While national chains reported strong growth in Q1, and independents performed comparably based upon our 2026 Q1 Pulse of Industrial Supply report, aided by increased pricing tied to tariffs, commodity price increases that supported manufacture price increases, and industrial end-user performance, the challenge for distributors is that their operating costs continue to rise … [Read more...] about Who Has Margin Responsibility in Your Company?
Margin Optimization
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
