How suppliers are adapting ‘standard’ global supply chains to meet new challenges.
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Posts By Lindsay Konzak
More elements from B2C online trade are making their way to B2B e-commerce.
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This is an exclusive summary of the MDM Webcast, the 2011 Economic Forecast. The recent webcast provided a forecast for two key distributor end-markets, construction and manufacturing. Growth is expected in both. The webcast is available on DVD at www.mdm.com/2011economicforecast.
For many, this recovery has not felt like what most expected when the recession ended.
“The economy’s grown over the past five quarters, but not at a rate that gives somebody a feeling of a real recovery,” said Don Norman, economist for MAPI/Manufacturers Alliance in the recent MDM Webcast, the 2011 Economic Forecast.
“In fact, the pace of recovery is somewhat of an anomaly. Sharp recessions in the post-World War II period have usually been accompanied by a very sharp recovery. The difference this time is the nature of the cause.
“Namely we had a financial crisis.”
Norman, in his forecast for the manufacturing sector, says he expects a modest recovery in 2011.
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Report is a good way to gauge how your plans mesh with customers’ needs.
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Here’s why construction markets have been slow to recover.
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The Secret to Being (and Beating) Grainger, and the year’s other most popular blog posts.
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Distributors are looking to rebuild on a solid foundation in 2011.
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This article outlines and analyzes six trends MDM has identified as driving change in independent distribution channels over the past year and what that means for distributors going into 2011.
No question, the weak economic recovery has defined the past year in independent distribution channels. This has been nothing like the much stronger bounce-backs of yesteryear.
One of my favorite quotes from this year’s articles in MDM was this: “The light at the end of the tunnel right now is not the proverbial oncoming train. We business owners are sleeping better these days.” That was from Charles Gray, owner of industrial distributor Machinery and Factory Industrial Supply, Racine, WI.
Slow growth will define the next couple of years, according to the economists in MDM’s recent 2011 economic forecast webcast. Still, many distributors did feel a …
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But when will growing workload for full-time employees turn to burnout?
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Limit promotional postings on Twitter; instead, make yourself a resource.
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List provides overview of Grainger’s approach to business in the past year.
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MDM recently conducted its annual Reader Survey. On that survey, MDM asked questions about top business concerns for 2011 and what distributors, manufacturers and others have done to adapt to changing business conditions over the past two years. This article is a synopsis of those responses and provides insight into the mindset of the distribution industry as we move into the new year.
In the 2010 MDM Reader Survey, not surprisingly, the economic recovery and uncertainty that has accompanied it was one of the top three business concerns for many respondents.
Some readers are concerned the economy will decline again, while others are just not sure what’s coming next for their markets – despite mostly positive …
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This year, distressed distributors were a target, but acquirers also picked up market leaders.
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Al Bates: Two profit drivers differentiated typical from high-profit firms in the recession.
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In recent meeting, global supply chain SVP D.G. Macpherson outlined Grainger’s approach to product expansion.
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Facilities maintenance distributor W.W. Grainger, Chicago, IL, with more than $6.2 billion in sales last year, held its annual analyst meeting this month. This article provides an overview of the key talking points during the meeting, including Grainger’s strategic focus locally and globally, its supply chain improvements and its approach to product expansion.
Details in this article were taken from Grainger’s annual analyst meeting webcast, available at grainger.com.
Leveraging its global infrastructure, both in supply chain improvements and by transferring best practices across borders, was a constant theme in Grainger’s executive presentations at its annual analyst meeting this month.
In fact, President and CEO Jim Ryan said that Grainger is increasingly thinking of itself as a global supplier. As much as 25 percent of the business is with large companies that are expanding or have expanded internationally. “If you are a supplier …
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Brent Grover talks about what distributors should keep in mind when approaching pricing processes.
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At NBMDA & NAFCD, Mike Marks says customers often view a company’s value proposition differently than companies expect.
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But while some material prices have increased, others have remained flat or even declined.
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Jonathan Byrnes, senior lecturer at MIT and author of new book Islands of Profit in a Sea of Red Ink, recently spoke with Editor Lindsay Konzak. Here is part 2 of that interview, covering steps distributors can take to make unprofitable business profitable. He also addresses how to incentivize your team to make these critical changes to how you do business.
MDM: You write in your book that 40 percent of every business is unprofitable. How can distributors make the changes necessary to reverse this?
Jonathan Byrnes: There are four building blocks. The first is the right information. In Chapter 6 I talk about profit-mapping. That will give a company information on the specific products bought by customers. That information can be put into a database program on the profitability of each one, and the company can figure out the best measure for profitability. By the way, that information can be developed by two people within a month or two. … I’ve done that with multibillion-dollar companies.
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