Buying a company can be an emotional experience. The closer many distributors get to completing a deal, the more they tend to fall in love with it. The reality is that M&A transactions should be based on financial return, not passion, but that’s the No. 1 mistake I’ve seen distributors make when buying another company.
Watch the video below to learn the two things you can do help keep emotion out of the equation when buying a distribution company. This video was created to address common questions we’ve received since announcing the opening of registration for the Distribution M&A Executive Workshop we’re hosting in partnership with Modern Distribution Management.
Did you enjoy listening to Mike speak about how to avoid common problems in M&A? Join us for IRCG’s and MDM’s M&A Executive Workshop. Sign up today.
I moderated a panel discussion on the future of the independent distributor in the electrical channel at this week’s National Association of Electrical Distributors National Meeting in Boston.
A lot of distributors are worried about Amazon’s growing influence in B2B markets. Despite Amazon’s replacement of AmazonSupply with the somewhat less-threatening Amazon Business in 2015, the increased competition in B2B markets created by Amazon Business still outweighs the new selling opportunities it has created.
Written by Mike Marks
on Thursday, 16 February 2017.
On a daily basis, you can get news on mergers and acquisitions and the quarterly reports of publicly traded companies. And it seems like every week a new report comes out outlining new industry trends.
The University of Innovative Distribution (UID) has opened registration for its March 2017 program. IRCG's Mike Marks is a permanent faculty member at UID, and will be presenting four courses.
One distinction stands above all others in separating market-driven distribution companies from the competition: They set internal priorities based on an external, market perspective.
Written by Mike Marks
on Wednesday, 21 September 2016.
Every distributor says they are different because of their service and their people. But those are not differentiators: They are just the ante to play. If you have both, you get to bid. But if that’s your strategy, you’re going to be stuck competing on price.
IRCG’s Mike Marks wants distributors to be proactive, not reactive, about finding and acting on opportunities. That’s his message in two different recent articles featured on MDM.com.
Consolidation in wholesale distribution has remained strong in part due to a wave of owner-operators wanting to move on to the next stages of their lives. As part of their succession plans, some are selling to regional or national consolidators.
IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks recently contributed his insight on how distributors can succeed in today’s up-and-down climate in the newly released 2016 Distribution Trends Report from mdm.com.
Don’t wait to set up a succession plan. Now is the time to determine what you want next for your distribution business by conducting a strategic alternatives analysis.
IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks recently discussed distributors’ options in a presentation at the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association’s (MHEDA) annual convention.
Distributors are fighting wars on multiple fronts, according to a recent panel moderated by IRCG at the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) annual meeting, and they must respond with a fresh approach to compete effectively.
IRCG’s Mike Marks recently moderated a panel discussion at the 2016 National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) annual convention. The topic was "Are You Predator or Prey?" Panelists discussed how distributors are responding to the increasing pace of disruption in the electrical distribution industry.
In which part of the business cycle should distributors invest in analytics? IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks and PROS Director of Industry Marketing Sean Duclaux addressed this question and more in the recent National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors webinar “Realizing Revenue and Profit Growth for Wholesale Distributors.”
For many distributors, the last price paid is the go-to price. Salespeople know it worked last time, so they use it again. But over the past several years, more distributors have invested in pricing software to help them hit the right price – and not just the lowest or highest – on each transaction.
