The current economic issues continue to cause a high level of supply chain disruptions that although showing some signs of improvement don’t appear to be going away soon. Plus Bonus wisdom - from the Hughes Brothers. The past couple of years dealing with supply chain issues has made finding that balance between low cost and available product difficult. Your business … [Read more...] about Product Availability Issues are easing but still turbulent – The Top 5 tips to manage your supply chain risk
Market Analysis
The Master Group Acquired RSC; PE Strikes
Private equity firms, which always seem to have access to funds, are looking to acquire distributors, believing this is a growth segment for them In the electrical industry, within the past six months two independent distributors have been acquired by private equity firms with the previous owners remaining involved in the business ... professionally and financially. The … [Read more...] about The Master Group Acquired RSC; PE Strikes
Bringing Next Gen Data to the HVAC Industry
It’s been a number of years since Forrester Research and Gartner foreshadowed the demise of HVACR distributors and forecasted that the business would 1) go online and 2) be taken over by Amazon and national chains. The part they missed was talking to the customer. But, eCommerce is growing, especially when defined as electronic commerce and/or commerce influenced by … [Read more...] about Bringing Next Gen Data to the HVAC Industry
AD Enters Leadership Training Arena; Association Competition?
AD launched an interesting, and perhaps valuable, initiative that, on the face of it, would appear to target a core element of an association’s value proposition … training. And, it is interesting given that, presumably, a significant percentage of leading distributors within the marketing / buying group are members of various associations. However, AD, like many … [Read more...] about AD Enters Leadership Training Arena; Association Competition?
SPAs, or Ship & Debit, can be Sales and Profit Drivers or Drags
SPAs, or "ship and debit" are special pricing agreements can be an important sales (or marketing, since price, theoretically, is a component of the marketing mix) tool. Over the past year we've seen SPAs generate attention from technology companies (Interlyx, Enable, CMR, Vistex, TrulinX, Celerity and some of the ERP companies) in the past year. All see the mantra of … [Read more...] about SPAs, or Ship & Debit, can be Sales and Profit Drivers or Drags
The IRA … Using OPM to Drive HVAC Sales
OPM. Other People’s Money. Or, perhaps more accurately, your money. Yes, we’re talking about government funding. Your tax dollars and how to recapture some of your tax dollars to help grow your business. Last year the government passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Core to this government program is rebates to support “energy security and climate change.” Much of it … [Read more...] about The IRA … Using OPM to Drive HVAC Sales
Sights & Observations from AHR 2023
Last week John Gunderson and I attended AHR in Atlanta. He shared his observations in a prior post and, we decided to not compare notes so as to share two perspectives. Observations It’s a large show. Lots of walking. Lots of talking. Lots of products. It’s drinking the industry from a firehouse and, for a distributor or contractor walking the show, they’d be overwhelmed … [Read more...] about Sights & Observations from AHR 2023
