Tip: Embrace Price Transparency to Meet Customer Demands
Grainger is proof that distributors need new pricing strategies.
August 2017
Titan Machinery Sales Down 3.1% in 2Q
Year-to-date sales decreased 6.3 percent year-over-year.
Real Gross Domestic Product Up 3% in 2Q
Real GDP increased 2.9 percent in the second quarter compared with an increase of 2.7 percent in the first.
Bolts & Nuts Acquires Challenger Component Services
Acquisition expands company's presence in the southeast.
Beacon Roofing Shakes Up Sector Again
CEO: Distributor's $2.6 billion purchase of Allied Building Products "transformative."
HD Supply Waterworks Changes Name to Core & Main
The company was acquired from HD Supply in August.
Power Transmission/Motion Control Industry Reports Stable Growth in 2Q
But Sales History & Outlook Report shows sales rose in first quarter.
HARDI Distributors Report 4.7% Sales Increase in July
Annualized growth through July is 8.8 percent.
Canadian Industrial Product Price Index Decreases in July
Raw materials price index dropped 0.6 percent due to lower prices for metal ores, concentrates and scrap.
Bunzl Acquires Chinese PPE Distributor
Company also reports sales up 20 percent in first half of 2017.
Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Increased in August
The Index now stands at 122.9, up from 120 in July.
Recommended Reading: Build Customer Relationships with More Services
Providing a value-add such as training for customers can lead to increased wallet share.
Standex Sales Up 0.5% in Fiscal 2017
Company reports fourth-quarter sales increase 12 percent.
Littelfuse to Acquire IXYS Corporation
The transaction will Increase Littelfuse's presence in the semiconductor industry.
Build Competitive Edge by Driving Change
Leading on tech innovation will prove value to channel partners.
MDM News Digest 4716
News briefs from August 11 - August 25, 2017
Grainger’s Pricing Initiative, pt 1: A ‘Suboptimal’ Solution?
As of Aug. 1, W.W. Grainger Inc.’s new web pricing strategy was to be effective for all 1.5 million SKUs on its website. The pricing strategy was launched to reverse unfavorable market share trends Grainger experienced in certain market segments in recent years. Part 1 of this two-part series looks at how the pricing initiative has played out to this point, along with lessons other distributors can learn from Grainger’s experience.
This article includes:
- W.W. Grainger Inc.’s new web pricing strategy
- How the pricing initiative has played out to this point
- Lessons other distributors can learn from Grainger’s experience
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Commentary: Fighting the Digital Disruption War
For more than 20 years, technology adoption in distribution has lived with this axiom: The distribution industry moves at its own pace, and it reflects the wants and needs of its customers. On the other side is this: distribution, particularly industrial channels, is on the slow end of the technology adoption curve. As with most things, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
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Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- Distribution M&A Playbook, pt. 2: The 8 Fatal Flaws in M&A
- Top Trends for 2017
- MDM Interview: Watsco Aims for ‘Bigger, Better, Faster’
Are You Meeting Customers’ Service Needs?
Customers today demand more services, and distributors need to evaluate what they offer – and at what cost. This article examines the drivers behind these changing customer expectations and steps a distributor can take to give customers what they want while remaining profitable.
This article includes:
- ‘Amazonification of the supply chain’
- Which services to add?
- Create services as a line-Item charge
Subscribers should log-in below to read this article.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- Distribution M&A Playbook, pt. 2: The 8 Fatal Flaws in M&A
- Top Trends for 2017
- MDM Interview: Watsco Aims for ‘Bigger, Better, Faster’
Monthly Wholesale Trade Data: June 2017
Sales and inventories data for wholesaler-distributors in June 2017
