Bart Schwartz, president of Industrial Channel Research, believes consolidation will continue, but on a much greater scale than we are seeing now: “Distributors that don’t respond – and respond with thoughtful strategy and great execution – aren’t just going to be relegated to second place or bad profitability, they’re going to be gone.” Schwartz spoke at the Industrial Supply Association’s 2012 Product Show & Conference in San Antonio, TX.

There will still be room for niche players, “but they have to be really good, they have to offer something different, and they have to constantly evolve to stay ahead of the players of scale,” he says. Schwartz presented 10 measures of channel success: …