• Airgas Buys European Supplier of Welding Equipment
• Parker Hannifin Buys Vansco
• MSC Industrial Sales Up 8.4% in First Half
• HD Supply's Interiors Business Enters Atlanta Market
• MDM Databank: Canadian Construction Permits, U.S. Monthly Wholesale Trade

IN THIS WEEK'S ADVISOR: (Click on headline to go to article.)
Avoid the CRM Trap: Develop Effective Sales Practices
Protecting Your Assets in China
$4 a Gallon Gas Could Be On Its Way
What the Economic Slowdown May Mean for Distributors

Sales Management

AVOID THE CRM TRAP: DEVELOP EFFECTIVE SALES PRACTICES
Back in the old days, business-to-business selling meant establishing and nurturing a personal relationship between your sales rep (usually in the field) and a buyer or other decision maker in the customer’s organization. But increasing margin pressure, more sophisticated inventory management practices, proliferating logistics options and the emergence of new sales channels turned this cozy world upside down, Steve Deist writes. To quote the title of a famous 2003 Harvard Business Review article, “The Customer Has Escaped” from the one-size-fits-all sales model.

CRM was created to address these challenges. It promised to help companies become “customer centric” organizations that could quickly identify and respond to changing needs. Still, the key to making sure your CRM implementation succeeds is to recognize sales performance improvement is not about technology. More...

China

PROTECTING YOUR ASSETS IN CHINA
China's been in the news a lot lately for product recalls, and according to this article in IndustryWeek, the fault may lie in the companies who use these factories and fail to keep up with their investments. It’s the companies that are constantly monitoring the production of their product that have the best chance of avoiding conflict. The author writes: “The biggest error companies make is that with familiarity comes a false sense of security.” If you do one thing to ensure the successful production and distribution of your product, be hands-on. Don’t let your production out of your sight even when things seem to be flowing smoothly. Most recalls are due to a design problem or a manufacturing error. More...

Commodities

$4 A GALLON (!) GAS COULD BE ON ITS WAY
The government is now saying that gas prices could reach as high as $4 a gallon this summer. In its monthly report, as reported by ABC News, the Energy Information Administration forecast monthly average gas prices will peak near $3.60 a gallon in June, but may rise at times to $4 a gallon. This prediction is closer to that of analysts'. The government anticipates the high prices will cut demand.

AAA reports the national average was $3.33 as of Tuesday, about half a dollar more than last year at this time. More...

Economy

WHAT THE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN MAY MEAN FOR DISTRIBUTORS
Investment banking firm PCE's Jon Skelly writes in Supply House Times that, based on his recent conversations with distributors, even the best performing sectors are pessimistic about the coming 12-24 months. But he says there are ways to successfully navigate a down cycle, including taking market share from "wounded competitors," considering acquisitions, and attracting new talent by outpacing the competition. He says that downturns can create opportunity for distributors focused on long-term growth and value creation.

Skelly, who specializes in M&A, says that M&A activity and valuations have softened throughout distribution, and the number of transactions is declining. He also says the availability of capital to acquire and grow businesses has declined – and is largely unavailable for those companies with "performance, profitability, management or other issues." More...