The terms “gross profit” and “gross margin” are often used interchangeably as they are both calculated the same way: the amount for which goods or services were sold minus the amount for which they were purchased. True, the mathematical values are ultimately the same, but what many folks understand those terms to represent are quite different.

On January 8, 2020 at 11am PT, Indian River Consulting Group managing partner Mike Marks will join Epicor’s ongoing webinar series on Distribution Innovation and Strategy. Marks will add to the conversation about how innovating your business model can help you embrace change in 2020 and beyond.

According to BigCommerce, more than 197 million people visit Amazon each month to browse more than 12 million products — and those numbers go up every day. But distributors don’t need to be afraid of Amazon. Rather, they need to innovate and sell to customers the way today’s customers want to buy.

More and more, we’re seeing industries move toward integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into operations structures.

If branded manufacturer margins decline, some distributors may consider expanding their model to add private label revenue. This could be a good idea for the company, but it’s only one component within the greater plan.

Margins are declining. Growth rates have become lower than the market standard. What's going wrong, and how can you fix it?

The biggest mistake management teams make, when it comes to sales compensation, is using the pay plan to manage salespeople.

Forecasters are pointing to market slowdowns in early 2020. And while things are expected to pick up again in the back half of the new year, this is no time to abandon your playbook.

We know market access starts with coverage, but do all your potential customers see you how you want to be seen?

Back in the day, the path to distributor growth was to sell service with excellent people.

There are two trends distributors should be paying close attention to in today’s market. One is understanding the role of technology, and the other is attracting and retaining talent.

Disruption is probably the one constant in today’s market.

Most distributors think they know their customers. Until they actually talk to those customers.

Often, when distributors think about value propositions or differentiating themselves to appeal to customers, they are in an echo chamber, only talking to each other, or watching what competitors do.

When the ball drops, and 2019 flips to 2020, will you have closed some of the gap between you and your most innovative distributor competitors, or will that gap have widened so far you can no longer cross it?

Take action now to ensure your distribution company stays relevant with a sustainable plan to address the following five areas of your business:

Distributors who are thriving – and there are many -- in today’s digitally driven market are those who play to win and not to lose. But adopting a winning strategy doesn’t mean throwing money at a bigger sales team or at new technology.