Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier, Author at Modern Distribution Management - Page 27 of 36

Log In

Search

Posts By Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier
Companies
MSC Industrial’s Investment in Growth

Manufacturing production and new orders continued to expand in November, according to the latest Purchasing Managers Index, signs that the recovery is underway. But not every distributor has been able to take advantage of increased demand, says Erik Gershwind, COO of industrial distributor MSC Industrial Direct, Melville, NY. Gershwind recently presented at the Robert W. Baird Industrial Conference.

The cuts many “mom-and-pop” local and regional distributors have had to make put them in a precarious situation now that demand in increasing, Gershwind says. “They face severe pressure on working capital in the form of inventory and receivables,” he says. “So many …

To access this page, you must purchase MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription – Monthly or MDM Premium Subscription – Annually.
Management
MDM Executive Briefing Summary: A Roadblock to Business Plan Success

While the specifics in different forecasts are all over the board, the general consensus is that 2011 will be a challenging year. The latest Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI economic forecast puts U.S. GDP growth for 2011 at 2.8 percent, and expectations are that there will be little to no growth in new construction during the year.

“We’re looking ahead to 2011 being kind of a difficult year for a lot of companies,” says Brent Grover, managing partner of Evergreen Consulting, LLC. Job growth is not occurring, particularly in wholesale distribution, and companies are still putting off capital expenditures.

In his conversation with MDM Publisher Tom Gale for the latest episode of MDM’s Executive Briefing Webcast (available free to subscribers at www.mdm.com/executivebriefing), Grover provided an overview …

To access this page, you must purchase MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription – Monthly or MDM Premium Subscription – Annually.
Building Materials/Construction
Taking Control Amid Uncertainty

This article provides a summary of key points made by speakers on the State of the Industry at the November Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributors Association annual trade show and convention. Robert Devers, executive vice president and COO at A-Jax Co. Inc., and Andy Johnson, president of Mar-Mac Wire, spoke about the uncertainty facing the industry and how STAFDA members should respond and evolve to the challenges uncertainty brings.

While the recession may be over, uncertainty will continue to be a part of the recovery for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, the presenters for the annual State of the Industry reports at the November meeting of the Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributor Association offered advice for managing through the uncertainty and evolving.

In her opening remarks to the more than 4,200 attendees, Executive Director Georgia Foley reminded the audience of last year’s speeches on the impact of the economy …

To access this page, you must purchase MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription – Monthly or MDM Premium Subscription – Annually.
Companies
MDM Interview: Kaman’s Expansion Strategy

On Nov. 1, Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, CT, reported third-quarter sales of $359.5 million. A key driver behind that sales growth was Kaman Industrial Technologies, the power transmission, bearing and motion control distribution arm of Kaman Corp., which posted a year-over-year sales increase of 37 percent in the quarter.

Steve Smidler recently took on the role of president at Kaman Industrial Technologies when T. Jack Cahill retired after serving in that post for 17 years. Smidler and Vice President of Marketing David Mayer spoke with MDM Associate Editor Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier at the Power Transmission Distributors Association 50th Anniversary Industry Summit in Phoenix about Kaman’s goals and the outlook for the industry.

MDM: As the new president of Kaman Industrial Technologies, what are your goals for the company, and how will your experience help you attain those goals?

To access this page, you must purchase MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription – Monthly or MDM Premium Subscription – Annually.
Power Transmission/Motion Control/Fluid Power
Distributors Shift Focus to Growth

While the economic recovery has been slow, signs of it were still evident at the 50th Anniversary Power Transmission Distributors Association Industry Summit in Phoenix last month. The overall tone of the event was more positive than the previous, with hot-button issues focused on growth rather than tactics designed to just survive.

Those topics covered a spectrum of concerns, as evidenced by issues raised during the “Big Issues for Small Distributors Forum.” Here is a sampling of the discussion.

To access this page, you must purchase MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription – Monthly or MDM Premium Subscription – Annually.
Economic Trends
Third Quarter Benchmarking Survey Results Reflect ‘Guarded Optimism’

Robert W. Baird & Co. in partnership with Modern Distribution Management, conducted a survey of more than 650 distributors and manufacturers to gauge business trends and the outlook for the distribution industry in diverse sectors.

On average, respondents to the latest quarterly MDM/Baird survey said third-quarter revenues were up 6 percent.

To access this page, you must purchase MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription – Monthly or MDM Premium Subscription – Annually.
Strategy
MDM Interview: Common Pitfalls with VMI

The weak economy has led to more companies looking for new ways to improve their bottom lines. Vendor Managed Inventory has been growing in popularity, but according to Thomas A. Kozak, president of Pan-Pro LLC, it is also easy to do wrong. Kozak spoke with MDM about how to avoid the common pitfalls.

Kozak recently presented “10 Ways to Not Benefit from VMI Programs” at the 2010 IDEA E-Biz Forum, sharing lessons from his 36 years in supply channel optimization.

MDM: How do you explain VMI in practical, concrete terms?

Thomas A. Kozak: VMI is defined as everything from putting a supplier’s employee in place at a customer to write orders to moving ERP calculations from the distributor to the supplier or an outsourced cloud, all the way to advanced Supply Channel Optimization (SCO).

In my presentation at IDEA, I defined VMI with a beautifully crafted message where every word has significant meaning, and it tells Pan-Pro’s approach to Supply Channel Optimization.

But in practical, concrete terms, VMI is eliminating work, not automating it.

To access this page, you must purchase MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription – Monthly or MDM Premium Subscription – Annually.
Sales & Marketing
5 Lessons for Better Change Management

This is an exclusive summary of Part 3 of the MDM Webcast series, Build an Effective Sales Organization for the Recovery, available on DVD. In this session, Mike Marks and Steve Deist of Indian River Consulting Group spoke on Tools for Effective Sales Management. This article looks at the foundation for implementing changes to the sales process.

Distributors can take different approaches to implementing change to its sales organizations. But most successful change shares five characteristics, says Steve Deist of Indian River Consulting Group.

“These are lessons we’ve learned though actual implementations over 10-plus years,” he says.

Lessons
1. Align with …

To access this page, you must purchase MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription – Monthly or MDM Premium Subscription – Annually.

Register for full access

By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Learn More about Custom Reports

Request a Market Prospector Demo

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Get the MDM Update Newsletter

Wholesale distribution news and trends delivered right to your inbox.

Sign-up for our free newsletter and get:

  • Up-to-date news in a quick-to-read format
  • Free access to webcasts, podcasts and live events
  • Exclusive whitepapers, research and reports
  • And more!