With business in 2025 looking like “slow growth” looking forward, leading industrial distributors are focused on improving the operational / warehouse aspects of their business. While national chains, over the years, quickly moved to a CDC or RDC model, larger independents have also adopted this approach. This achieves a dual mandate of “improved” inventory management and … [Read more...] about Increasing Warehouse Output While Managing Costs
Insights
Creating lemonade at Institutional Accounts
What do market segments such as government, universities / higher education, life sciences, government/ municipalities, sports teams, hospitals, and agriculture have in common? While most are considered "institutions", they all are significant users of eProcurement / punchouts as part of their electrical buying process. They use companies such as Ariba, Coupa, Jaggaer, … [Read more...] about Creating lemonade at Institutional Accounts
O+P=R and a Lower Cost of Sales … The Manufacturer Rep Agent Management Formula
In the Industrial Channel, capturing business is a fight for market share. And to win that fight you need the most effective sales organization. One that can get into "the right person at the customer" (be they and end-user, contractor or distributor) to prove your difference. At the same time companies need to do this cost-effectively. There is a balance that needs to be … [Read more...] about O+P=R and a Lower Cost of Sales … The Manufacturer Rep Agent Management Formula
Where is the channel headed in 2025 and beyond? Thoughts from MDM SHIFT
I was fortunate to once again be able to attend and present at the NAW/MDM SHIFT conference, and it is interesting to see how the construction and industrial channel continues to evolve. Modern Distribution Management (MDM) has been hosting this annual event for Distribution Leaders called SHIFT (originally MDM Sales GPS) for the last decade. Some of the best and … [Read more...] about Where is the channel headed in 2025 and beyond? Thoughts from MDM SHIFT
Market Intelligence to Inform Leadership
Okay, I'm not saying that company leadership is not "intelligent", but it does help leadership if it has access to intelligence as in market insights. While sales can provide some market, and customer-specific, insights, information needs to be aggregated, analyzed and sought from multiple sources in order to identity and evaluate the market to identify opportunities, set (or … [Read more...] about Market Intelligence to Inform Leadership
Inventory Planning Approaches for Industrial in 2025
As we enter the final 2 months of 2024, I am having many conversations with Industrial distributors and manufacturers about their into stock inventory positions. Industrial Channel growth rates have slowed from double digits % from April 2021 to April 2023 days and now are slightly down to at best flat (2023 vs 2024). Inflation and price increases have continued to climb … [Read more...] about Inventory Planning Approaches for Industrial in 2025
Winning the HVACR Product Data Revolution
In June HVACRTrends hosted a webinar introducing the Trimble / Distributor Data Solutions (DDS) collaboration. The two companies shared what they are seeing in the construction trades and how data is being used, and will be used, to help companies operate more efficiently, more effectively, and as a tool to capture market share. Takeaways Two key takeaways from the session … [Read more...] about Winning the HVACR Product Data Revolution
SPAs, or Ship & Debit, can be Sales and Profit Drivers or Drags
SPAs, or "ship and debit" are special pricing agreements can be an important sales (or marketing, since price, theoretically, is a component of the marketing mix) tool. Over the past few years we've seen SPAs generate attention from technology companies (Interlyx, Enable, CMR, Vistex, TrulinX, and many of the ERP companies). All see the mantra of "digital transformation" as … [Read more...] about SPAs, or Ship & Debit, can be Sales and Profit Drivers or Drags
Structured Data, a Prerequisite for AI Industrial Manufacturers
In the realm of Industrial manufacturing, the potential of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be a competitive advantage. One of the critical components underpinning the effectiveness of AI is structured data. Structured data refers to organized information that is formatted for easy analysis and interpretation by machines. In the context of HVACR manufacturers, … [Read more...] about Structured Data, a Prerequisite for AI Industrial Manufacturers
Tips for Industrial Distributors to Improve Gross Margin
Corporate success, for many, is typically defined as sales success as sales revenue is an easily identifiable, and discussed / shared, metric. But in a quest to grow sales, and due to competitive pressures, gross margins for many distributors have eroded making gross profit dollars scarcer for investment back into the business. And with operating costs increasing and … [Read more...] about Tips for Industrial Distributors to Improve Gross Margin
