The manufacturers do not have as much money as they used to! Really? So many responses to that statement come to my mind. Unfortunately, in today’s politically correct atmosphere I am not at liberty to use most of them, so […]
Have you noticed that with all the manufacturer and distributor mergers & acquisitions, that manufacturers representatives are following a similar strategy? For reference, since last August: There have been at least four major mergers of lighting agencies (most notably in […]
Growth goals at Schaedler YESCO create the need for expansion. In a recent press release, Schaedler YESCO announced an expansion of their CDC in Harrisburgh, PA. When complete, the “new” CDC will encompass almost 200,000 square feet! “Schaedler Yesco is […]
Do national or regional promotions offered by the manufacturer work and are they in the best interests of the distributor? That largely depends on what the distributor does with the opportunity. Most of us would call these “canned promotions”. Specifically […]
Distributors thinking about tomorrow need to be thinking about their warehouse of tomorrow. And in a technology world, this means considering smart warehouse technologies. Smart warehouses can be implemented in phases. The key is understanding the emerging technologies as they […]
The first quarter saw a number of industry acquisitions and, while individually they highlight company growth initiatives, collectively they signal a trend that could be transformative for the industry … an industry divide driven by size. Yes, the big are […]
If the last year and COVID has done anything for our business acumen, it would be the importance of continued customer contact through any means possible including the benefit of a relatively new sales tool … virtual meetings (euphemistically most […]
Graybar reported that, at year end, sales ($7.3 billion) were only down 3.4% which, given the year, was “nothing”, especially since the industry was projected as down 10-12% by DISC and Rexel US reported down 7.7% in Q4 (and more […]
Everyone likes to talk about their successes, and I am no exception. The road to success, however, inevitably has some speed bumps, or what sales and management may call “failures.” Let me tell you about two of mine, but how […]
DISC, the electrical industry’s leading resource for electrical distribution market information, released its February DISC Flash report last week and it was a surprise … a significant acceleration is projected for the electrical industry. Channel Marketing Group, due to our […]
