NEMRA POS / POT Initiative Gains Endorsements

Getting paid properly is important to everyone. After all, if you’re not paid a “fair” wage (or at least what you’ve been promised), then why would you expend energy on an initiative?

That’s part of the issue with NEMRA’s POS / POT Minimum Reporting Standards initiative.  Essentially reps need to be assured that they are being compensated for the sales that are generated within their territory. This starts with distributors, especially those with RDCs / CDC’s sharing applicable information with manufacturers and then manufacturers doing the appropriate calculations to assign credit and compensate their reps (and not having the capabilities isn’t an excuse.)

Conceptually there is agreement by many. In practice, however, there are discrepancies and many reps are concerned about the lack of transparency in gathering the information and the information being shared.  And for reps the issue isn’t whom distributors sold the product to but “where” (as in zip code) they product was sold.

Last month Graybar endorsed the concept and the NEMRA standards.

At the recent NAED Annual NEMRA further announced that it was up to 34 endorsing manufacturers and that Budde Marketing, a leading POS service provider who manages POS reporting for over a dozen electrical manufacturers endorsed the standards.

The manufacturers now include:

ABB / Thomas & Betts, Arlington Industries, American Polywater, Appleton Group, CRC, Eaton B-Line, Eaton Bussmann, Eaton Crouse Hinds, Eaton (Gear), Eaton Lighting Solutions, Eclipse Tools, Electri-Flex, General Cable, Halex, IDEAL Industries, ILSCO, Intermatic, King Electric, Legrand – Pass & Seymour, Legrand – Wattstopper, Legrand – Wiremold, Leviton, Light Efficient Design (LED), Littelfuse, Mersen, Milbank, Minerallac, Morris Products, Northern Cables, Orbit Industries, RAB Lighting, Sola HD, Southwire, TPI.

And since the announcement

• Panduit and Eaton Residential and Wiring Device Division have endorsed the standard
• IAC Companies, a Memphis based independent distributor became the first independent distributor to endorse the standard

NEMRA, and CMG which works with NEMRA on this initiative as a POS / POT facilitator, met with other manufacturers and distributors during the conference and briefly discussed the initiative at the NAED Manufacturer Advisory Council meeting Town Hall session. To learn more, contact either Ken Hooper or David Gordon.

After all, wouldn’t you want to get paid for your efforts? Wouldn’t you want your salespeople / regional managers to earn the appropriate sales credit? And if you are a distributor isn’t it important to “do what is right” as well as ensure that your manufacturers’ reps are appropriately compensated for supporting your sales efforts (or are you willing to take the risk that they may redirect some discretionary business?”

As was said in All the President’s Men, follow the money”.