Distributors are continuing to move further and further away from the depths of the pandemic, but amid largely robust financial results thus far in 2022, significant complications — some COVID-related, some not — continue to present problems for the industry.
Supply chain issues sparked by pandemic lockdowns, and exacerbated by ongoing product shortages and global conflicts, helped fuel sweeping inflation and currency pressures. Government efforts to quash inflation, meanwhile, have sparked worries about a potential recession.
Despite the volatile conditions, Vancouver-based business technology firm Conexiom expects distributors to continue investing in advanced technology. The company’s cloud-based system quickly automates trade documents in business-to-business transactions for companies including MRO distribution powerhouse Grainger and industrial giant Honeywell.
Conexiom President and CEO Ray Grady joins Industrial Distribution to discuss the state of the industry and how automation could make an impact.