Identify strengths and weaknesses across three business sectors — process, technology and people — to improve ongoing company performance.
Latest In Inventory Management
A granular approach to forecast adjustment during a period of revenue decline can help distributors better understand demand shift and adjust for variability.
The average distributor sees just 25% or less in profit realization.
There are well-known quick fixes an inventory management solution can bring to a distributor, such as cutting back on disappearing products or eliminating user error from incorrectly typed SKUs on a manual tracking spreadsheet. But the data available from inventory management platforms can also present a long-term strategic opportunity in the form of improved demand planning, exposure of costly trends and even visibility into competitors share of customer spend.
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With effective inventory control solutions there will be less waste and less shrinkage but more opportunity
Five ways distributors can improve customer relationships with vending tools.
Successful inventory sharing networks have six things in common, including a proactive approach to the process.
A common theme resonated throughout MDMs most-read blogs.
Three ways non-retail vending programs can be a powerful tool to set distributors apart.
Give customers what they want: lower consumption, lower carrying costs and decrease stock-outs.
Here are three best practices for distributors to minimize consignment risks.
An adversarial approach may have the opposite of the desired effect.
Simply implementing vending for customers won't guarantee a return.
Weigh these costs and benefits before venturing into the vending fray.
Don't wait until your customer asks for it.
Working with channel partners is imperative to mitigate counterfeiting risk.
Knock-off products are found everywhere, from watches and handbags to bearings, electrical products and construction materials. The effects of counterfeit products go beyond lost revenues and the misappropriated use of anothers trademark. This article examines the scope of the current counterfeit market in distribution and what can be done to protect you, your channel partners and the products you sell.
This article includes:
- Financial impact
- Safety and environmental impact
- Customer impact
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Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:
- Millennials in Distribution: ‘No Magic’ in US LUMBER’s Strategy
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Avoid these common pitfalls that can sabotage a vending-powered VMI program.
This article is part of MDM's 2017 Distribution Trends Special Issue.
There’s no escaping Amazon. Thanks to the company’s recent mammoth grocery store bid, even a trip to Whole Foods for organic marinara sauce or a bundle of kale could inflate Jeff Bezos’ already exorbitant income.
This article includes:
- Retooling delivery processes to minimize threat
- How Amazon is changing the way many distributors operate
- Why increasing the speed of delivery may be inevitable
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Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. The full 2017 Distribution Trends Special Issue is available to download in PDF format to MDM Premium subscribers.