Author: Mike Marks

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Mike Marks is co-founder and managing partner of Indian River Consulting Group, a consulting firm to distributors and manufacturers. He specializes in helping distributors and manufacturers accurately diagnose problems and identify risk-bound alternatives. Contact him at [email protected] or visit ircg.com.

Many distributors have approached transformation in a piecemeal fashion. Most have only so many resources available and focus on one critical area at a time – in isolation from other dimensions of the business. Our team at IRCG has seen distributors addressing transformation in overlapping succession according to the most pressing priority, often starting with digital and moving on to sales, analytics and culture.   Yet, as Tom Gale of Modern Distribution Management and I discussed on the MDM QuickTake podcast, those distributors who take a holistic approach and account for all the ways each dimension will interact tend to realize…

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If your 2024 plan is to do more of the same but just better, I’d argue that’s not a plan at all. Right now, distributors need to have a serious conversation about: What they’ll do that’s different. What they’re going to invest. I see a lot of distributors talking in circles about what they could do and what others are doing to grow sales, expand margin and increase business value. However, when they finally come to the table to define their objectives for the next year, they don’t make a larger commitment. Distributors can’t afford to do that again this…

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In 2022, the focus was on digital transformation. Do you have ecommerce? Are you using a CRM solution? Have you created a roadmap for digital transformation? This year has a different focus. The past couple of years have put many through the ringer. Now that distributors have the time to breathe easier, they can adjust and be future-focused. The hallmark of 2023 will be a bridge. Distributors will have the opportunity to bring together the critical elements of digital, the rise of data and analytics, and the importance of talent and culture (your people). The connection—and success—of these elements will…

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