On Monday we presented at NEMA’s Small Manufacturer Forum, which was NEMA’s inaugural endeavor in serving this audience’s interest in small manufacturer networking. The event, according to all, was a resounding success.The quality of the speakers and the information communicated […]
With the stimulus package passed and signed into law, the question for electrical distributors and manufacturers is “how to get your piece of the pie?” Regardless of your political affiliation or beliefs regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of […]
As an industry we’ve been reticent to deploy technology to driving sales revenue. While many use technology to streamline operations, not much has been done to support revenue generation. We’re seeing some signs that things are changing: Invoice marketing: Billtrust […]
Last week we posted an entry entitled “Influencing Direction to Create Industry Opportunities” and referenced the endeavors that NEMA is undertaking to influence the economic stimulus package and that NAW is doing to ensure the competitiveness of distributors.Bill Weisberg, CEO […]
It all revolves around planning.For years many distributor marketing initiatives were conceived “last minute” with the knowledge that they had access to manufacturer co-op funds. Many felt that these funds were an entitlement. Some enriched local premium companies with last […]
To make an understatement, we’re in challenging and yet exciting times. While most everyone is faced with economic challenges, the historical opportunities that may be created by the economy (stimulus package) as well as a new administration, represents exciting opportunities […]
While we didn’t attend the NAED Western Regional which just concluded in Palm Springs, we’ve spoken to a number of distributors and manufacturers to get their take on the proceedings.Based upon the feedback we received: The economy was the story. […]
And customers are asking for it, as this webinar from Purchasing magazine shows. Much is made in the industry about product attributes for data content and distributors discuss the need for content-rich data to power their e-stores as well as […]
The current economic environment is creating challenges for many distributors. The burst in commodity prices has significantly impacted distributor gross margins as they have rushed to move higher cost inventory. The financial effects of selling something for less than you […]
The year started off with a division of a national chain changing marketing groups. IMARK announced that USESI, a member of Equity/EDN, had joined the group. In case you are not familiar with USESI, they are the sister company to […]
