Distributors learned some difficult lessons through the pandemic, and they’re planning to build resilience by investing further in digital capabilities, accommodating remote work where feasible, and more.
Strategic Planning
What Private Equity Firms Want in a Distributor: A Look Behind the Curtain
Get an insider’s look at how private equity (PE) firms evaluate distribution companies, from people and processes to market opportunities. John Schweig, Chairman of the Board at BlackHawk Industrial and Operating Partner at private equity firm Snow Phipps, joined us for a recent Wholesale Change episode.
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.
B2B Customer Surveys: How to Get Actionable Feedback from Customers
Distributors who regularly solicit their customers’ input via customer surveys gain important insights for decision-making.
High-Tech AND High-Touch: How Distributors Can Win in a B2C World
If you aren’t building high-tech platforms that make it hyper-efficient for your customers to execute simple transactions, you’re losing the game. But simply adopting a high-tech model isn’t the answer either.
Home Depot Buys Back HD Supply; MRO Distributors Get Squeezed
Home Depot pays a 25% premium for an enterprise value of $8 billion to reacquire HD Supply, putting branch-based distributors square in the middle of the Devil and the Deep Orange Apron.
The Minefields of Building Companies through Acquisition
A study of both successful and disastrous consolidations finds 10 common mistakes that drive employee misunderstanding and mistrust after the deal.
Want to Succeed with Industrial Vending? Stop Making These 5 Mistakes
Read about five common mistakes distributors make when considering and offering vending and inventory control solutions, and how to overcome them.
Digital or Die: The Time is Nigh for Distributors to Embrace eBusiness
The gates are closing. It’s now or never for digital adoption in B2B markets. The sharp increase in online engagement with customers in March and April 2020 was more than just a one-off blip due to COVID-19. More and more surveys are emerging that are reinforcing the idea that while COVID-19 spurred the shift to…
Why Distributors Can’t Innovate – and How You Can Start
Distributors are learning how to build cultures that drive innovation; don’t wait. The disruptors are at the gate and the battle for distribution supremacy will likely go to the swift and not the strong.