Are Distributors Learning from Retail's E-Commerce Transformation?

From the NAW Blog:

A new article by Mark Dancer, NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence Fellow, is live in the NAW Blog: Distributing Ideas


Here is a preview.

In many ways, the impact of digital transformation and disruption on the retail industry is ahead of similar changes happening in distribution. Distributors can learn from retail and then upgrade their strategies and operational plans to be better prepared for changes that are certain to come. Distributors that fail to learn from retail’s transformation risk being blindsided by predictable changes that will come to distribution. Forewarned is forearmed, and in the war for digital dominance, every distributor must strive to be armed to the teeth and ready for battle. 




Read More

Advance Components promotes Brad Burel to VP Sales

Advance Components is pleased to announce the promotion of Brad Burel from Director of National Sales to Vice President of Sales. Brad has been with Advance for 16 years, where he started in Account Management, transitioned to the role of Regional Sales Manager, and several years ago was promoted to Director National of Sales. 

“Advance is excited that Brad will be leading a new initiative to merge the company’s sales and account management teams into a new single unified sales team,” says Gary Cravens, Advance’s President. “Our goal remains to be a customer-focused company, and Brad is key to continuing and expanding our mission.”

Read More

How to Leverage Sales Analytics for Successful Remote Selling

From the NAW Blog:

A new article by Senthil Gunasekaran, Co-author of Seven Enduring NAW Institute Best Sellers, is live in the NAW Blog: Distributing Ideas


Here is a preview.

As distributors respond to COVID-19, they are noticing the limitations of traditional recessionary responses such as cost reduction and working capital preservation. These responses may not be optimal due to the inherent constraint of this recession: social distancing. This constraint directly affects face-to-face sales. Transitioning sales teams to work successfully in this new environment is key to revenue recovery.




Read More

NAW Podcast Episodes 2 and 3

A few weeks ago, NAW launched the NAW Podcast Series: INNOVATE TO DOMINATE, sponsored by PROS. So far we’ve launched three episodes in this limited series to help distributors face the forces of change through innovation: Check out Episode 1: An Introduction to the Innovate to Dominate Podcast Series to get an overview of the series and highlights from subsequent episodes.

All the remaining episodes in this series can only be accessed by subscribers, so please subscribe today! As a subscriber, you'll receive exclusive episodes directly to your inbox. In addition, every subscriber has a chance to win a FREE electronic copy of NAW’s Innovate to Dominatebook with compliments from PROS!

Read More

Know Your Customers From Afar

From the NAW blog:

The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the relationship between distributors and customers. Distributors’ sales processes have changed as travel and onsite visits have become all but impossible. Customer behavior has shifted within this new environment too. The combination of these factors means that distributors now face a unique and challenging puzzle: They must figure out how to make personalized sales without actually having personal contact with customers.

New NAW Podcast Series

NAW is pleased to introduce the new NAW Podcast Series: INNOVATE TO DOMINATE, sponsored by PROS.

In our first episode, “An Introduction to the Innovate to Dominate Podcast Series,” you’ll learn about INNOVATE TO DOMINATE and what it means for you in the context of COVID-19. Watch or listen to this podcast – Check it out!

Read More

Dale Tarantino Obituary

Dale Anne Tarantino passed away November 16, 2019, near family in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is survived by two older brothers and extended families.

Dale was born August 29, 1947 in Washington DC to parents Arthur and Jean Bonney. She spent most of her childhood in Silver Spring, Maryland. In 1968, after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, she went into teaching fifth grade math, until accepting an inside sales rep job selling nuts, bolts, and screws in Cleveland, Ohio. 

In 1978 and after moving to California, Dale started working as a sales representative for Holo-Krome. One of her colleagues said, “Dale was always very easy to talk to and was one of the first technically trained sales people I’d met in the fastener industry. She taught me a lot about the engineering end of socket products, things that I remember and still utilize to this day. Our paths crossed many times through the years as I was her customer, competitor, and colleague.” 

In 1985 Dale held the position of the western regional sales manager for Bossard International, until going into the rep business in the early 1990s. She was on the Los Angeles Fastener Association Board of Directors from 1997-2001, serving as president from 1998-2000. 

Dale was instrumental in the creation of LAFA’s technical training programs for the fastener industry, which led to the creation of the Fastener Training Institute of today. 

In 2011, she started her own agency as an independent factory representative and as an internal auditor to enable companies to prepare for ISO registration and performed internal auditing prior to ISO surveillance.  

In December 2017 Dale moved to Wilmington, North Carolina to be closer to family. She retired from the fastener industry and spent a lot of time at the beach and enjoying her new home. In November 2019 she lost her long battle with cancer. 

Endries Acquires All-West Components and Fasteners

Endries International is pleased to announce that it has acquired All-West Components & Fasteners Inc.

All-West was founded in 1978 in Seattle, Washington with the help of Rick Peterson, the current CEO of the company and past president of both the Pacific-West Fastener Association and STAFDA. Mark Peterson, Rick’s brother, joined the organization in 1982 and has been the company’s president since 2015. Over the past thirty years All-West has been focused on serving the original equipment manufacturing market and providing technical fastener solutions to their customer base. Operating under ISO 9001 accreditation, the company’s twenty-four associates operate from a headquarters in the Seattle suburb of Auburn, Washington and branches in Spokane, Washington and Boise, Idaho.

Read More

A Playbook for Distributors to SURGE Ahead Using Customer Stratification

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?

Read More

Watson Woodrow Stanley Obituary

Watson Woodrow Stanley, 96, Purple Heart Recipient and a resident of Howell, MI passed from this life Monday, May 18 of natural causes.

Watson was preceded in death by his wife Bette Ann Eckert (deceased in 1997) and will be sorely missed by his wife Elizabeth (daughter Alicia).  He was the loving father of 3 children, William (Barb) Stanley, Robert (Lana Kenny) Stanley and Judy (Jim) Cash. Watson cherished his 10 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. He was the brother of Mae (Max) Stevens and Patricia (David) O’Donnell.

Read More

Distributors Are Innovating, But Are Manufacturers Paying Attention?

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.

Read More

Industrial Threaded Products Acquires Construction Tool & Threading Co.

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.

Read More

4 Ways AI Can Grow Business During COVID-19

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.

Read More

Fastener Fair USA Postponed Until March 2021

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.

Read More

Stress Testing and Strategic Cost Reduction During the Pandemic

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.

Read More

How Will You Win by Being Human?

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

Read More

Inside Sales Teams Sell More with AI

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.

Read More

Denny Cowhey Retires

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.

Read More

Sabotage Outsider Disruption by Turbocharging Communities

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.

Read More

Why Setting SMART Goals with Your Employees Is the Way to Go

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.

Read More