As the speed of business accelerates and companies try to do more with less, the key is improving productivity. One of the issues we’re hearing more and more about is the need for manufacturer reps / lighting agents to be […]
Many of us “old-timers” have previously gone through product shortages in this industry. However, I never recall so many products being involved at the same time. How companies deal with this may have longer term affects, however, than in the […]
Value. For distributors and manufacturer reps, it’s all that drives sales. It is what differentiates you, why people select you and is what generates profits. It’s driven by people, processes, service, and services. It has little, if anything, to do […]
There’s been “scuttle butt” conversation in the industry over the past few weeks regarding some manufacturers cutting rep commissions. Their premise is that they need to do this due to their price increases. While some of the conversations are what […]
After the recent NEMRA meeting and listening to the presentations from the marketing groups and the national chains, the question of “strategic relationships” came to mind. What is the most important factor in choosing relationships between a distributor, manufacturer and […]
COVID-19 has directly been impacting the electrical distribution industry for about two weeks and we’ve been aware of it, due to supply concerns coming from China for about six weeks. We’ve learned much such as the affect on the lighting […]
Buyer behavior is changing. Convenience is now a differentiator. Customers expect it. It’s the new definition of service. It started in the consumer world and is quickly transitioning to B2B buyer expectations, and it will become distributor reality (and is […]
nVent shared its 2019 Q1 earnings report and, while positive, seemed to be underwhelming or perhaps a harbinger of the industry’s performance in Q1. nVent encompasses the businesses of Erico, Hoffman and there is a Thermal Management business. From their […]
IDEA, the Industry Data Exchange Association, which was co-founded by NAED and NEMA in the late 1990’s, undertook one of the larger challenges in the industry and has been navigating change for the past 20 years. The challenge is bringing […]
Feedback from this week’s NAED South Central conference was positive with many reporting productive meetings between their suppliers / customers, which is the key, and in many instances, sole reason for attending the conference. Surprisingly, there was also decent chatter […]
