As mentioned last week, one of the topics of various sessions, and with distributors, was eCommerce and eSales. The companies that are viewed as more progressive, perhaps more profitable and who are positioning for future growth are driving their business this way. Some of discussion at the NAED National may be due to Amazon stating that Amazon Business crossed the $1 billion … [Read more...] about Driving Your eSales Rate
Market Analysis
What companies are looking for in new hires
Throughout Q1 we\'ve heard of a number of companies, manufacturers and distributors, who have undergone some \"cost reductions\" (the euphemism for layoffs). This has created opportunities for others in a hiring mode to be more \"selective\" in their hiring. Some are hiring opportunistically, others have openings. So we decided to ask John Salvadore, GRN Coastal Recruiters, … [Read more...] about What companies are looking for in new hires
Why Product Launches Fail
We\'re finally through the planning season (yes, it is April and distributors now have less than 9 months to achieve supplier objectives!) and some of manufacturers discussed their new product launch plans (and maybe a distributor shared their approach to new product introductions.) During the planning process some manufacturers communicate to their distributors about their … [Read more...] about Why Product Launches Fail
Grainger’s Q1 2016 Highlights Industrial Challenges
Grainger released its Q1 results today. Historically they represent a proxy for the industrial and industrial MRO market so we decided to review for insights...(italics are commentary). The bottom line is that business is essentially flat in the US with challenges in the industrial / natural resources segments AND the company is experiencing pricing pressures, which … [Read more...] about Grainger’s Q1 2016 Highlights Industrial Challenges
Drive for Data
Over the past month or so Allen and I have had a number of calls for data. Some are from owners / senior management, some from marketing personnel and some from operational staff. The calls are from manufacturers and distributors. The commonality is that there appears to be a call for more quantitative information for companies to benchmark their business, understand their … [Read more...] about Drive for Data
Ace is the Place For …
You may remember the iconic jingle of \"Ace is the place with the helpful hardware folks\" but did you know that Ace is the place for LED lighting? According to an article in the April issue of Hardware & Building Supply Dealer, according to Brian Wiborg, VP retail development and supply, Ace intends to use LED lighting as a \"a crowbar in into the B2B market\". They plan … [Read more...] about Ace is the Place For …
Liening Up
Yes, we\'re talking about liens! They types that accounting / credit people like, not \"lean\" as in \"lean processes\" which we\'ll touch on in the near future when we discuss innovation. Why liens? Basically because a couple of weeks ago two pieces of information were received mentioning them. The first had information about a cloud-based lien rights management platform … [Read more...] about Liening Up
