Four major trends are re-shaping the distributor's role in the supply chain, according to the latest “Facing the Forces of Change” study by the National Assn. of Wholesaler-Distributors.

During NAW's Executive Summit meeting in Washington Jan. 30-Feb.1, Dr. Adam Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting and author of the study, identified those trends as private labeling of products, demand-driven channels, new profit models and a change in the way the Internet is connecting customers.

Fein, noting the growth in private labeling, said the study showed that 43 percent of all distributors today private-label their products—some of which are being manufactured in China.

He also said that despite the publicity about distributor-to-customer e-commerce, there is strong growth in e-commerce between distributors and manufacturers. In fact, Fein said 50 percent of orders sent by distributors to manufacturers are done via e-commerce.

In addition to sending automated orders to suppliers, distributors are providing point-of-sale and product movement data.

Distributors are more accountable to their manufacturers and are being compensated by pay for performance, fee for services and functional discounts, Fein added.

He said the Internet is allowing customers to more effectively communicate with one another than ever before. They are joining communities, sharing experiences, getting news, gathering information, comparison shopping and actually buying products—all online.

NAW's “Facing the Forces of Change” report will be released this month.

There is good news and bad news on the economic front, according to another NAW Summit speaker, Alan Beaulieu of the Institute for Trend Research.

The good news is that there will be strong economic growth in 2007, which will slow down in 2008. The bad news is that 2009 and 2010 will be “significant recession years.” Beaulieu predicted an 18-month downturn in which the S&P stock index could fall 20 percent to 29 percent.

As usual, NAW, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington, focused on political events as the nation prepares for a presidential election. Fred Barnes and Mort Kondracke, known as the “Beltway Boys” on the Fox News Network, provided an insider's look at Washington politics.

Sizing up this year's presidential contenders, Barnes said the United States is still a “center-right country,” making it difficult for a liberal candidate to succeed.

Looking at the Republican candidates, Barnes said Arizona Sen. John McCain is the front runner and would make a powerful ticket with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. On the Democratic side, he said New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the front runner, and could possibly choose a Democratic governor as her running mate.

Kondracke said he could see a Democratic ticket headed by Clinton with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as her running mate. They could be opposed, he said, by a ticket comprised of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with Florida Sen. Mel Martinez as his running-mate.

The meeting also included a panel discussion on doing business internationally and a case history of how electrical distributor Graybar successfully implemented an ERP system.