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 …
