Let’s have a little fun for a change or, in the words of the comedienne Joan Rivers, “can we chat”? For the past few months there has been lots of media coverage, and conversation, about ChatGPT. Microsoft, which reportedly invested over $13 billion into the company for “only” 49% ownership is a major driver of this new AI (artificial intelligence) technology and is taking a … [Read more...] about ChatGPT for HVACR Distributors
Technology & Digital
McNeill to Lead Conexiom as CEO
Conexiom is helping HVACR distributors like Woodhill Supply and Johnstone Supply, as well as numerous electrical distributors, scale their businesses by automating the ordering process, enabling repetitive tasks (data entry) to become digitized enabling staff to manage more and/or better serve internal and external customers. For many this is one of their steps on their … [Read more...] about McNeill to Lead Conexiom as CEO
Why do strong B2B HVACR distribution websites fail? It’s often a much simpler answer than you might expect
Has your distributor digital transformation journey seemed like an endless race with hurdle after hurdle? I’ve been in the B2B digital race many times as a distributor in my career, and have crashed into more than a few hurdles. It can be a hard journey to make your ERP and tech stack work, build the right functionality, get the product attributes and pricing to work, but … [Read more...] about Why do strong B2B HVACR distribution websites fail? It’s often a much simpler answer than you might expect
Recession? 10 Tips to Help HVACR Distributors Avoid One
You may remember the phrase “it was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Well, the past two years have had both. And, for that matter, this year for many may encompass both with strong sales in the first half of the year and the rate of growth slowing significantly the second half … especially if you factor out price increases. It is leading to the question, "Is a … [Read more...] about Recession? 10 Tips to Help HVACR Distributors Avoid One
10 Ways to Thrive In 2023’s Recession
The markets up, the markets down. You listen to economists and you hear about recession and will the Fed raise rates or hold. Large technology firms are laying people off by the thousands but HVAC distributors and manufacturers cannot find people. Product supply chains have gotten better but then you hear of the sporadic issues. So, while the media and economic tea leaves … [Read more...] about 10 Ways to Thrive In 2023’s Recession
6 reasons you may not want to have a product/commerce enabled website
Instinctively everyone knows why companies have websites – to generate sales by sharing information. Given this, it then begs the question of why more electrical distributors do not have websites that have product content on them and why are not commerce-enabled. It’s two different questions. Consider, that, according to a recent CMG survey, 65% of contractors have … [Read more...] about 6 reasons you may not want to have a product/commerce enabled website
The Rep Conundrum: End-user Calls. Compensation?
Last week we were on a call with a manufacturer and the question arose of “are supply reps calling more on distributors or are they starting to call on end-users, contractors and engineers?” The question surprised us given our perception of the quality of the manufacturer but, it could also be that person’s perspective of reps or the reps in their territory. Part of our … [Read more...] about The Rep Conundrum: End-user Calls. Compensation?
