What does the restaurant business have to do with knowledge-based distribution? On the surface, probably not much, but great ideas arrive from strange places. I was half asleep sipping coffee when I snapped out of groggy fog while catching some business news. The host was interviewing Zane Tankel, the CEO of Apple-Metro which owns 30 plus Applebee’s in metro New York City. Thanks to DVR, I was able to re-watch the interview a couple of times. I can’t think of an industry harder hit by the coronavirus pandemic than the restaurant industry. I also can’t imagine a worse place to be during this crisis than New York City, yet Mr. Tankel, like most of the distributors I have spoked with, relayed a positive message. Like many distributors, Apple-Metro is preserving cash, but unlike most distributors, the company has dramatically reduced its workforce from 2,600+ down to 84 people. I believe this has more to do with the makeup of the restaurant workforce, where the personnel side con...

Remi Ducrocq, KYKLO Guest Blogger:  Remi Ducrocq, KYKLO Co-founder & CEO From Frank:   I wanted to post this article written by Remi Ducrocq for a couple of reasons. First, we know Remi and his team at KYKLO quite well and found the spirit of giving displayed in the article appropriate for our times. More importantly, KYKLO has people in Thailand, Europe, and the US. They have had at least four weeks more experience with dealing with COVID-19 than anyone else I know personally or professionally. I believe in learning from others, and I see this as an opportunity to share and learn. I hope you gather some good pointers from this post. A time for sharing This is a time for sharing. As our industry works through the issues created by this global pandemic, we at KYKLO believe now is the time to share positive thoughts and best practices for our industry. This reach-out comes not as a commercial message but rather as an act of sharing. First, ...

If you've been reading much recently, you know how much we love KYKLO around here.  Today we are honored to have KYKLO Co-founder and CEO, Remi Ducrocq just us as a guest blogger.  He recently attended the European Distributor Conference and has agreed to give us his feedback. Welcome, Remi! Early in May, I had the opportunity to attend The European Union of Electrical Wholesalers (EUEW) conference in Brussels. This organization, founded in 1955, is a 16-nation body representing the interests of the electrical wholesaling channel throughout Europe.  During this meeting, I had the opportunity to attend a session conducted by Ian Heller of US-based Modern Distributor Management. His message was timely, poignant and was delivered in a manner that lingered well beyond the meeting and into an after-hours conversation.  Allow me to expand on this.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) will forever change distribution .  AI will enable sweeping efficiency shi...

Many knowledge-based distributors are seriously considering the move into e-commerce. A few of the forward-thinking companies have already started their efforts. Along the way, these early adopters have discovered some of the pot-holes in the road to a credible e-commerce platform. The whole “e-commerce thing” is still developing. There are a million (well at least a couple hundred) misconceptions floating around. Based on the situation, we decided to share some numbers. 12,000+ Automation related Google searches per day: Just in the State of Ohio Why pick on automation? We used automation related terms because less spill over into other hobby or DIY topics was less than what might be seen with electrical, plumbing or other lines of trade. The assumption is simple: those searching for Variable Frequency Drives, Programmable Controllers and other automation equipment are industrially focused and most likely the types of customer contacts knowledge-based distributors serve. 81 P...

Gathering, contrasting and benchmarking information from a variety of sources drives clarity of thought almost as well as Santa’s famous “On Dancer, On Dasher and On Prancer” line drives a team of eight tiny reindeer. One big part of my role as a distribution consultant comes via interviews with wholesalers across a wide range of geographies and industry segments. Over the past year, I have interviewed leaders in the field from Asia to Alabama, from New Orleans to New Brunswick and all points between. I gathered some pretty amazing insights. But, none of these compared with what I learned from the guy who runs what is potentially the largest distributor on the planet and certainly the leading business of any kind north of the Arctic Circle, North Pole Industries Founder and CEO, Santa Claus. After at least a dozen phone calls and emails, my assistant, Jenny, was finally able to pull some strings and arrange for a rare face-to-face interview down at the local mall. It seems Mr....

Make no mistake, customers are thinking and behaving differently today than just a couple years ago. When I was a  rookie sales guy, the primary source of product information for my customers was their favorite salesperson. Introducing customers to new products, providing catalogs for additional product data searches and demonstrations of new features (and benefits) of existing products was job one. Early on, I discovered the salesperson who provided the best and most valuable information held a position of grace and favor. #ASKGUDMUNDUR: The world's  first human search engine. Once I worked my way into the favored spot, I became the trusted “human search engine” used to find solutions and new products. Here’s how it went. The customer described their problem, I took notes, drew pictures and scurried off to research a list of possible solutions. A week or two later, I returned with a few catalog data sheets, a dozen or so pictures and we refined the “search” and ...