Fastenal's average daily sales rose by 14.8% year over year in May, sparked by a 136.3% spike in sales of safety gear due to the coronavirus pandemic. Manufacturing and nonresidential construction sales were down, and the company cut a net 554 positions in May.
[Webinar} The Key to Digital Transformation As the world faces unprecedented change, distributors must find a way to survive and thrive. It is critical today more than ever to reduce operational costs, scale your business, maximize data security and increase your revenue. Building your ERP solution using cloud architecture with capabilities specific to the distribution industry will position your business to stay on track to reach (and exceed) 2020 goals. Watch on-demand.
Distributors facing price increases from manufacturers can either charge customers more, reduce costs or reduce profit, writes Mike Marks of the Indian River Consulting Group. Distributors that have good, trusting relationships with suppliers will be able to navigate the resulting conversations and avoid losing business, he writes.
Labor-management systems can help supply chain operations optimize employees, identify productivity gaps and manage employee placement across warehouses, writes Bridget McCrea. Such technology can also keep workers more engaged through gamification.
Distributors that want to improve their e-commerce sales should switch to active platforms that use artificial intelligence to optimize search results, encourage upsells and cross-sells, and promote private-label and overstocked products, writes Proton.ai founder Benj Cohen.
Bhaskar Roy explains how business-to-business marketers can mitigate the effect of a soft pipeline during the pandemic by automating workflows so inbound leads are contacted by an appropriate salesperson within five minutes of expressing interest in a product or service. Roy recommends offering additional incentives to secure attendees for virtual events and describes how to maximize buyer intent data.
When private equity firms acquire distributors, they typically focus on leadership accountability, profitability and growth, says former Grainger executive John Schweig, who is now at PE firm Snow Phipps. "Savvy PE firms will invest in a handful of growth opportunities at the outset, since the early EBITDA hit is far less important than making sure that one or more initiatives pays off in future growth," he says.
Did you miss the May 28 webinar with Alan Beaulieu: "Distribution Post COVID-19 Outlook"? It's not too late for you to join the hundreds who benefitted from Alan's forecast for the short-, mid- and long-term. The webinar recording and slide deck are available now for a short time for purchase. Order here and watch on demand as your convenience!
Subscribe to the new NAW Podcast Series: INNOVATE TO DOMINATE, sponsored by PROS so you don't miss a single episode. In episode 1, listeners will learn about INNOVATE TO DOMINATE and what it means in the context of COVID-19. This podcast series is centered around the findings in NAW's "Innovate to Dominate: The 12th Edition in the Facing the Forces of Change Series," which helps distributors connect the dots between the forces of change, the things that are reshaping how customers buy, and how businesses operate.
