International coronavirus stay-at-home orders have accelerated the imperative for distributors to improve virtual sales tactics. MDMs most-read blogs of May continued to focus on COVID-19 and its long-term effects for the distribution industry, particularly the sales process.
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MDM strengthens research and industry analysis capability with seasoned business writers return. Smith returns to MDM after a two-year stint in the outdoor equipment business media, where he reported on industry M&A, trend analysis, competitive landscape and corporate profiles. He previously was part of MDMs research and content team for nearly four years.
When volume compresses, your contract pricing will be under pressure from your end customers. At the same time, you will have to react to many price changes from your manufacturer partners. MDMs John Gunderson says, if you dont have a tracking system built for your CSP/contract prices, it is time to get one in place.
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Blindly following a competitors lead or treating every customer the same are two common mistakes that distributors cant afford to make in todays environment. Consultant Robert Sabath explains how these and other common actions can hold you back.
Tracking industry and customer data can provide distributors with a window into future planning as the market continues to shift during the coronavirus crisis. Channel Marketing Groups David Gordon suggests elements to consider, ranging from pricing pressures to the availability of talent.
Products, features and benefits. How are we doing (or not doing) on monthly goals set up with Supplier A or Supplier B? These are the day-to-day conversations that, while particularly urgent in the current uncharted pandemic-infested waters, can get in the way of deeper strategic conversations about how to create more value for customers. In this third podcast of our three-part series on innovation, Dorn Groups J Schneider maps how to rethink your business model to build a more customer-centric and innovative organization.
In a recent virtual conversation with a few hundred Texas A&M Industrial Distribution students, the next generation had a lot to say about what changes they see in B2B distribution after the full impact of COVID-19 becomes clear. The future of distribution is moving faster than any of us thought possible, and its looking brighter with the talent coming online.
For employees who are traditionally customer-service oriented, making cold calls requires a different skill set. Eric Chernik, CEO of Building Controls & Solutions, is providing training and tools for all employees, such as customer call lists with outbound call scripts, to grow business during the coronavirus slowdown.
There is an escalating response to the economic impact of the coronavirus among distributors, increasing furloughs and hiring freezes, management consulting firm Alexander Group finds. However, forward-looking distributors are also putting plans into place to convert competitors customers and grow digitally.
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A follow-up phone call to the industrial distributors mid-April 1Q report provides detail behind dramatic shifts in growth rate, with EVP and CFO Holden Lewis highlighting how the company is pivoting to meet changing customer demands.
Customers are more open to change in the wake of COVID-19 disruption. Distributors can take advantage of this opportunity by using profit segmentation to drive strategic decision making and rework customer contracts in favor of increased profitability, Profit Isles Jonathan Byrnes explains in an MDM webcast.
Though the fallout for distributors from COVID-19 continued to be a hot topic in April, news on Amazon Business garnered the most attention from MDM readers during the month. New data show the enormous number of SKUs available on the platform and that it may be poised to become the top industrial distributor in the U.S.
Please join us for our live program this Friday, Mar. 27, 2-4 pm Eastern, where our guests will share their experiences and impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on customers, suppliers, operations and team. Your co-hosts will be Tom Gale and John Gunderson of MDM, and Mike Marks of Indian River Consulting Group.
