A couple of weeks ago Mark McGready, IDEA‘s Director of Data Analytics and Solutions, attended the Applied AI for Distributors conference and while he shared Nudge with a number of people, upon reflection after the conference, he noticed an elephant
More INSIGHTS
Rachel Slade, IDEA’s Director of Business Development, attended the recent NAED Women in Industry conference and shares her thoughts. The essence of her feedback mirrors those that Desiree Grace shared last week and their feedback, coupled with some calls I
Last week NAED held the largest association conference of the season, its annual Women in Industry conference, which was held in Houston and reportedly attracted about 1100 people with about 50% being first time attendees. According to conversations I had
While national chains are reporting strong growth as they benefit from data centers and all in the industry seeing topline performance grow due to wire pricing, the challenge is that operating costs continue to rise for electrical distributors. So, the
A couple of weeks ago NAED held its 2026 National meeting in Orlando. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend this year as I committed to speak at the Electric League of Western PA on the topic of Improving Project Profitability
Is the relationship between reps and distributors becoming more essential to our industry? I was interviewing an executive of a national electrical distributor recently, and he related to me his company now found partnering with a manufacturer’s representative more significant
Research & Resources
Recently Chris Sokoll (from DISC) and I were talking about copper, which led to a discussing the wire / cable market. We all know some of the dynamics: Raw material cost fluctuations, which have resulted in an increase. Tariff dynamics
For 40+ years the electrical distribution industry has turned to DISC for an electrical distribution-specific market forecast. Leading manufacturers, distributors and reps turn to it as a common measurement of “the distribution market”, facilitating planning based upon a common language.
At the end of the year, Neil Ashe, CEO of Acuity, described the 4th quarter (their first quarter) lighting business as “tepid”, and our 2025 Q4 Pulse of Lighting report affirmed, and shared a 2026 Outlook If the definition of
For many we entered 2026 feeling as if we moved to the frozen tundra and, throughout the first couple of months the weather was “challenging” (and understatement) and a brake on the business. For others, the construction industry has been
For electrical distributors, their largest asset, and greatest differentiator, is their people. While inventory is a large line-item expense, the reality is that you can operate a electrical distributorship with little, if any, inventory if that is your business model.
Supplier News
The automation space is very specific, yet important. While the industrial segment (industrial MRO and OEM represents about 33% of total electrical distribution sales, according to DISC, automation products represent a significant percentage of this. Rexel’s acquisition last month got
Recognizing the challenges that many contractors are facing due to switchgear supply chain challenges, and that the switchgear market is changing, Electra Sales, a five location, multi-state independent electrical manufacturer rep, that is an ESOP, brought on a switchgear line
Progressive, growth-oriented manufacturers tell their key distributors, and their salesforce / reps that they believe in “innovation.” Some set new product introduction (NPI) goals. Some mention this to their investors / analysts as a way to explain value proposition, performance,
While Atkore is a valued supplier to many distributors, and extremely important to many manufacturer reps, even with their “multi-rep / territory” strategy, many have wondered about the company’s longer-term future. Atkore “Cleaning Up”? Over the past few years, the
ESG … sustainability. Many publicly-held companies believe in it and promote it. Some issue lengthy reports about their ESG initiatives. Rather than “just publish,” I frequently ask “what is the benefit of this to end-customers? to distributors?” And surprisingly, 99%
