News
All the latest reporting and analysis from Distribution Strategy Group.
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Four Marketing Moves to Increase Profit
Over the last 20 years, there has been a broad movement by distributors to make operational improvements such as supply chain management, process standardization, lean production, and others. These practices, though not universally deployed among distributors, have created tangible efficiencies that manifest at the bottom line. While there is still more benefit to be realized…
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Bridging the Value Gap
They are undifferentiated because they say and offer essentially the same thing as their competitors. They are not relevant because they have not been tested with the market to see what customers and prospects care about the most.
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Positioning: Value Matters
When we ask executives for the value proposition of their business, they usually provide a ready, confident and well-rehearsed answer. The answer consists of a few claims about what they believe they do well.
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Your Customers WANT To Hear From You
Customers have indicated a preference to receive communications in both digital and print formats. It’s not a surprise that they still want to receive the traditional print catalog once per year. As we’ve discussed in past articles, print is still a very viable and preferred form for customers to have a complete view of your…
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The 6 Cs of Unifying Your Employees Under One Message
Some of the best distribution companies have unified the diverse voices that make up a business into one message, both internally and externally. I call this Many Voices, One Message. The idea is a staple of the B-to-C world.
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Why the Trend Is Your Friend
Data points in time indicate a real trend either up or down less than half of the time. By tracking trends, we can do a better job matching our expenses and cost-to-serve with the business, without fuss or emotions.
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The 3 Elements of Building a Profit-Driven Management Team
Ask the best private equity investors, or for that matter, any acquiring company such as chains, vertical convergers or platform investors – even independent distribution acquirers – and they will tell you that human capital – leadership and management – is a key factor to consider in any investment opportunity.
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2013 State of Distributor E-Commerce
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 new implementations, according to a joint MDM online survey with Distribution Strategy Group conducted at the end of 2012.
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Think of Your Company as a Portfolio
You are familiar with the portfolio concept if you own any kind of equity, bond, real estate or other investment fund. If you’re familiar with the major investment companies – such as Charles Schwab, Vanguard, Fidelity, BlackRock – you are familiar with portfolio strategies.
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Additional Value Creation: The Real Bottom-Line Drivers in Distribution
Many independent distribution companies wonder why their gross margin, net profit and attendant multiples are inferior to their $2 billion-plus sales, national-market, publicly held competitors. These competitors may have many structural advantages: