A topic that is near and dear to all distributors’ heart is their “unique” pricing to their customers, especially over the past 18 months. For some distributors it is the only way they know how to “market” their company. And […]
A little bit of a reading roundup before this weekend’s NAED Leadership Summit. Recently there has been array of news from 3M, GE, Home Depot, Rexel, Square D, Datalliance, CED and Hilti to get us going (or at least cause some […]
Maybe … especially if we (the industry, not your specific company) want profitability. You may remember SAP’s marketing theme of a couple of years ago that basically of “The best-run businesses run SAP”. With a multitude of electrical manufacturers turning […]
A couple of tidbits ran across the desk today that shows the industry continues to seek ways to streamline processes to improve profitability. With manufacturers, distributors and contractors seeking to improve their productivity, technology will take the place of many […]
In talking to distributors as they plan for 2010 we’ve noticed that distributors are following into two camps The first is a large group of distributors that seem paralyzed by the marketplace. They either don’t have confidence in themselves, their […]
In a market that many economist project to be flat for a while, manufacturers and distributors are looking at their back office to identify where they can gain efficiencies. Many companies rely on older ERP systems and only utilize between […]
A little bit of a “mishmash” of things we’ve been thinking and seeing recently that we’d like your thoughts on marketing funds, Infor and GE Automation (and Industrial). Marketing Funds (Co-op and MDF) – distributors love them (and think they […]
What does Rexel’s U.K division, (also known as Newye & Eyre), Lutron, Rockwell Automation, Philips Lighting and probably a few other industry companies have in common? They are all preparing to market to a new generation of customers with enhanced […]
If you sell to the government (directly or through a GSA), work with contractors who sell to the government or are providing materials for any ARRA (American Recovery & Reinvestment Act … stimulus funds) you may have been asked to […]
A little bit of an “around the industry” to get the week started: IDEA is going through some personnel changes (and interestingly, just before its E-Biz Forum). After over 35 years in the industry, the last seven as IDEA’s Director […]
