I come from Ireland, a country better known for its golf, Gaelic, and Guinness than for its distributors. So when Matt Rojas, my dormmate at Stanford, started telling me about his father’s work in distribution, I was fascinated. It was an industry I had never thought about, yet the more I learned, the more it became clear: the U.S. economy quietly depends on … [Read more...] about Shedding Light on an Industrial Supply Distributor Problem (or Opportunity)
Purchasing
Stop the SPA Leak: Don’t Let Margin Slips Away – Free Webinar
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
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
The Top 5 tips to manage your inventory risk
This article originally was published in our HVACRtrends publication and edited for Industrial Supply Trends. Bonus wisdom - from the Hughes Brothers. During Covid and for some time after dealing with supply chain issues made is difficult to find that balance between low cost and available product. The business dynamics didn't change, but the risks have made managing your … [Read more...] about The Top 5 tips to manage your inventory risk
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
A changing MRO environment?
Recently I participated in a networking group that included a number of MRO buyers. The subject was trends in the MRO space. Granted many of the attendees were larger MRO buyers, but the feedback indicated a change in buyer purchasing behaviors. Over the years I've sat in a number of these meetings, albeit with different attendees. The buying and eCommerce trends centered … [Read more...] about A changing MRO environment?
