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?
Growth Strategies
Developing Your Team Through Channel Dynamic Sharing
Last week we shared thoughts on 10 channel dynamics that are impacting, and will have a greater influence in 2019. To reiterate, these dynamics are: Whose brand is valuable?Size mattersManufacturers support channels, but you?Products or Customers? What do you sell / what is your focus?Reaching / driving influencersDigital divide from the top, through the channelDefining … [Read more...] about Developing Your Team Through Channel Dynamic Sharing
10 Channel Dynamics as Turning the Page into 2019
As we turn the page into 2019, welcome to new opportunities, new challenges, new initiatives and perhaps some new ways of doing business / serving your customers to ensure a record 2019 … whatever your goals may be. While we thought about making predictions, we decided to leave those to others and share some channel dynamics that we’ve been observing that we feel are … [Read more...] about 10 Channel Dynamics as Turning the Page into 2019
Using M&A to Change Paradigms
Every year there is much talk about M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Some companies forecast it into their budget. For some it is part of their culture to always be seeking opportunities. Some it is a new growth venture. But each year there is talk about “who will by who” and “continued consolidation.” We’ve seen it with distributors, historically many manufacturers have … [Read more...] about Using M&A to Change Paradigms
The Intelligent Building – A reality or just an IoT dream?
The last couple of years have seen a plethora of lighting innovations in a quest to \"control\" the ceiling and eventually a building, a network of buildings and then cities. This is the vision of smart cities ... interconnected devices that enable \"control\" of various electrical and mechanical systems. It starts with lighting controls and can then migrate to building … [Read more...] about The Intelligent Building – A reality or just an IoT dream?
Distributors. Has Amazon Business Been Good for You?
Conventional wisdom is that Amazon Business is not good for MRO and construction distributors.They are a technological behemoth that knows nothing about “our space” and are only successful because they can: throw money at the issue / opportunity have the most advanced technology and know-how to mine data have access to consumers who work in companies (and hence are … [Read more...] about Distributors. Has Amazon Business Been Good for You?
Protecting Price and the Channel in an Online Marketplace World (Amazon)
Amazon Business is talked about regularly within distribution industries in general and especially in the MRO space. Barely a meeting goes by with a manufacturer where the topic of \"what should we do regarding Amazon Business\" is not asked as is the question of \"what are distributors doing online (and to combat Amazon)?\" And then the discussion evolves to internal … [Read more...] about Protecting Price and the Channel in an Online Marketplace World (Amazon)
Over a Billion Dollars in Rebate and Marketing Funding to Distributors
Every year hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested / spent by manufacturers to solicit preference from distributors. In fact, about 10 years ago we estimated over $500M was spent in rebate funding. (Today we estimate over $1 billion!) All in an effort to retain business and, as manufacturers hope, to gain preference and generate growth. This funding is in addition to … [Read more...] about Over a Billion Dollars in Rebate and Marketing Funding to Distributors
Are Your Sales and Marketing Teams Inhibiting Growth?
We\'re at the mid-year and we\'re hearing a wide array of distributor and manufacturer performance. Industry forecasters state the market should be around 6% which begs the question, are you above the industry forecast and growing or are you letting \"rising seas lift all?\" In essence, are you generating growth, content with market performance or lagging the market? And if you … [Read more...] about Are Your Sales and Marketing Teams Inhibiting Growth?
Revenue Generation, Content Key Takeaways from B2B Online Conference
eCommerce continues to be a heavily discussed issue within the electrical industry with distributors, in aggregate, investing millions of dollars and manufacturers redesigning sites, investing to build, manage and enhance product content and considering the alternative channels that eCommerce is creating be it Amazon Business, Grainger and Zoro, HomeDepot.com, Ferguson.com, … [Read more...] about Revenue Generation, Content Key Takeaways from B2B Online Conference
