First Houston and the Gulf shores and now Florida is set to go under. Natural disasters are tough on distributors and even harder on our customers. I know from firsthand experience.  I thought this might be a good time for distributors to share their knowledge of natural disasters and would like to invite everyone who has lived through one of these events to share their experience and provide tips and support.   Without going into massive details, Iowa has had more than its share of flooding. I went through the great Des Moines flood of 1993, which put much of the downtown underwater and flooded countless industrial facilities. We went without running water for 29 days which meant no drinking water, no workable toilets and put the nearest shower at an army base nearly 20 miles away. For a week or so, every business deemed unnecessary for infrastructure rebuilding was ordered closed. Electrical distributors were viewed as important. We were told “not to close." ...

Based on a research published on strategyand.com, the average company in North America spends an average of five percent of revenue on Research & Development (R&D.)  Further study points out that more innovative companies are spending closer to 20 percent (Google spends 16.6 percent, Amazon was 27.7 percent and pharma companies go into the high 20s.)  While these companies are pushing for new and groundbreaking products, it makes sense that every company would want to invest a little in their future.  Should distribution be any different? Many believe that R&D involves white-smocked scientists Disclaimer: Frank was not in Back to the Future working in some secret skunkworks laboratory deep underground.  Arguably, distributors sell the products developed in this kind of product/technology-based research setting.  Research & Development involves more than just products.  Some research should also be focused on the customer.  Things...