A comedic thought for today. Recently we wrote an article for Electrical Wholesaling categorizing distributors as smart growth companies, cash flow companies or reactor companies (and yes, some may be toxic!). The article will appear in the June issue. (if […]
No, we’re not talking bankruptcy (although GM did file today), but dealer management.Over the past month, Chrysler and GM have essentially reduced their dealer networks by about 1900 dealerships, (about 800 out of 3200 for Chrysler and 1100 out of […]
The Internet provides the ability for business interactions to become more transparent. Many distributors have used systems that integrate them with GCs and contractors to ensure projects are kept on schedule; distributors and manufacturers have been streamlining their processes through […]
The recent NAED Electrical Leadership Summit (aka NAED Annual or National) was one of the quietest conferences we’ve been to in a while. While attendance was 50-60% below recent annual meetings, and was more like a regional meeting (the number […]
The NAED National Leadership Summit (formerly the NAED Annual) begins on Saturday and ends Tuesday evening. From conversations with manufacturers and distributors, there are a number of thorny issues that promise to add spice to many meetings (after everyone comments […]
LED’s here, LEDs there, LEDs were everywhere.At least that is what people who attended LightFair have been telling us. Lots of new products, lots of new companies and lots of questions.The questions about LEDs revolve around quality, consistency, understanding the […]
Over the past month we’ve talked to a number of distributors and manufacturers who are sensing a change. While business for many has been “challenging”, for some the steep decline has been mitigated. A number of these companies are transitioning […]
A recent Washington Post article focused on the declining inventory levels throughout the economy. And while this can be good for each company as everyone wants to reduce inventories to ensure that they carry what they are selling, it can […]
Earlier this year we surveyed manufacturers about their 2009 sales and profit drivers. We had over 130 responses from more than 75 companies. Manufacturers said: Their highest priority is new product introductions, albeit other questions in the survey inducate that […]
Recently we’ve reached out to a number of people around the industry and thought we’d share some of what we are hearing: From a regional at a national chain: “To say that we have had our share of problems is […]
