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Blog
Some distributor thoughts on partnering
May 19, 2008
We received quite a bit of correspondence about our recent articles on partnering. (Click here and here to see these stories). We received this response from a distributor in the Northeast offering another perspective on the distributor-manufacturer relationship.
Long time since writing to you or your fine publication, but this month's subject is a long time sore spot for me.
When Marshall delivered his speech at the end of his term as president of STAFDA, I could not have agreed more. It was about time someone else got vocal.
Yes channel partnering works but partnering does not and here is why I feel this way. Soon your competitor realizes you are making gains and lures your supplier by empty promises, when all he wants is business he cannot get any other way. We had a supplier that said they were our partners. 17 years ago I believed that. Malarky!. One supplier nearly put us out of business that year and we were up 100% and set to reach goals beyond our expectations. Instead of being the partner they said they were they went to other distributors and told them of the trouble we were having. All the time thinking they would save all their new found business. Hah we won.
Our partner fixed themselves!!! After setting records for us and our supplier with new accounts and business, I fired our "Partner". My sales team was in a stir what were they to do? Well 3 months later our new supplier was on top of everything we could give them. 17 years later they are still with us but have never said or intimated they were our partner. Do they want more business from the competition within our supplier network? Of course. Do they ask for change? Yes. Our suppliers know that we have integrity and will not change for the sake of the $$ but if they earn a place in our supplier bank then they are there to stay.
We own our business and earn it everyday, both with our customers and our suppliers.
We realize our suppliers need other channel distributors to reach more market. But our suppliers sometimes hire new distribution at the result of further diluting, market, profitability and their integrity.
If we continually build our suppliers’ business then there should be supplier "Loyalty"; this has not been their way of business. I know we live and work in a free society, and cannot dictate to our suppliers what we want. Nor should they ever be considered a PARTNER. They do not put up with all the day to day drudges most distributors have to abide with.
Thanks for re-airing this great subject.
Posted by Jack Keough on May 19, 2008 | Comments (0)