Some insights from Encore Wire and Schneider Electric / Square D third quarter earnings. First from Encore and their analyst call: Unit volume for copper was up 1% in pounds and 4% in aluminum pounds in the quarter (while it results […]
Many at last week’s Dodge Data & Analytics Construction Outlook conference, which coincided with the AD North American Meeting at the same hotel, over 170 manufacturers and retailers attended to gain insights into 2017. While many came for the outlook […]
Earlier this year Channel Marketing Group conducted research regarding joint business planning and released the results earlier this fall. Some of the key findings revealed that: Manufacturers talk sales; distributors talk profits … and then sales Distributors who invest in […]
Last week we shared information, highlighted the potential opportunities and discussed potential distributor involvement in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) arena while also featuring the first segment of input from Dick Friedman. As promised, […]
Earlier this week there was a press release announcing that a small, innovative and progressive LED lighting company, START Lighting, had recently joined NEMRA. Now normally a small manufacturer joining an association isn’t too noteworthy, and, quite frankly, it isn’t, […]
Many may remember the Verizon commercials titled “Can you hear me now?” And while the spokesperson may have moved to Sprint and is focusing on price, the lighting industry may now be hearing Verizon calling. And electrical and lighting distributors […]
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 […]
2016 has been a challenging year for many industrially-oriented electrical distributors. Between the decline and ripple effects of oil and gas markets, the strength of the dollar constricting the OEM market, the agricultural equipment market stagnating and economic growth being […]
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 […]
Earlier this week Cree announced its 2016 fourth quarter fiscal year performance. The following are notes from their investor call but, the end result was essentially “what’s going on with Cree?” given that the stock essentially tanked thereafter. From their […]
