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Original Equipment Manufacturers, also known as OEMs, can be heartless when dealing with smaller distributors and often offer the contracts to larger distributors believing they are somehow easier and more efficient to work with but I believe the pendulum will swing the other way.
Bigger is not always better. Big distributors can choke on their bureaucracies and management layers built into the fabric of the organization. Small business is efficient and flexible to change, every penny is accounted for wherein big distributors are prone to abuse and waste. Often times the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. A well run small distributor prides itself on communication, organization and accountability.
Small distributors have simplistic visions and values and are in the best position to know and satisfy their customer needs. Overhead structures make them extremely competitive. Most products sold are commodities which are price driven and the larger distributor with this higher overhead typically have higher prices.
According to Industrial Supply magazine, the Industrial Supply Ass (ISA) conducted a 2015 survey of 144 members to determine that for small distributors to gain an edge they typically focus on the following:
- Problem-solving
- Product application expertise
- Long standing customer relationships
- Excellent customer service
- Intimate market knowledge