NEMRA 2023 Delivers … A Winner

The recent NEMRA 2023 conference represented the largest gathering of electrical manufacturers and their sales organization since the pandemic with 1916 people.

The event, held at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas, was acclaimed by almost all (someone always has a complaint about something … perhaps Vegas and airlines!) as the conference format was relatively compact with 120 modular suites and service provider booths in close proximity, enabling everyone to move between meetings pretty seamlessly.

While much was heard, as you can imagine, with 1900 people, there are people you never see … and some in modular booths (both manufacturers and some representatives who took booths) didn’t escape the confines of their booth till after hours.

NEMRA was also a Canadian event as 44 agents from Canada, representing 27 agencies participated in the conference. This is the largest contingent of CEMRA reps that has attended a NEMRA conference.

NEMRA launched the conference with a welcome presentation followed by a reception. During the brief

NEMRA’s 2023 Successes

presentation, Jim Johnson and Corey Collins (chair and principal of Agents West) shared:

• 83% of agency members had at least 1 person at the conference and 79% of manufacturer members had at least one person representing their company.
• 27 new member companies were in attendance, and this was split between representatives and manufacturers.
• NEMRA is leading a multi-association initiative (with NECA, NEMA and NAED) to facilitate channel dialogue and identify ways that all four elements of the channel (from manufacturer down to contractor) can improve productivity and information. A key objective is how to improve empathy for each element of the channel and ensure that distribution remains the best pathway for product information and products
• NEMRA held its first Emerging Leaders training session. It was a sold-out event. 80 emerging leaders participated. Tremendous success as the session was oversubscribed (originally planned for 40 and there is now a waiting list!)
• The Rep of the Future study was mentioned as a “template” for agencies to follow to support them, and their manufacturers, for the long-term.
• 2023 goals
  • Continue to improve, and promote, membership value.
  • Promote advocacy and member engagement
  • Tap into member expertise to share best practices
• Corey commented that “agents are an extension of their manufacturers” and “NEMRA is going in the right direction with the right leadership.” (As an aside, a number of reps and manufacturers agreed with this and felt Jim Johnson has a vision for the association and a passion for his members, understands their business, and advocates for them.)

The NEMMY’S

There were a number of service and achievement awards:

• Rick Angel, was recognized for his 45 years of service, leadership, integrity and advocacy to, and in, the industry, 38 of which have been with Lutron with the Lifetime Achievement Award and a NEMRA scholarship was established in his name.
• The Rep Choice award nominees were Keystone, Encore Wire and Atkore … and the winner was Encore
• The Manufacturer Choice award nominees were DDK Sales, Lyle Williams and Synergy Electrical Sales … and the winner was Synergy
• The Partnership of the Year award went to KMS and Eaton Wiring Devices.

The keynote speaker with Kurt Warner of NFL fame. The presentation approach, a “fireside” / casual chat, was very effective and personal. Some key messaging takeaways were:

• In college he was told he wasn’t playing (quarterback) because he wasn’t good in practice (leading the team). The message … “what you do you do daily that separates / defines you?” as this becomes the essence of leadership.
• When playing in the NFL, players, and teams are good, the mantra for winning teams becomes “We’re good, let’s be great.”

Around the NEMRA Floor

Feedback heard during the conference:

• 

  NEMRA 23 Modular Suite Creativity

  Cautious optimism is the phrase that comes to mind regarding the market outlook for 2023. Essentially low to mid-single digit growth is expected. Some where much higher, however, this was due to new product launches and/or the companies were relatively small and sought to take share. This is for “organic” growth and does not account for filling backorders and/or commodity price increases.

  • Marketplace price increases are expected to be low single digits … 1-2% being realized.
  • In some cases, there are expectations that either their will be price decreases or a “willingness to negotiate” for specific opportunities or to take share. Some manufacturers have expanded their capacity and need to fill it.
• Many reps commented that they have now read NEMRA’s Rep of the Future report and are adopting the 5 Pillars as a roadmap for their business. Some manufacturers utilized this as a discussion point for their meeting, requested that their reps use it as a template for a presentation and some are integrating the principals as part of an evaluative tool. If you are a NEMRA independent manufacturer representative or work for a NEMRA manufacturer, you can receive a free copy of the report by contacting NEMRA or emailing Channel Marketing Group, who conducted the research and authored the report.
• Supply chain isn’t much of an issue except for distribution equipment and transformers. These, however, can have a ripple effect on the timing for many other products needed for a project.
• More reps shared that they have added marketing staff to their company, indicating that they are seeing the value of this resource in helping them facilitate demand generation.
• NEMRA commented about its NEMRA University initiative and the 1000s of sessions that have been taken online and the number of manufacturers that have authorized the NEMRA platform for their training through Blue Volt. This is the value of multiple industry networks (AD, IMARK, other distributors), being on the same platform and manufacturers being able to develop their training for one platform.
• A number of leading agencies had their own modules and had manufacturers come to their booths. While a couple expressed a slight “challenge” in arranging meetings at their modular suites, many others had no issue. Many manufacturers / representative modular suites were suites … multiple units … 20×20, 20x 40 and I saw some couches, many had food, Nicor Lighting brought in much product and turned their area into a tradeshow / display booth. A number used signage very effectively inside and outside their suite.

Industry Feedback

• News in the tools aisle. Klein reportedly is no longer exclusive at Home Depot and their tools can now be found at Lowes (as there were LinkedIn postings of Klein attending a Lowes conference.) The “partnership” was announced on February 9^th via a Lowes press release. Reportedly, Home Depot will be introducing a line of hand tools that is coming from Milwaukee Tools and is being built at a new factory in West Bend, WI. What this means for other hand tool manufacturers at Lowes is unknown but can be presumed.
• Many manufacturers commented that their growth will come from focusing on selecting verticals and, in some cases, sub-verticals … niches within verticals. In the words of one manufacturer, it is “follow the money”. Major trends, as expected, were EV and data centers. Some comments about solar, albeit this can be regional. Some wondered about Buy American / Made in America for government-funded initiatives. Some have significant efforts to arm their sales organizations with IIJA and IRA information (and there is also CARES money still available.)
• Rep consolidation continues with two deals mentioned. One is in the Northeast with the commonality of Southwire agencies. The other was in the Midwest and involved a lighting agency.
• Between RepFabric and Trade Tech Solutions, over 100 rep agencies are using one of the two CRM systems. The migration to the systems makes it more feasible for manufacturers to integrate / support these platforms. The emergence of Metal creates a unique opportunity to integrate myriad rep CRM systems with various manufacturer CRM / other platforms.
• A number of agencies commented that they are either seeking additional lines, typically specific product categories, but being selective and/or expanding into new territories. Inevitably, the reason they are moving into new territories is that they are being asked to by one, or more, of their manufacturers. This is a testimony to the agency being a strong agency and having a longer-term plan / stability. The reason factories are asking is that some territories do not have agencies that do not have line conflicts or, in the factory’s opinion, the right resources to support their needs.
• Some lighting manufacturers commented that they are seeing good growth from MRO distributors (Grainger, HD Facility Maintenance) in pursuing lighting conversions. Others commented about companies like Lightserve and Facility Solutions Groups and/or ESCOs. Bottom line, the lighting distribution channel is fragmented.
• Some comments about consolidation at all levels of the channel, especially the distribution channel. Many manufacturers, and reps, commented that distribution consolidation could be good for reps as it makes them more important to manufacturers in creating end-user brand preference and demand. They see distributors being more brand agnostic – somewhat due to scars from COVID (supply chain issues), some due to marketplace inhibitors (larger distributors aligning with fewer and larger manufacturers) and increased staffing issues (less longevity and electrical / product knowledge, more employee “churn” and/or “job vs career” mentality.)
• Some agencies, while still selling to many, are altering their proactive focus. Heard from some, and its geographic, that are aligning more with chains … and selected chains. Others are being more analytical and reducing their sales efforts / support to “transactional” distributors.
• In some geographic areas, Sonepar is discussing merging of brands where they have multiple so that they can have one platform to promote in a geographic area.

A very “full” 3 ½ day conference with meetings that ran from 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM followed by evening receptions / events / award ceremonies … and lots of networking between meetings. Many manufacturers comment that this is their best event of the year as it enables them to meet with their agents and also network with others.

From a Channel Marketing Group perspective, had many a “hallway” meeting with agencies and some manufacturers. Topics were Rep of the Future, market outlook, assisting with strategy / management guidance, line planning and introduced two new services … RepCare (customer satisfaction) and RepShare (market share analysis for an agency and by product category.)

Next year … Dallas here NEMRA comes!

If you attended, what were your takeaways?