From the NAW Blog
Each of your customers brings value to your business. Some already provide a considerably high value that your business relies on, while others have significant potential that you haven’t fully tapped. Then there are the customers who cost more to serve than they provide in value. The question is: Do you know which customer is which? And are you adjusting your approach accordingly?
From Industrial Distribution Magazine
Commercial fastener distributor and importer Industrial Threaded Products, Inc. announced May 14 that it has acquired Construction Tool & Threading Co., a custom manufacturing company that has been serving the construction and industrial market for over 80 years. Construction Tool & Threading Co.’s service offering and team will become fully integrated with Industrial Threaded Products.
From the NAW Blog
Distributors are a strategic go-to-market asset for manufacturers and many are stepping up to reinvent the traditional distribution business model for the digital age. My recent conversations with manufacturers indicate that many suppliers have not noticed and very few have actively engaged with even their most influential distributor partners. The partnership between distributors and manufacturers remains as crucial as ever, but it will die without proactive collaboration around emerging innovation opportunities.
From the NAW Blog
We’ve been tracking weekly sales in our Pandemic Revenue Index, in which distributors are reporting double-digit declines week over week. A lot of distribution companies have been handling the COVID-19 crisis moment to moment, with barely a chance to catch their breath.
After careful consideration and due to the escalation of COVID-19 in the United States, Reed Exhibitions announced on May 8, 2020 that the next edition of Fastener Fair USA will now take place March 23-25, 2021 at the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Initially optimistic that the event could be held in late July, as the pandemic has continued to escalate and the challenges it has brought to the industry, it is clear that July is no longer a viable option.
From the NAW Blog
The United States is entering a new phase of crisis management. For the first time in weeks, restrictions are easing instead of intensifying. The economy is reopening. And for distributors, that means the biggest changes are yet to come.
Leaving the Kids in Charge
Denny Cowhey, who founded Computer Insights in 1981, is turning the company to its executive team upon his retirement this year.
From the NAW Blog
At a recent conference, I noticed that many distributors viewed AI as a purely digital phenomenon and were split on how the technology affected salespeople; either AI did not apply to sales teams, or it was going to replace them entirely. AI does have a big impact on inside sales, but not in either of those ways. It does not replace sales reps, but instead supercharges them. I’ve watched AI-assisted sales reps outperform unsupported reps by a factor of ten, and in this article, I’ll explain how.
From the NAW Blog
“Technology is capable of doing great things. But it doesn’t want to do great things. It doesn’t want anything. That part takes all of us.” — Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
From the NAW Blog
In NAW’s Optimizing Human Capital Development: A Distributor’s Guide to Building a Sustainable Competitive Advantage through Talent Strategy, my coauthors and I talked about how goal setting is directly linked to profit, performance and productivity. When goals are well set, they can provide guidance and direction, facilitate planning, motivate and inspire employees, and assist with performance evaluation and management.
From the NAW Blog
Distributors may avoid outsider disruption by being human, but only if they make concrete plans to work with customers where they live and work — in communities. A new mindset is required. Segmenting customers is about selling. Serving communities is about collaborating. Relationships are built on trust, and at its core, building trust is a very human endeavor. As distributors transform digitally, they risk losing touch with customers. A distributor’s innovation plan needs to include human-centric innovations, and community outreach is the most powerful place to start.
From the NAW Blog
Many distributors are reporting that the Coronavirus crisis is leading to an increase in online ordering and virtual interactions with their customer service reps and inside salespeople. As this trend takes root, it may shift customer interactions away from a distributor’s field salespeople. As a result, salespeople may be defensive or uncomfortable. However, if customer behaviors are changing, there is a huge opportunity for your sales force around creating new value for customers.
From the NAW Blog
The conduct of business will change as the coronavirus crisis recedes, but it’s too early to know the new normal with certainty. Just as first reporting in any emergency often proves to be inaccurate and wrong, so too may early predictions about a new normal for doing business miss the mark.
From the NAW Blog
Digital marketplaces were a major theme at the recent NAW Executive Summit, and for good reason; B2B marketplaces are predicted to be a $3.6 trillion boon for distributors in the next few years. This new opportunity is certainly good for distributors, but it does make action even harder. How can AI, e-commerce and marketplaces all be multi-trillion dollar opportunities? Further, which one should distributors pursue first?
From the NAW Blog
Many distributors have been doing things the same way for years. In some cases, what worked then still works now. Yet, part of preparing for the future is preparing for the unexpected — whether that is economic volatility or other industry disruption, such as the coronavirus.
From the NAW Blog
As distributors imagine business after the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a growing consensus that the crisis will lock in a trend toward customer preferences for virtual experiences. While a sustained shift in buying habits is very likely, that outcome does not reflect the full impact on the future of business. Yes, social distancing has forced remote working and online ordering. However, the crisis also reveals that we are all members of cherished communities, and the path forward is about people working with people to solve problems.
EFC International, a supplier of engineered fasteners, continues to expand. They are moving their Chicago branch office and warehouse to a new 64,000 square foot facility at 4150 Chandler Drive, Hanover Park, Illinois.
Thomas Mansholt, vice president of operations states, “Our move enables EFC to enhance our service level by providing additional stocking programs with increased inventory space to meet both customer and supplier needs. With 4,200 pallet locations, 26-foot clear height ceilings, and a circular flow from receiving to inventory to shipping, we can ship product more efficiently and the facility allows for growth. The increased number of dock doors provides efficient flow for containers to be loaded for export, supporting customers for all EFC Global locations. This is another sign of our commitment to Redefine The World Of Distribution.”
From the NAW Blog
Coronavirus has thoroughly disrupted the sales processes for distributors. Not only have customer demands changed, but the process of selling has also been transformed. Social distancing has forced an accelerated digitization upon distributors. Suddenly, businesses that relied heavily on personal interactions and skilled outside sales reps are unarmed. Meanwhile, inside sales, customer service and e-commerce have become key channels. In this post, I’ll explain how distributors can accelerate the digitization of their sales channels to meet the demands of this new market.
From the NAW Blog
The defining characteristic of a crisis is uncertainty. First-line managers are a powerful force for surviving a crisis, but only if leaders help them embrace a new role. Every employee wonders how long the crisis will last, which work is most important and if their job is secure. Leaders don’t have all the answers, and employees know it. The role of first-line managers shifts from directing activities that drive performance to gathering ideas that may help the company survive.
From the Center for Financial, Legal, and Tax Planning
On Friday March 27, 2020, Donald Trump signed into law the largest lifeline (the CARES Act) in United States history to combat the most trying economic times for the
United States. As markets react, supply chains strain, and lockdowns ensue havoc, it’s no secret that small business, the self-employed, independent contractors, and sole proprietors are the most vulnerable during these uncertain times. To help the most vulnerable, the Cares Act provides a small business-focused Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP) allowing the federal government to guarantee SBA 7(a) loans up to 100% through December 31, 2020. The SBA 7(a) loans are available to companies with 500 or less employees who are below a gross annual receipts threshold in certain industries. This article will lay out the latest developments regarding the PPP, more specifically, requirements to obtain the loan, the requirements as to how the loan can be used, and the underlying premise of the loan’s “forgiveness.”
