I doubt robots need an office The Importance of AI in Industrial Distribution A few months ago, I found myself in a late-night discussion of robotics.  My compatriots were a distinguished group of automation distributors, and our conversation was fueled by a perfect desert evening and copious amounts of Mexican Cerveza.  The conversation turned to robotics in off-the-wall applications.     Flippy, the burger-cooking robot, now works at White Castel and CaliBurger.  Little Caesars has pizza-making robots.  My local Checkers drive-through has a robotic voice order taker that handles my nearly daily request for two chili dogs.  The list went on for a very long time, when somebody jokingly shared this little gem, “With all this AI stuff, all of us will be replaced by some form of automation.”   I shared this thought with Jenny, who serves as my assistant and editor, and somehow it percolated to top of mind.  While waiting a few m...

The first Monday in November is JOB ACTION DAY.  Never heard of it?  Probably not, but you likely have felt strongly about taking action with your job.  Think about the last time you updated your resume.  I am not talking about a resume to find a new job, instead, I am thinking more about taking an inventory of the skills you possess and comparing them against your skills last year.  Have you learned some new skills?  If the answer is yes, that’s awesome.  If not, why not.  You aren’t perfect and the world is changing around you.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to improve your worth, by developing skills that enhance your value to your company or maybe to some future company?   With the state of the world over the last few years, it's impossible for us to think we have job security without new skills.  We have witnessed the unthinkable many times over.  Companies across the globe have closed shop with little to no notice. ...

Sleep is essential but… Dr. Matthew Walker is the foremost expert on the subject of sleep.  According to his research missing an hour of sleep can be harmful to your health and mental well-being.  I recently read his groundbreaking book, Why we Sleep , and armed with detailed explanations as to the importance of sleep, I was forced to make a hard  decision – sacrificing sleep versus spending an extra couple of hours engaged in some incredibly interesting conversations. You can imagine which I chose... Last night a small group of automation experts shared their thoughts on the impact of “reshoring” on the automation industry.  Here are some questions to ponder: ·          What regions will be most positively impacted by reshoring?  ·          Will the flow of manufactured products change from an east-to-west flow to a south-to-north supply chain? ·       ...

AHTD Report Day 2- AHTD is a networking extravaganza. Tuesday marked the official launch of the AHTD meeting.  The morning was devoted to a Board of Directors meeting which only involves a dozen or so members.  However, many attendees showed up early to engage in informal meetings with Supply-Partners and other distributors.  I couldn’t help but notice dozens of distributor groups huddled together to do some benchmarking.  Much sharing of information on the condition of the market and supply chain issues.   The official meeting started at an opening reception where the record crowd munched on appetizers and chowed down on the latest industry gossip.  What was the gossip? Business continues to hold up nicely. Supply chain issues are still a part of the business.  Could this be the new normal? Finding qualified workers is a major deal and the AHTD Future Leaders Program is overflowing with smart folks who will carry the industry into the fut...

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...

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 ...