How can distributors add value by offering more than the customer expects in service, quality and information?

New technology may hold the key to unlocking part of this old problem. Technology offers the opportunity for a new strategy, and distributors can follow Boeing Co., which may be leading the way.

If distributors are now invested in a lot of technology, including the Internet, they can use it to mine for new services and customer relationship benefits. If they are in Internet infancy and looking to start in the right place, perhaps they need only look at building faster ways to support old, but staid, customer service relationships.

For decades Boeing has been a stalwart in heavy manufacturing in the Northwest. The company announced it will move some of its plants out of the Seattle area. However, moving its physical presence is only part of its strategy.

According to Phil Condit, CEO of Boeing, the company will now find new business strategies that center around services, information, maintenance and training. What has caused the new outlook? Competition and a faster, more mobile world, he said.

Sound familiar? Those are the very areas that distributors (in their own bailiwick) have been warned to investigate and invest in for the last two decades. The Internet is the primary carrier of customer service and information for distributors, suppliers and customers, just as it is for Boeing, which is determined to grow earnings by double digits in the coming year.

Condit says that any company that wants to grow must "push things like services, start new businesses and start mining your technology for new ideas. Allocate resources to the areas with highest potential."

There are customer relationship management software firms who can help you begin the technology buildup for these services. Start slowly. Also, those software companies trying to get you to do e-commerce can steer you toward the correct software and support for just such a venture.