In his book, The Distributor’s Fee Based Services Manifesto: Why You Need to Consider Charging for Your Services, distribution expert Frank Hurtte argues that distributors face a tough challenge. As market forces, demographics, alternative channels and the internet push against their half-century-old model of wrapping value-added services charges into product margins, distributors must change their revenue model or perish.
Wholesale Change: How Gustave Larson Helps Their Customers Succeed (June 23, 2021)
Andrew Larson talks about how Gustave Larson has evolved its sales force to make it as easy as possible for customers to interact with its team, including telesales, service advisors, engineering and design, and more.
How to Select, Sell and Deliver the Right Value-Added Services for Your Business
It is increasingly important for distributors to add value and differentiate themselves from the competition. Peter Neuberger, CEO of United Performance Metals, shared with DSG how to be intentional and disciplined about the value-added services you provide to optimize the benefit they have for your business.
2021 State of Technology in Distribution: Automating the Customer Journey
Distribution Strategy Group conducted a survey and other primary research about how distributors anticipate ongoing, rapidly changing technologies will affect them, and how and where they plan to adopt new technologies.
Wholesale Change: How Private Equity Leaders Evaluate Distributors (June 9, 2021)
John Schweig, Chairman of the Board at BlackHawk Industrial and Operating Partner at private equity firm Snow Phipps, joined hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein for a peek under the covers of how these firms evaluate distributors, from people and processes to market opportunities.
How Satisfied Are Distributors with Their Core Technology Stack?
In our recent State of Technology in Distribution survey, we evaluated the core technologies, platforms and products used by distributors to manage their business including sales and marketing, internal operations and financial management.
Wholesale Change: Distributors’ Quarterly Checkup: Notable Results, Surprises & Market Moves (May 26, 2021)
In our regular quarterly checkup, Wholesale Change hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein dug into public distributors’ earnings reports from Home Depot, Fastenal, CDW, Beacon and more.
Wholesale Change: Creating Value-Add in a Commoditized Industry (May 12, 2021)
In this episode Peter Neuberger, President and CEO of United Performance Metals, joined Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein to talk about how the distributor has built a successful value-added services model in the highly commoditized metals service center industry.
Wholesale Change: The Distributor’s Fee-Based Services Imperative (April 28, 2021)
In this episode, Hurtte, of River Heights Consulting, joined Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein to talk about why, if distributors don’t have a plan for recouping the cost of their services, they will make less money, grow more slowly than the competition, and become less resilient.
Wholesale Change: Breaking Tradition: A Fresh Take on a 100-Year-Old Business (March 31, 2021)
Hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein welcome Peter to the Wholesale Change show to provide his novel perspective on running a distribution company today.