The news that — Midwest distributors Republic Companies, an HVAC and electrical distributor and T.F. Ehrhart, a HVACR distributor caught our attention this week. On a personal note, I have seen the bright red Republic Trucks pass the electrical distributor competitor I worked for too many times to count. A shout out to whomever decided to outfit to Republic Trucks with a … [Read more...] about Merger between Republic Companies and T.F. Ehrhart continues the “Channel Drift” Trend
Market Analysis
Tariff talk – Tips on how to prepare for wherever the talks end up
We have been writing, crossing out, rewriting on the impact of tariff battles between the US, Canada, Mexico and China. We had a number of articles ready to publish then had to hit the stop button to react to another announced change. Late last week it was "Let's get ready to rumble" and now the cage match tariff talk has gone back into a 30-day negotiation talk period at … [Read more...] about Tariff talk – Tips on how to prepare for wherever the talks end up
Why do strong B2B HVACR distributor websites fail?
Your website journey is often the most difficult journey for a B2B Construction focused distributor. By Jason Capshaw and John Gunderson The digital journey for many HVACR distributors started like a race where you psyche yourself up for the 100 Yard Dash. What often starts as what you think is a sprint actually turns into a 110 meter hurdle race. For many distributors … [Read more...] about Why do strong B2B HVACR distributor websites fail?
Digital Commerce Tools Make You, and Demand Generation, Easy
For years I’ve talked to clients and communicated on HVACRTrends that eCommerce is not about buying online via a website. That it is about is doing commerce (business) electronically. It’s not a branch (some used the term eBranch and tried to sell the ROI that way), it’s eBusiness. Because “business” is about interacting with your customers how THEY want to interact with … [Read more...] about Digital Commerce Tools Make You, and Demand Generation, Easy
Distributor Spotlight: Johnstone Supply Orion Group – Part 2
In Part One of our Distributor Spotlight series, we started to share the Johnstone Supply Orion Group (JSOG) Story. The original intent was to edit the article, but the information was so interesting that we decided to share is unedited which meant it needed to be told in two parts. Distributor Spotlight: Johnstone Supply Orion Group - Part 1 - HVACR Trends In Part One - … [Read more...] about Distributor Spotlight: Johnstone Supply Orion Group – Part 2
Distributor Spotlight: Johnstone Supply Orion Group – Part 1
I have been writing a Distributor series for/with Modern Distribution Management this past year where we profile large public distributors (WATSO, Ferguson, WESCO, Fastenal, and MSC Industrial). We write about the available information they release publicly to the market. That has been a fun experience taking a deep dive into the public side, but the independent distribution … [Read more...] about Distributor Spotlight: Johnstone Supply Orion Group – Part 1
Unlocking Online Sales
Watsco and Ferguson's performance has shown HVAC distributors that HVAC contractors are using eCommerce. While they may not be "shopping" like B2C buyers, they are using distributor websites for product research, pricing, inventory research, and consummating transactions. The transactions can be technicians placing orders from the field, and typically on service calls, to … [Read more...] about Unlocking Online Sales
