As a pivot point in the flow of products from the point of manufacturing to end use, distributors have several key roles -scout, gatekeeper, product and solution provider, marketer, arbiter. Every successful distributor combines these roles into a unique set of skills that creates value for customers as well as suppliers. Distributors create the most efficient market system into highly fragmented industries and local economies by effectively managing these market relationships both upstream and down. It’s a fairly simple equation that is complex to execute well.
 
Not that most distributors have time to sit around and ponder their place in the universe. But that’s just it. The interview that leads this issue touches on a key differentiator that separates a relatively few …