Distributors Archives

Are you ready for the IoT?

David Gordon Posted On October 10, 2016

Whether it is IoT or IIoT, the Internet of Things is all the rage. You can’t pick up a trade publication without seeing an article on either topic. And in reality they are essentially the same with the only difference […]

Channel Strategies / Customer Segments / Distributors / Growth Strategies / Industry News / Manufacturers / More Insights

Welcome to 2017 Planning Season

David Gordon Posted On September 6, 2016

Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer as well as the unofficial beginning of the 2017 planning season in the electrical industry. While we know a number of manufacturers and distributors who have started to embark on their planning […]

Channel Strategies / Distributors / Growth Strategies / Industry News / Manufacturers / Marketing / More Insights / Reps / Research Reports

Survey Finds Joint Business Planning Partners “Dissatisfied”

David Gordon Posted On August 23, 2016

Following the completion of 2016 planning cycle, we heard a lot of frustration with the current Joint Business Planning (JBP) process. In response to this issue, Channel Marketing Group, in conjunction with Verde Associates, fielded a JBP survey to a […]

Distributors / Growth Strategies / More Insights / Profitability

Do Vendor Published Rebate Programs Drive Decisions?

David Gordon Posted On August 4, 2016

Rebates are a fact of life and the first marketing group rebate negotiation, in 1968, was designed to capture incremental revenue (for a wire company) with the distributors collecting the funds for a social engagement. But the core issue was […]

Customer Segments / Distributors / eBusiness / Industrial Market / Industry News / More Insights / Profitability

WESCO, Rexel, Grainger Share Q2 Results

David Gordon Posted On August 2, 2016

Last week the electrical industry’s major, publicly held, distributors shared their Q2 performance. Reading their quarterly reports highlights that there continue to be industrial challenges, they are responding differently to the MRO and construction markets. So let’s look at WESCO […]

Channel Strategies / Distributors / Growth Strategies / Lighting / Lighting2 / Manufacturers / More Insights / Reps

Changing Lighting Relationships

David Gordon Posted On August 1, 2016

Monday was “movement day” for lighting relationships. And the changing relationships may say something more about the manufacturers than their partners. WESCO Moves to Current by GE WESCO has been synonymous with Eaton and Phllips Lighting and was / is the […]

Customer Segments / Distributors / Growth Strategies / Industry Consolidation / More Insights

A Shot in the Arm

David Gordon Posted On July 7, 2016

Earlier this year Codale Electric, a Sonepar operating company, acquired Grove Madsen. Two months later Codale and Grove Madsen have big growth plans. A recent story in the Northern Nevada Business Weekly shared some of the strategies that are in […]

Channel Strategies / Distributors / eBusiness / eMarketing / Growth Strategies / Industry Consolidation / Industry News / Lighting / Lighting2 / More Insights / People in the News / Pricing

An Industry Undergoing Change

David Gordon Posted On July 5, 2016

We’ve just passed the 6 month mark for the year and while there has been much change, the past month highlighted many and accelerated some. Consider: Consolidation Shealy sells to Border States to create a $2B ESOP. Grove Madsen sells to […]

Distributors / Growth Strategies / Industry Consolidation / More Insights

Borders Reaches the Atlantic

David Gordon Posted On June 8, 2016

The recent Border States acquisition of Shealy Electrical Wholesalers surprised many while enabling Border States to now spread its reach to the Atlantic Ocean. The estimated $2 billion distributor now reaches 18 states, touch three border and employ 2200 people at 97 […]

Channel Strategies / Distributors / Growth Strategies / Manufacturers / More Insights / Sales Channel

Is Joint Business Planning a Dying Art or a Growth Differentiator?

David Gordon Posted On June 3, 2016

An issue we’re starting to hear more and more about is Joint Business Planning (JBP). We started hearing rumblings just before the NAED National from some larger distributors and manufacturers that the planning process was taking too long (not getting […]