Is your distribution organization thriving or declining?
In a recent U.S. survey conducted by NAW-McGladrey, 32 percent of distributors report they are thriving, 7 percent report they are declining, and 61 percent are holding steady. Click here to access the 2013 McGladrey Distribution Monitor Report.
The distributors who are thriving were surveyed on their corporate objectives in the next 12 months and they listed the following (in order of priority):
- Introduce new products and product lines
- Invest in process-improvement initiatives
- Invest in new or upgraded information technologies
- Expand existing facilities and warehouses
- Introduce new services
Our interest was peaked by items 2 and 3 – “Invest in process-improvement initiatives” and “Invest in new or upgraded information technologies.”
Running a profitable distribution organization requires efficient processes and once a process is defined, technology can make the process even more efficient in terms of both time and money.
The survey went on to ask what benefits distributors hoped to realize with new or upgraded technologies and the seven most shared answers were:
- Share information within the company
- Improve company productivity and reduce costs
- Improve customer satisfaction
- Share information with customers
- Enhance corporate security and reduce risks
- Improve profit margin
- Share information with suppliers
If these are areas that you would like to see improved in your distribution operations, we can assist you. We have helped distributors use technology to minimize lost profits, gain efficiencies and protect profits.
