Business Strategy

The world of distribution has proud roots dating back to the end of WWII. But making historical assumptions on the journey of transforming sales models can result in costly pitfalls, especially in a post-pandemic world. The market is changing too quickly.

When asked how you can provide them with more value, most customers will instantly suggest a price cut. After all, it is the easiest way to compare multiple vendors and as the old adage goes, “It never hurts to ask!”

As practices continue to shift, 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.

The need for a strong strategy does not stop because of unprecedented times. If anything, troubling times should highlight the importance of a sound strategy based on customer needs and market realities.

Given double-digit declines in weekly sales year over year, many distributors are evaluating how, when and where they should cut costs to protect future cash flows in these unpredictable times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 17 MDM CEO Tom Gale and IRCG Founding Partner Mike Marks held a Live webinar you can now watch on demand. Learn the latest updates on how the Covid-19 pandemic is impacting customers, suppliers, operations and teams.

On April 3, 2020 IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks and Modern Distribution Management CEO Tom Gale co-hosted an event on how COVID-19 is impacting distributors. This two-hour discussion featured an expert panel to learn about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on distribution customers, suppliers, operations and teams. 

The tool has been put together as a resource for distributors who have not developed the projection tools that will allow them to act early as events unfold related to the current COVID-19 global health crisis.

Each week, we’ll be tracking a snapshot of year-over-year distributor revenue with our Pandemic Revenue Index (PRI). Here’s the latest graph.

IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks joined MDM CEO Tom Gale and John Gunderson for this program on March 27, 2020, now available on-demand. Guests shared their experiences and impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on distribution customers, suppliers, operations and team. 

The Indian River Consulting Group Pandemic Revenue Index (PRI) of distributor sales compares sales each week with their same week in the prior year. The Index is based on data from many distributors across multiple lines of trade we have invited to participate.

In a recent video conversation with Dirk Beveridge of UnleashWD, Indian River Consulting Group’s Managing Partner and Founder Mike Marks and Partner Mike Emerson spoke about how to manage next steps in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus or Covid-19 has brought a level of disruption to businesses unlike many of us have ever seen. Most of us have been through natural disasters and recessions but this is a new kind of disruption. 

2020 is here, and we’re still hearing some rumbling of an economic slowdown. Some might consider holding back on new investments until the economic future is more certain. And yet, thriving amid disruption is a differentiator in today’s market. Put another way: Disruption creates opportunity.

This May, IRCG’s Mike Marks and Mike Emerson will be participating once again in the Sales GPS conference in Chicago, Ill.