Founded in 1985 byMike O’Donohue and headquartered in Belleville, Michigan, Professional Pump serves industrial, sanitary, and municipal customers throughout Michigan and Northwest Ohio.
In writing this column month after month, I recognize that while marketing insights and tips are helpful for many, a handful of folks don’t have the desire (or the time) to join in on their business’ marketing efforts. With this in mind, I wanted to think and “write outside the box” to focus on a topic applicable and relevant to all industry professionals and marketers alike. This topic is CREATIVITY.
While I’m not the first woman to be president of the American Supply Association, I am the first woman with the honor of attending the ASA Women in Industry ELEVATE conference as the ASA president —being the first woman to hold the role since the founding of the group in 2014.
For the second year in a row, 100% of Premier 150 Survey respondents reported an increase in sales in 2022 when compared to 2021. When it comes to projections for fiscal year 2023, 81% of these distributor respondent say sales will increase while 14% expect sales to remain the same and 4% anticipate a decrease in sales.
One thing I love about this industry is how eager and willing most individuals are to recognize peers, partners and co-workers for their outstanding work and commitment to the industry. It is evident every time one of our award stories is deployed, when we publish anniversary stories or even other news items like grand openings. People like, comment and share their congratulations for the companies recognized; it’s my favorite part of posting those types of articles online and on social media.
At last year’s ASA Strategic Planning Retreat, volunteers discussed the idea of a “product data library” that could be the sole source of manufacturer product data to help enable distributors to compete against online-first, big-box retailers, and other nontraditional competitors.
With distributors now offering same and next-day delivery, online ordering and more value-add services than ever before, it’s sometimes hard to picture the humble beginnings many independent distribution businesses started from. For Craig Norlin, co-owner of Wautoma, Wisconsin-based Mid-State Supply, it’s not difficult to recall at all; he remembers his father — Austin Norlin — delivering product out of the family’s station wagon with a four-wheel farm wagon towing behind in the 1960s.
With the unemployment rate at its lowest level in decades, employers across the nation continue to struggle staffing their companies with high-quality talent.