Capacity vs Productivity We’ve been running a series of posts that engage you to think about your business much earlier than is customary. Why? Some distributors voice an opinion that they seem to have reached the maximum output of their […]
With some wondering about how Amazon Supply and the Big Boxes might affect their business in 2015, now is a good time to pre-plan how you face your customer online in 2015. Instead of reacting, now is a good time […]
As I sit writing this post on the eve of one of the largest IPOs ever, Alibaba, I’ve been debating if this post should be about the beginning of the end of distribution to many market segments and hence the […]
Welcome to another installment of “Time to Plan” where we’re sharing industry indicators and potential planning questions. Indicators The housing market is showing signs of continued growth, albeit this is marketplace specific. It appears that the higher end of the […]
Before and over the Labor Day weekend there were several press releases and articles that rolled in regarding purchases and problems in business software. INFOR completes Saleslogix purchase: We’ve thought for a while that as some ERP software packages have attempted […]
ERP companies are integral to the success of electrical distributors as they control, or impact (in no particular order) order processing, inventory, pricing, supply chain issues (EDI, VMI, SPAs), delivery (and routing), accounting / finance, purchasing, credit, invoicing, collections, customer […]
If you are worried about Amazon Supply, you probably already know something that you’ve been unwilling to admit openly. ….that is your product data base stinks. That is to say, you probably don’t have good images, UPC codes or even […]
Late last week came news that Bob Gaylord, former president of IDEA, was leaving the organization to pursue “other interests” (which, as an aside, is a nice euphemism!). Bob was a nice guy and contributed much time and energy to […]
On July 28th, Reuters posted an article that, according to sources, CVC (a private equity firm) has emerged as the front runner to buy Epicor from Apax Partner, LLP. for $3 billion. The article emphasized that the deal is not finalized […]
Usage of the fax machine began to peak in the late 1980s and continued into the early 2000s, with email becoming prevalent in 1993. Now, why mention this? Consider about 35+ years ago. Fax machines were not too prevalent. Contractors, […]
