A recipe for success
Manufacturers and distributors must understand each other's perspectives
By Steve Moore -- Industrial Distribution, 7/1/1998
In this industry there is a lot of change and many people and businesses come and go. It reminds me of a cauldron of soup that just keeps boiling. As the soup boils, it gets thick and concentrated, then fresh ingredients are added to revitalize it and give it a different flavor. We're all cooks, we've all got our own recipe and we're all part of an industry. We can't ignore how our recipes interrelate and how factors from the outside can flavor it. To me there are four key ingredients for success:Define who you are.
Identify where and what you are today, and form a vision of where you want to be. Establish plans on how you are going to get there. Set the values and game rules by which you will operate. This process is critical to building sound relationships. Everyone wants to know how they fit and what is expected of them... how else do you make sure that all the horses on your team are pulling in the same direction? Won't it be easier to accomplish your vision if you share that vision and those goals and objectives with all the members of your team?
Be a factor in the market.
To truly be a factor in the market, companies need to know as much as possible about the person plunking down his hard-earned money to purchase their product. Today, many manufacturers focus on the distributor as their end customer and spend all their time reacting to distributors' demands or to deals from competitive manufacturers. As distributor owners become more removed from daily contact with their customers, they tend to focus their attention on leveraging their position with suppliers and passing those deals on to customers. To say you don't need to know what your competition is doing, or to question your suppliers to make sure you're not paying any more than you should would be naive.
The bigger part of the answer to our growing business lies with the end customer. We need to base decisions on the way things are and the way we think things will be, rather than on what they were with regards to our end customers. It is imperative that manufacturers and distributors know the other's perspective well to properly challenge and support one another. Yet, how well do we know the challenges our customers face, what they expect from us and how those needs and expectations are changing? The ideal would be for us to be able to anticipate their needs -- be proactive, not reactive!
Select your partners carefully.
Whether manufacturer or distributor, we deal with several different types of partners -- supplier partners, employee partners and customer partners. Each partner has a significant effect on the success of our business. Each must share our values, trust us and commit to shared goals. Each partner reflects our business to others and should represent our business consistent with our vision. Select your partners carefully and support them.
Frequently assess and redefine who you are.
Change occurs at an ever-increasing rate. Twenty-five years ago we could operate well with 10-year plans. Now we look at reformulating plans every two to three years...max. In an industry where the entrepreneurial spirit has been so strong over the years, it is important to recognize that businesses are started to satisfy an entrepreneur's personal needs, wants and desires. What happens at that point when those needs, wants and desires are satisfied? Our job, while we're a part of a business, is to feed it, grow it and nurture it, so when we leave it, the business is stronger for our efforts. We can't afford to coast. We need to continually assess and redefine -- grow -- our businesses.
These ingredients are not unlike how we would go about building a brick wall. We need a plan on how we're going to approach the project ("define who we are.'') Then we need good bricks ("select partners'') held together with a properly mixed mortar ("being a factor in the market.'') As we proceed to build the wall, something might change or we may have overlooked something and we will need to "assess and redefine our plan.''
Today's pace of business is relentless. I see the future bright and filled with opportunities. What is your recipe for success and how is it changing?
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