Industrial Distribution companies sell essential parts and equipment to the manufacturing (OEM), repair (MRO) and construction industry keeping the national economy moving. These organizations sell hundreds, and sometimes thousands of different products from multiple manufacturers. These distribution companies can specialize in certain market segments targeting specific industries or they can be generalists selling a more diverse product offering to multiple industries. Specialized distributors will have their entire sales team trained on the core products specific to the industry they serve. The general distributors tend to have broader training on many more product categories and have a larger sales force with a few members who act as specialists to provide specific product support when required. Distributors typically have a large regional or national sales force and their representatives sell to customers within a defined territory supporting their local branch location.
Manufacturers that produce these essential parts and equipment may sell directly to the end-users or may establish supply agreements with industrial distributors, often referred to as channel partners. Some manufacturers may set up exclusive supply agreements with a selected channel partner whereas other manufacturers will sell through multiple channels. Manufacturers selling direct to end-users typically have very specialized products and a niche market focus. They will directly train their sales team on their products and desired approach. Manufacturers selling through industrial distribution require only a few representatives to support those channel partners as their products and applications are already understood by their customers. They will be responsible to provide training sessions at distributor locations and will work alongside the distributor reps to promote their products to distributor customers. Manufacturer sales representatives tend to cover large geography whether they are selling direct or supporting the channel partners' locations.
Industrial services are associated with most products sold into applications related to manufacturing, engineering, construction, building maintenance, environment, safety and energy.
Supply Chain Management (SCM) is vitally important to all industries because it leads to increased customer satisfaction. It is the process of supporting the planning, sourcing, production, delivery and return of goods. Having a well managed and efficient supply chain increases the company’s competitiveness in the market by allowing for quicker delivery to the end-user at the lowest possible cost ensuring quality and availability. SCM plays an integral part in any company’s success no matter the product being offered.
There are dozens of types of engineering classifications, but they can typically be divided into 4 main disciplines. Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical & Civil. Specialized engineering such as Power Electronics and Mechatronics combines elements of the 4 main disciplines and are more focused on specific applications such as the power management for electric vehicles or intelligent machines replacing human activities. These specializations are in high demand due to the increased investment by all industries around the world in artificial intelligence applications and electronics. Today, more than ever companies offer an incredible opportunity for their employees to continue learning, creating, and inventing critical applications that contribute to new advancements every day!
With the technological advancements of AI, many organizations are realizing the potential of robotics and are investing significant resources to maintain market share. To stay competitive, companies have more desire than ever before to assess, adopt and apply these advancements and have taken significant steps to bring robotics into application in diverse industries and in all forms of work.