While merger & acquisition activity involving Big 50 companies headlined the previous two weeks, this week it was a wealth of thought leadership content that dominated our top items.
BlackHawk Acquires Packaging Inc.: BlackHawk, a distributor of metalworking, industrial, MROP, and packaging supplies, added 58-year-old Packing Inc. to deepen its technical solutions focus across a new group of product offerings in the market place, grabbing a foothold in the Midwest. Packaging Inc. is a provider of packaging and fastening equipment and supplies with locations in the Midwest in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
It was the 11th acquisition of local industrial distributors by BlackHawk Industrial since the fall of 2010.
Jack Keough: Are Distributors Partners Or Customers? (Blog): ID's own Jack Keough discussed the relationship between manufacturers and distributors, elaborating on how distributors don't take kindly to being referred to as "customers," as well as examining what each party expects of the other.
5 Emerging E-Commerce Trends In Distribution, Pt. 1: Ranga Bodla, Wholesale Distribution Lead at NetSuite, shared e-commerce trends that distributors need to get on board with to ensure a seamless purchasing experience for the customer and to avoid getting left behind. View the second part of this article here.
Obama Calls for Additional Regulation, Investment In SOTU: President Obama's sixth State of the Union address on Monday was undoubtedly the biggest national story of the week. The address included calls to action on paid sick leave, equal pay for women, lowering taxes on the middle class, and a plan to make community colleges tuition-free.
Learning From Mistakes, Part 3: CRM: In the third and final installment of his "Learning From Mistakes" series, PointClear President and CEO Dan McDade discuss how distributors can increase return on marketing investments by 300 percent using segmentation, nurturing, and closed loop processes.
