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Here’s what we learned recently with a client. The client was on a version-locked ERP, and we were excited to be given the opportunity to help them move to a new business management system. In about 9 months ago they were live on their new system! Despite having many discovery meetings during our sales cycle where we […]

The post-COVID economy taught businesses a harsh lesson – without sufficient liquidity, companies cannot navigate and adapt to market disruption. As a result, businesses must find growth strategies that stimulate higher profits and yield higher returns on two of their core assets – inventory and customer base.  Many companies tend to go into reactive mode […]

How distributors can align the right messages with the right customers in the right places. As a distributor, you know that customer-facing business documents provide an excellent opportunity to promote your business. Your existing customers are the best source for growing sales, so it’s a no-brainer that you whenever you send a document to one […]

There are many aspects of smart manufacturing and its promises of improved business performance that may lead some to the opinion that the role and contribution of ERP will progressively diminish over time as the means to apply smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 concepts continue to become more readily available to the marketplace. The thinking […]

Best Practices for Boosting Sales Margins. A survey by Earnest & Associates (E&A) has affirmed the critical need for distributors to spend less time with their poor, profit-draining customers – a key to boosting sales margins. Over one hundred decision makers at small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) in the wholesale/distribution trade participated in the […]

Key Themes from the NAW 2023 Executive Summit At the recent NAW Executive Summit, one overarching message was clear: the next frontier of the wholesale distribution industry will require pioneering business leaders to navigate a still uncertain future with a steady hand and a willingness to adapt. For three days, attendees mingled, networked, and collaborated […]

Guest post written by John and Susan Mansfield. In less than 9 months from when it was first made generally available in July 2015, Microsoft’s Power BI’s subscriber base leaped to over 5 million subscribers from 200,000 companies in 200 countries, and this phenomenal adoption rate by companies worldwide has continued ever since. It is […]

Make a Difference… In almost every career, your success can be tied directly to how well you know the tools of your trade.  For a wood worker, it’s table saws and jigs; for software developers it’s languages, directives, libraries, and technologies.  People who know their tools create success in business.  Those who lack detailed knowledge […]

How Companies Can Capitalize in a Challenging Economy. SPEED* is a methodology defined by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW).  Leveraging the insights gained from a Customer Stratification analysis, SPEED can help your wholesale/distribution business grow sales more profitably and sustainably in 2013, as follows: Start by modeling what your Core customers tend to buy from you. Then, […]

A survey by Earnest & Associates (E&A) has affirmed that price haggling remains a problem in the wholesale/distribution industry. Over one hundred decision makers at small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the wholesale/distribution trade participated in the survey. 61% of respondents agreed with the statement, ‘Too many customers haggle with us over price’. In fact, […]