NetPlus Alliance, an industrial and contractor supplies buying group, hosted 650 distributor and supplier attendees from nearly 310 companies at its tenth Annual Meeting in Denver, Colo., from Oct. 8-10, 2023.
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Amidst the backdrop of the Rockies, this year’s Annual Meeting was aptly named “Elevate Your Business” and celebrated those who go above and beyond to build confidence in their teams, manage disruption in turbulent times, and aim for steady progress.
Jennifer Murphy, NetPlus Alliance president, calls this journey to excellence the “20 Mile March,” an analogy from the book “Great by Choice” by Jim Collins.
“The 20 Mile March relies on clear and relevant performance metrics to make sure you’re on track and making consistent strides toward your goals,” said Murphy. “For us, it’s also about a fanatical discipline to perform above the industry and a passionate adherence to our core values. All the small things that we do, through the good times and the tough times, have resulted in our group outperforming the industrial index for 40 consecutive quarters.”
Year-to-date, group purchases between distributors and preferred suppliers are up 18% year over year. Distributor members are positive going into the back half of 2023, according to the Industry Outlook survey.
This year, NetPlus expanded its Annual Meeting to include new education and networking opportunities through its eCommerce Collective and Digital Engagement Workshops; Premier Supplier Presentations; supplier best practices sessions; and a first-time attendee welcome.
NetPlus Alliance presented its annual member awards during the event:
- The 2023 Growth Plus All In New Business Award acknowledges the strategic plan between a supplier and distributor to expand into new product categories and achieve the greatest new-business growth. This year, the award was presented to RILCO Safety Supply and Ergodyne.
- The 2023 Growth Plus Sales Growth Award recognizes a distributor and supplier that executed a Growth Plus plan and achieved the largest volume in an existing relationship. This year, the award was presented to Max Tool and Milwaukee Tool.
- The 2023 Growth Plus Conversion Champion Award acknowledges the largest Growth Plus conversion plan between a distributor and supplier and was presented to Hardware Now and ORS Nasco.
- The 2023 Distributor Partnership Excellence Award is presented annually to a true partner and advocate for NetPlus Alliance. This year, it was awarded to Terry Snower, managing director and NetPlus liaison for Cicero Supply.
- The 2023 Supplier Partnership Excellence Award acknowledges a supplier’s commitment to supporting NetPlus distributor members and was presented to Steven Coleman, director of sales and NetPlus liaison for Stanley Black & Decker.
- The new 2023 Scholar Award recognizes a distributor company that completed a minimum of 200 courses through the NetPlus Academy, powered by BlueVolt. This award was presented to B&B Warehouse for completing 705 courses and for attending six NetPlus training events this year.
- The new Training of the Year Award acknowledges a supplier who conducted training in 2023, achieved highest post-survey ratings, and contributed to the growth of new or existing sales. This year, the award was presented to Coast Products.
- The 2023 Marketing Excellence Award was presented to Radians for their exceptional execution of a strategic marketing plan with NetPlus Alliance while collaborating with NetPlus distributor members.
- The 2022 MVP Supplier of the Year Tier I was presented to Milwaukee Tool and acknowledged 40% increase in sales growth, the addition of two new distributors, and same-stores growth of 34%, year over year.
- The 2022 MVP Supplier of the Year Tier II was presented to Radians and acknowledged a 33% increase in sales growth, the addition of seven new distributors, and same-stores growth of 22%, year over year.
- The 2022 MVP Supplier of the Year Tier III was presented to Apex Tool Group and acknowledged a 140% increase in sales growth, the addition of eight new distributors, and same-stores growth of 86%, year over year.
- The 2022 MVP Distributor of the Year Tier I was presented to DXP Enterprises for total NetPlus purchases growth of $2.5 million, five new suppliers, and same-stores growth of 23%, year over year.
- The 2022 MVP Distributor of the Year Tier II was presented to Midland Tool & Supply for total NetPlus purchases growth of $4.7 million, four new suppliers, and same-stores growth of 70%, year over year.
- The 2022 MVP Distributor of the Year Tier III was presented to Riverhawk Industrial Supply for total NetPlus purchases growth of $1.5 million, four new suppliers, and same-stores growth of 27%, year over year.
- The Dan Judge Founder’s Award was presented to Bill England, president at Radians. The Dan Judge Founder’s Award is given to a distributor or supplier that exemplifies the group’s core purpose, is an advocate for NetPlus, and is passionate about industrial distribution.
NetPlus Alliance has more than 200 preferred suppliers and 415 industrial and contractor supplies distributor members.
