Distribution

Indian River Consulting Group is proud that of the 56 sessions offered at the University of Innovative Distribution in 2020 that we were chosen to lead eight. We are the only firm with multiple instructors in the program. Partner Abe Walton will teach about leading with innovation, as well as how to increase engagement across different generations of employees.

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?

In cooperation with Purdue University, the University of Innovative Distribution has released upcoming coursework for the 2020 academic year.

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.

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

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.

Just as with any other relationship, when distributors and manufacturers break up, poor communication is often to blame.

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.

Supplier scorecards can be a highly useful tool that directly drive profitability. Or they can spark friction and permanently fray relationships between distributors and suppliers.

Digital transformation. Consolidation. Growing concerns over manufacturers’ going direct. With all the shiny objects in front of distributors right now, it’s easy to ignore (and not plan for) the next big thing: the next recession.

Students of history recognize that there are two things we know about the economy. One is that cycles of growth and recession are inevitable. The second is that we rarely see the downturn coming, and we can’t always rely on economic indicators to warn us.

A strong economy has provided distributors with more investment capital in 2018 than they've seen in over a decade. Even small, independent distributors are making investments, adding ecommerce and other technologies to reduce their cost to serve, create frictionless buying experiences and strengthen their value proposition. The most successful investments will be based on long-term goals.