Distributors have an enormous amount of information and recurring transactions to keep track of. Even for larger distributors, it’s easy for companies to develop blind spots when it comes to procurement decisions and inventory management.
In this episode, I speak with Scott Camp, who is founder and CEO of Atlas International Trade Group, a global procurement consulting and supply chain management service provider that sells exclusively to distributors and helps them realize the full potential of their supply chain operations by offering sourcing, packaging and fulfillment solutions, along with complimentary customs brokerage and freight forwarding services.
Scott has 30 years of experience within the industrial channel, with 23 years in leadership roles at Fastenal, including executive positions in procurement and supply chain.
Scott says distributors need to re-evaluate how they are measuring and compensating the planners, buyers and supply chain folks to ensure actions are aligned with the company’s best interests. We discussed what he perceives as a general disconnect between sourcing and procurement as programs and incentives are not necessarily aligned to work together.
Beyond the interview
Camp touched on it several times during the interview seen here, but really hammered it home with this closing statement we just weren't able to include in our timeframe:
“I think, for many distributors, the purchasing and the sourcing departments are considered more of a back-office function, and oftentimes I think they are under-represented in the ranks of company leadership," Camp said. "A great sourcing strategy that’s backed up with a high-performance procurement and supply chain team can not only boost profitability for the business, but can be a growth driver as far as top-line sales. I always encourage leadership to involve the sourcing, procurement and supply chain folks when they’re going through their sales and operation planning disciplines.”
