After following a yo-yo pattern in the wake of the Great Recession, distributor performance appears to have leveled off. The following analysis by Al Bates, director of research for Profit Planning Group and principal of the Distribution Performance Project, examines key profit drivers in wholesale distribution across 31 lines of trade. This article includes historical data from the past five years and trends in 2014, the latest year for which full data is available.

This article includes:

• Distributor ROA by line of trade, year & segment
• Sales growth & gross margin for distributors
• Inventory turnover & days sales outstanding for distributors

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