What do market segments such as government, universities / higher education, life sciences, government / municipalities, sports teams, hospitals, 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 Institutions
Distribution Strategy
Salespeople in Lockdown Could Cost You Share
Recently I visited a manufacturer rep client and spent time with their salespeople. As typically goes, the conversation “wanders” into what they are observing in the marketplace (the benefit of F2F meetings!). The salespeople I was talking to have been visiting with distributors and contractors while observing applicable COVID protocols and, most importantly, being respectful … [Read more...] about Salespeople in Lockdown Could Cost You Share
POS is About Getting Paid for Effort
In an industry awash with data, the issue of POS (point of sale) information being shared to ensure independent manufacturer representatives are compensated for their efforts continues to be an issue. And with COVID significantly impacting industry revenues for many, distributors who do not properly report sales through regional / central distribution centers and manufacturers … [Read more...] about POS is About Getting Paid for Effort
Pricing in a Pandemic
Everyone is an expert in pricing. It’s either too high or too low based upon your role. Salespeople like it low. Management wants it high. The customer wants it “right” which, usually means “competitive” or “It’s reasonable for the value I am receiving.” And the term “value” is intriguing as it infers that You understand the value that you bringYou understand the value … [Read more...] about Pricing in a Pandemic
Ready for the 2nd Half Sprint?
Hope you had a wonderful July 4th weekend with your family? While July 4th celebrates independence it also is a moment for reflection and appreciation of the American spirit. A sense of resilience, perseverance, ingenuity. A “can do” / “will do” attitude. A willingness to move ahead, conquer and excellence regardless of “today’s predicament.” Somehow, “we” know it will be … [Read more...] about Ready for the 2nd Half Sprint?
Reallocate Conference Funds to Support Growth
This year many companies should be able to find some “extra” dollars around to reallocate. The question is whether they reallocate them to investments to drive business, funding for incremental COVID-19 related expenses that they would do “beyond” what was planned or seek to take it to the bottom line (and perhaps use to satisfy Wall Street). The “extra” relates to “benefits” … [Read more...] about Reallocate Conference Funds to Support Growth
Evaluating eCommerce Companies, Forrester-style
COVID has heightened the benefit or, and interest in, eCommerce for electrical distributors. Our second and third COVID-19 Electrical Market Sentiment Reports have shown that those with an eCommerce offering have seen online sales increases. Further, from conversations with distributors, their site activity increased. The benefit is that these companies had lower sales declines … [Read more...] about Evaluating eCommerce Companies, Forrester-style
Are You “Zoomed” Out?
Zoom is now the generic term for webinars. The Kleenex of webinars. Teams may rival based upon usage, but from a lexicon viewpoint it is now Zoom, perhaps because of the media and stock market mentions? Whether you use Zoom, Teams, WebEx, Go-To-Meeting, Google Hangout or the umpteen more of these services, the end result is either another webinar or a meeting. Facetime … [Read more...] about Are You “Zoomed” Out?
Selling is a Contact Sport
Over the past month, according to our current survey, which closes today, sales for many distributors have stabilized or improved. This which makes sense given construction is open in all states and states have opened their economies to varying degrees. At the same time, distributors have had staff in their branches to support their customers. That is the … [Read more...] about Selling is a Contact Sport
Make sure you don\’t waste a good pandemic
No, we’re not being flippant. The pandemic has been disruptive to all, destructive for many (especially those who contracted COVID as well as in business consequences for many) and tragic for those who lost loved ones. And, for all, it will continue to be, especially until there is a vaccine. But, adjusting to change is what Americans excel at. The phrase ““Never let a good … [Read more...] about Make sure you don\’t waste a good pandemic
Make sure you don’t waste a good pandemic
No, we’re not being flippant. The pandemic has been disruptive to all, destructive for many (especially those who contracted COVID as well as in business consequences for many) and tragic for those who lost loved ones. And, for all, it will continue to be, especially until there is a vaccine. But, adjusting to change is what Americans excel at. The phrase ““Never let a good … [Read more...] about Make sure you don’t waste a good pandemic
Warehouse and Purchasing Considerations as Distributors Comeback
As business begins to improve and distributors reopen counters and bring back some staff, questions arise regard purchasing, staffing, warehouse management and \"operations\" in general. While business for many is operating at a reduced level, the acceleration of business can create disruption ... especially after a significant slowdown over 45-60 days. Dick Friedman, an … [Read more...] about Warehouse and Purchasing Considerations as Distributors Comeback
The Changing Distribution Landscape – 2030 2040 2050
With the benefit of retrospect, we can presume that the number of electrical distribution start-ups will mimic those in the past ten years … in other words, very few and those that have had success, defined as significant growth, are even fewer. (Okay, let\'s run an crowd-sourced effort to list electrical distribution start-ups in the last 10 years ... post in the below comment … [Read more...] about The Changing Distribution Landscape – 2030 2040 2050
What Walmart Can Teach Distributors About eCommerce
A few years ago Walmart was “challenged” in eCommerce. The world’s largest retailer was being challenged by Amazon, although the two were in different segments of the market. Walmart dominated the “physical” market, Amazon the online market, however, the eCommerce market was growing at a much more rapid rate. Walmart made the determination that it wanted to compete … [Read more...] about What Walmart Can Teach Distributors About eCommerce
Resilience is Key to Maximizing Selling Price
While many think that there will be a number of distributors, and maybe some manufacturers, that close due to COVID-19, perhaps the bigger impact will be on distributors who survive now, hoping for brighter days, but who only survive, struggle and ultimately sell in the next three years. Resilience is the the key to maximizing your selling price. This was the point of a … [Read more...] about Resilience is Key to Maximizing Selling Price
