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How customers buy is challenging the traditional role, function and purpose of the distributor field sales position. But many distributors have resisted changing their approach to sales for fear of losing sales reps, customers or both to the competition. This series of articles, focusing on the changing role of distribution sales reps, examine what’s driving the shift, why distributors should act and the future of field sales, including its role, function and purpose for the successful distributor.
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Modern Distribution Management's monthly Industrial Inflation Index measures a cross-section of industrial supplies.
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With questionable business practices making headlines, capitalism has gotten a bad rap with millennials. Rick Schwartz, chairman of Winsupply and outgoing chairman of NAW, advises that it’s up to businesses to change that perception – or put the future of the U.S. economy in peril.
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Two years ago, Essendant rebranded from United Stationers to align its businesses under one operating platform and better position itself in a crowded marketplace. At the company’s show for suppliers and customers earlier this month in Las Vegas, NV, Bob Aiken, president and CEO, and Keith Dougherty, senior vice president of merchandising, inventory and pricing for office and facilities, spoke with MDM Associate Editor Eric Smith about the company’s recent strategic decisions.
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With the election of Donald Trump, business as usual in Washington, DC, has been disrupted – as promised – but how will it affect distributors?
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Disruptive forces will likely have a transformative effect on wholesale distribution. In our previous two articles, we assessed the financial performance of the wholesale distribution industry and an array of disruptive forces already impacting participants. We also introduced a framework for harnessing these disruptions and the capabilities distributors will need to develop to successfully navigate the current industry inflection point. In this article, the third in the series, we discuss the final two parts of the framework: executing the value chain and energizing the business.
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The following analysis examines key profit drivers in wholesale distribution across 28 lines of trade to help distributors understand the change in financial performance for the distribution industry and its segments. This article includes historical data from the past five years and trends in 2015, the latest year for which full data is available.
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Mid-sized customers are the prize in 2017. How will you win?
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The MDM Market Snapshot, based on data from MDM Analytics, includes market demand for Fasteners by end user in the U.S., plus the top end users by 6-digit NAICS.
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Robert W. Baird & Co., in partnership with Modern Distribution Management, conducted a survey of more than 500 distributors and manufacturers to gauge business trends and the outlook for the distribution industry in diverse sectors. Here is a summary of fourth-quarter 2016 results and distributor and manufacturer expectations for 2017.
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Manufacturing moves from making to creating.
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Manufacturing Revival Radio talks with Michael Collins, author of Saving American Manufacturing.
The second annual MDM Distribution E-Commerce Survey conducted with Real Results Marketing revealed several key trends:
E-commerce revenue as a portion of total revenue has grown significantly in the past year through the growth of existing e-commerce sites, as well as …
This article is part of the MDM series: The Shifting Competitive Landscape.
E-commerce in distribution is no longer just “nice to have”: It’s “need to have.” And the proliferation of e-commerce as an essential part of doing business – from the simplest forms to complex systems – has changed how some distributors view the market. This article examines the impact of e-commerce on the wholesale distribution channel.
There’s general consensus in the business-to-business space that e-commerce is now a “need-to-have” platform as opposed to just “nice-to-have.” Acceptance and adoption of e-commerce in distribution has grown over the past three years, but today’s e-commerce – and the role e-commerce plays in distribution – is different.
Today’s e-commerce platform goes beyond placing orders online,
As data moves from paper to digital, information is easier to store and manage – and to move and steal – than ever before. This is especially true in distribution, where companies are turning to mobile technology to improve customer service, sales and operations. In this article, labor law specialists and distributors weigh in on the biggest data security risks and how distributors can contain them.
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This article summarizes the just-released Distribution Monitor Report, based on research from the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and McGladrey, a provider of assurance, tax and consulting services. In general, distributors surveyed for the report are optimistic for the rest of 2013 and are making plans to invest for growth in 2014.
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