By David S. Bauders, CEO SPARXiQ Sales effectiveness has increasingly become a focal point for distributors as markets have become more competitive. While record growth numbers from 2021-22 have settled into a new plateau, sales teams now face the requirement of capturing market share to sustain growth. In this environment, enhancing execution on the front lines is more critical than ever. Training sales reps and implementing formal sales processes aren’t new ideas. Yet, few companies have historically been thrilled with the results of doing so. Over the past few years, our team at SPARXiQ ha ..read more

By David S. Bauders, CEO SPARXiQ Winning Contractor Business: A Guide for Distributors Mark Twain’s famous saying, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble; it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so,” perfectly captures the challenge faced by distributors serving the construction industry. Understanding the true drivers behind contractor buying behavior is pivotal for delivering exceptional service and capturing primary-supplier status, which in turn is the key to market leadership and profitability. Despite the common belief among distributors that price is the primary fact ..read more

By David S. Bauders, CEO SPARXiQ Integrating Strategies for Market Success Although over 20 years have passed since the early excitement about the internet, emerging trends and technologies are creating a dynamic new market landscape for distributors. Despite e-commerce’s unfulfilled promises for many, the need for distributors to embrace new channels is more pressing than ever. At the recent 2024 NAW Executive Summit, several industry leaders joined me on a panel to discuss this transformation, particularly the shift towards omnichannel strategies that align with technological advancements an ..read more

By Pierre Barbeau, CEO Mobilco Give your customers and associates the same experience they expect as consumers. In recent years, mobile engagement has become vital to wholesale distribution for various reasons. The widespread usage of mobile devices, including smartphones and connected devices, has transformed our daily interactions and transactions, both personally and professionally. Over 60% of millennials, a fast-growing demographic in the contracting industry, prefer digital two-way mobile communications over traditional methods. Mobile devices’ on-the-go accessibility allows wholesale d ..read more

By: Pierce Smith, Senior Content Marketing Manager at Conexiom Picture this: a surge in customer demand, an influx of orders flooding your inbox, and a dedicated team overwhelmed by the sheer volume of manual tasks required to process them. This type of logistical challenge has plagued customer service and sales teams for years. Manual order processing consumes precious time and resources, introduces errors, and causes costly delays. However, there’s a solution that alleviates the burden of manual processing and enhances accuracy and speed: automated order processing. Adopting automated o ..read more

Written By: Tracy Buelow, Vice President of Category Management at Zoro.com E-commerce and marketplace buying behavior continues to grow in the B2B space, and based on recent studies, those behaviors are here to stay. According to a recent survey, more than 50% of B2B buyers make a daily digital purchase of a good or service for their organization. The main reason why is because it is a much faster process to order the products that they need.1 So let’s talk about the B2B buyer. What do they want? What do they need to efficiently do their jobs? Why do they choose to shop online and w ..read more

Silhouette of construction worker with crane and cloudy blue sky for preparation of welcome 2024 new year party and change new business. By David S. Bauders, CEO SPARXiQ After the winter holiday break, and a period of reflection and introspection, distribution executives return to work facing the business imperatives of driving growth, profitability and strategic advantage. For many, 2024 will be the first full year since the pandemic where the tailwinds of supply-chain interruption, rebound demand, and price inflation have dropped away. For companies still operating in the pre-pandemic tradit ..read more

By David S. Bauders, CEO SPARXiQ For many distributors, the post-pandemic period has provided exceptional growth, with many sectors experiencing revenue gains of 30 percent or more since 2021. Though part of this growth has been driven by persistent high inflation, much of it was fueled by real expansion in volumes due to increased construction and economic growth. In many sectors, 2022-2023 has seen record sales and profitability. Growth has not been equal, however. For many distributors, their sales and profit growth, while internally impressive, actually show a loss of market share when pl ..read more

Written By: Net at Work What is intelligent pricing? Intelligent pricing is a data-driven approach used by many of today’s small-to-mid-sized distributors that provides optimal pricing based on historical buying behavior, real-time demand, location, and other factors. As more distributors seek better ways to maximize profitability, strategic pricing has come to the forefront as an agile way to reduce revenue leakage and protect margins. To explore this approach further, Industrial Distribution Editor David Mantey hosted technology experts from Net at Work for a discussion of the science and st ..read more

By: Doug Wyatt (VP, Sales & Marketing – SPARXiQ) At various industry events this year, a recurring topic has been the importance of a well-thought-out talent strategy. It’s not merely about having any talent strategy but developing one that enables you to thrive in the face of today’s talent challenges. Many distributors have expressed a widespread shortage of talent and are facing high turnover. This cuts across all departments from warehouse and logistics to back-office and management. However, this issue is particularly critical in sales roles, given its impact on your company’s perform ..read more