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. 

Most customers will ask for a price cut if you ask them how you can provide more value. But discounts are the surest way to erode margins and start a race to the bottom.

Mike Marks writes that the question how frequently sales reps should call on customers misses the mark. It assumes, he says, that outside sales reps should regularly be visiting existing customers.

Are your direct and inside sales teams structured to embrace or resist an e-commerce channel? If you're grappling with this very challenge, Zilliant and IRCG invite you to watch our free webinar: Restructuring Your Sales Team When Incorporating eCommerce.

A lot of distributors have been operating in an echo chamber without realizing it. Distributors in an echo chamber don't measure anything, so they don't understand what's working and what isn't. They also focus a lot on the day-to-day minutia without seeing the big picture.