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

How B2B Manufacturers and Distributors Can Stay Competitive and Continue To Grow When Price Matters The Most

https://youtu.be/HbwoqO0csAE Not long ago you won the sale if you had inventory -- no matter the price. Those days are gone. Customers are price shopping again. James Dorn and John Gunderson explain how leading distributors use pricing surveys to defend and gain market share when competition is ratcheting up. Thoughts? Questions? Ask us about internal pricing surveys and industry benchmarking to keep your company competitive in the months ahead.

How B2B Manufacturers and Distributors Can Stay Competitive and Continue To Grow When Price Matters The Most2023-11-02T08:20:15-05:00

The Power of Qualitative Analytics

James Dorn and Tom Gale explore how to collect qualitative data to ensure distribution associates are in tune with what their end customers most value. Listen to this episode of The MDM Podcast now:   James Dorn is a regular guest on The MDM Podcast. Listen on your favorite podcast platform.  Thoughts? Questions? As always, feel free to reach out to talk in greater depth about these and other issues impacting your business. Podcast Transcript: Tom Gale: Welcome to this edition of MDM's Quicktake. I'm Tom Gale. My guest [...]

The Power of Qualitative Analytics2023-06-19T10:22:25-05:00