NetPlus Alliance members remain mostly optimistic going into 2024, according to the latest NetPlus Alliance Industry Outlook, a quarterly report based on a survey of NetPlus distributors.
Don’t miss any content from Distribution Strategy Group. Join our list.
Just over 47% of members in the survey reported significant gains in the second quarter of 2023 (+8% or more), with an additional 26% reporting moderate gains (+3% to 7%). Almost all members (87%) are expecting sales to be up significantly (+8% or more) in 2023.
The NetPlus Alliance Industry Outlook tracks business results and trends in the industrial and contractor supply markets. The latest quarterly survey was completed in August 2023, and the outlook was based on the second-quarter results for 2023.
NetPlus members cited uncertainty due to inflation, interest rates, fears of a recession and the election cycle, making it difficult to see what’s coming in 2024. Talent will also be a challenge for many.
In this quarter’s survey, NetPlus Alliance also asked distributor members about their plans for emerging technologies. Business process automation and data/analytics were members’ top two priorities moving into 2024.
“NetPlus Alliance’s second-quarter results and the response to the Industry Outlook survey indicate that business is still very good but may be slowing a bit,” said Dan Judge, Founder, NetPlus Alliance. “But NetPlus members continue to take action to grow their business with new branches, additional salespeople, new NetPlus suppliers and new customer relationships. We’re excited to meet with our members in person to kick off growth together at our upcoming 10th Annual Meeting on Oct. 8-10 in Denver.”
NetPlus Alliance has more than 415 industrial and contractor supplies distributor members and 200 preferred suppliers.
As Chief Operations Officer of a Distribution Strategy Group, I'm in the unique position of having helped transform distribution companies and am now collaborating with AI vendors to understand their solutions. My background in industrial distribution operations, sales process management, and continuous improvement provides a different perspective on how distributors can leverage AI to transform margin and productivity challenges into competitive advantages.