In my current role as sales manager for a large pump manufacturer, I often find myself chasing distributor partners for vital information I need. This is an ironic turn of events since, in my former position as vice president of industrial sales for a pump distributor, I was regularly bombarded with requests for information from the manufacturers I represented.

Those requests included items such as forecasts, customer lists, inventory levels and open quotations. With so few hours in a typical sales day, it was difficult to justify taking the time to provide this information when I felt that my true responsibility was to drive sales.

To complicate the issue, manufacturers seemed to want the information all at the same time, on short notice, and on their own forms. I sometimes found myself resentful that I had to take the time to provide this information, and believed it to be very counterproductive. I had trouble understanding how providing this information could possibly be of benefit to my organization.

While I was eager to partner with my vendors, I simply could not continue to "react" to all of the requests coming in. I realized that the process was managing me and I really needed to manage the process. I had to create a system that allowed me to provide the information my vendors needed, and in a format that was easy for me to prepare and also was compatible with my internal systems.

So I met with the manufacturers' reps, and we agreed upon the key metrics that were important to them yet compatible with my system's ability to deliver the data. I found that most of my vendors were looking for the same type of information. I put together a report template that could be populated by key data from our sales tracking software. We agreed on a specific day each month that the information would be forwarded, and we discussed how this information would be used and how it would benefit our organizations.

Being proactive helped to eliminate data requests that the manufacturers felt were "nice to know" and focused on the information that was essential for growth. And by taking charge of the process, I became a participant in deciding exactly what information was mutually beneficial.

This was obviously a departure from the unique formats that each vendor requested. But as a result, most of my vendors came to understand that with more than 15 major product lines to report, providing information in 15 unique formats was asking a lot of a distributor's time.

In today's competitive manufacturing environment, it is essential for us to hear the voice of the customer so that we can deliver valuable products to the market and contribute to grow profits. When we are unable to gather vital information, it becomes difficult to remain proactive with industry leading deliveries, innovative new products, and forward-thinking strategies.

Distribution is a trusted partner in the value stream and a vital source of information to drive profitable growth. By becoming proactive in the process, you will become a stronger partner to your manufacturers, and you will save yourself a great deal of time and frustration.