI for HR
How AI Can Transform HR for Industrial Distributors The Bottom Line: People are a distributor’s largest asset — and AI can now automate the HR burdens that slow leaders down. HR expert Tracie Sponenberg identifies five accessible, affordable AI tools distributors can pilot today to streamline onboarding, scheduling, performance reviews, employee experience, and HR … [Read more...] about AI for HR
Distribution Sales Managers: What Top-Performing Sales Teams — And How Leaders Create It
If you lead a sales team for an industrial supply distributor, you already know the pressure. Margins are tight. Competition is aggressive. The number of SKUs continues to grow. We win customers, or current customers leave, for a lower price or faster order turnaround. Customers expect speed, technical accuracy, and competitive pricing. And every year, sales expectations … [Read more...] about Distribution Sales Managers: What Top-Performing Sales Teams — And How Leaders Create It
The Friction Gap: Why the Industrial Buyer Journey Has Stalled
Sales cycles are getting longer. Win rates against 'no decision' are climbing. The instinct is to blame the buyer for going dark, but the real issue is that the industrial buyer journey has evolved past the channel's ability to support it. Craig Martin is President of C3 Team, a strategy and marketing agency that works with industrial manufacturers on growth, brand, and … [Read more...] about The Friction Gap: Why the Industrial Buyer Journey Has Stalled
Eaton Q4 2025 Earnings: What Distributors Should Know
What Eaton Q4 2025 Earnings Signal for Industrial Distributors Eaton Q4 2025 earnings delivered record numbers, but the real story for the industrial channel sits underneath the headline. Data center demand is reshaping where Eaton invests, how it allocates capacity, and which segments get priority. For distributors and reps carrying Eaton products, the … [Read more...] about Eaton Q4 2025 Earnings: What Distributors Should Know
Why Your Industry 4.0 ROI Remains Elusive
The Execution Edge:Building an Industry 4.0 Model That Actually Delivers Craig Martin, C3 Team President The promise of Industry 4.0 ROI has been dangled in front of manufacturers and distributors for over a decade as the "Great Equalizer" for manufacturing and distribution. The promise was clear: invest in IoT, AI, and Big Data, and you will unlock unprecedented levels … [Read more...] about Why Your Industry 4.0 ROI Remains Elusive
