Timing is Everything

BY KEVIN GAMMONLEY

As distributors return from a well-attended Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Vegas, they now are focusing on working with their manufacturing partners to drive adoption of new products by their mutual customers. In many cases, these new products were initially introduced to the distributor community last fall at the Annual Convention of the North American Building Material Distribution Association (NBMDA).

The timing works well as by the time KBIS comes around, the leading distributors have established their new programs with their suppliers and oriented themselves to the new product offerings. Distributors are ready to sell their customers come the first quarter of the new year.

The coordination of such distribution programs with all parties being ready for the new selling season is just one of the benefits of a strong distributor-manufacturer partnership. Such partnerships are at the core of the mission of the NBMDA, which works to provide a forum for issues and challenges to be addressed while also promoting long-term planning between the trading partners.

Regional wholesale distributors remain one of the most efficient and costeffective means of a manufacturer getting their product to market. Distributors know their customer’s product preferences, ordering requirements and project timelines. Distribution continues to grow in complexity adjusting to changing customer expectations which require significant investments in inventory, labor and technology. A strong partnership between a distributor and manufacturer is extremely powerful, providing a competitive advantage and ultimately a more satisfied customer.

The current environment has many impediments that building material distributors must manage on a daily basis, including a tight labor market that not only affects their ability to manage orders but is simultaneously influencing the operations of their suppliers and customers. On top of labor, there is growing inflation that is creating frequent price increases that must be proactively managed by the distributor. Continual price increases have become a regularity that does not garner significant attention from the distributor or their customers who will be the recipient of the pass-through increase.

Distributors and their manufacturing partners are excited about their growth opportunities in 2023 despite the many challenges that face them. Consumers are still spending, and their strength will help keep the economy rising into the latter half of 2023. Distributors will continue to be nimble refreshing their services and operations to meet the needs of customers.

Readily available, local stock of both standard and specialty products that can be easily and cost effectively accessed by customers will rule the day. Distributors are uniquely positioned to offer such services as long as they continue to evolve, invest and remain focused on the needs of the local market. S P

KEVIN GAMMONLEY has served as the Executive Vice President of the North American Building Material Distribution Association (NBMDA) for more than 30 years. www.nbmda.org

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