Go Big or Go Home: How (and When) to Use Big Bets to Achieve Aggressive Growth

CEOs of manufacturing companies spend a lot of time thinking about growth and how best to pursue it. Is it wiser to play it safe with smaller initiatives that achieve modest growth with less risk? Or is it smarter to focus on fewer and bigger bets with higher levels of risk and reward? The answer to this question depends on your firm’s specific situation as well as what's happening in the marketplace. PE-backed firms and emerging firms seek aggressive growth by nature. These firms are accustomed to taking bigger bets in [...]

Go Big or Go Home: How (and When) to Use Big Bets to Achieve Aggressive Growth2021-11-17T09:01:51-06:00

Executive Briefing: State of the Channel 2024

https://youtu.be/DGljeKapVSY Our 2024 State of the Channel Executive Briefing dives into key trends and challenges in distribution and manufacturing, drawing on surveys across both sectors to underscore the importance of understanding market dynamics. From pricing pressures to talent shortages, the presentation urges adaptation to changing conditions, while also exploring growth opportunities like infrastructure investment. It concludes with strategic insights on sales, inventory management, and digital enablement, equipping participants with actionable recommendations for staying competitive in today's evolving landscape. Key Takeaways: The Dorn 2024 briefing addresses key trends and challenges in the [...]

Executive Briefing: State of the Channel 20242024-02-20T11:20:17-06:00

Fastenal’s Big Pivot, Part 3: Investments, Line Expansions & Digital Growth

This article was reprinted with permission from Modern Distribution Management (MDM). It is a great publication and we highly recommend becoming an MDM Premium subscriber, for over 50 years MDM has provided industry leading content for B2B Manufacturers and Distributors. Become an MDM Premium subscriber at https://www.mdm.com/subscribe_premium/ In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series detailing how Fastenal made the Big Pivot, I covered how the company achieved record-setting growth through a multi-sided transformation: reconfiguring their branch network by closing branches, growing onsite embedded branches and developing new sales strategies. [...]

Fastenal’s Big Pivot, Part 3: Investments, Line Expansions & Digital Growth2023-12-01T12:22:27-06:00

Fastenal’s Big Pivot, Part 2: Sales Specialization & Realignment

This article was reprinted with permission from Modern Distribution Management (MDM). It is a great publication and we highly recommend becoming an MDM Premium subscriber, for over 50 years MDM has provided industry leading content for B2B Manufacturers and Distributors. Become an MDM Premium subscriber at https://www.mdm.com/subscribe_premium/ In Part 1 of this detective series on how Fastenal made the “Big Pivot,” we covered how the distributor achieved record-setting growth while resetting its brick-and-mortar network by closing 1,000-plus branches over a decade. This move to fewer locations while adding more Onsite resources at [...]

Fastenal’s Big Pivot, Part 2: Sales Specialization & Realignment2023-11-27T11:08:19-06:00

How Fastenal Made the ‘Big Pivot’ that Paid Big Dividends

This article was reprinted with permission from Modern Distribution Management (MDM). It is a great publication and we highly recommend becoming an MDM Premium subscriber, for over 50 years MDM has provided industry leading content for B2B Manufacturers and Distributors. Become an MDM Premium subscriber at https://www.mdm.com/subscribe_premium/ A decade ago I worked for a large B2B distributor 151 miles down the Mississippi River from a B2B distributor in Winona, Minnesota that you might know… named Fastenal. We were not in the same channel, but we operated our businesses in a similar [...]

How Fastenal Made the ‘Big Pivot’ that Paid Big Dividends2023-11-20T12:07:58-06:00