Bruce Merrifield, President — Merrifield Consulting •competitive strategy •profit strategy •expert interview •profit war stories •management strategies •pricing strategies •Wholesale Distribution Industry •distribution industry trends •new opportunities for distribution industry Wednesday, May 14, 2014—A creative solution to a common problem can provide companies with a significant market advantage. Bruce Merrifield, my friend and partner, discovered an ingenious way of resolving a logistics issue which ultimately helped his client deliver a better service to its customers than the competition. Even better, the competitors never seemed to figure out what happened. Bruce had walked into a turnabout situation where he was helping his client identify his greatest area of business potential. After examining fifty prominent customers, Bruce realized that twenty of them were a certain kind of contractor. This sector was identified as the client's most profitable core business. Bruce's next step was figuring how he could improve the service to this sector. He met with the CEO who made some phone introductions to five of the contractors whom Bruce then went to meet in-person. Coming in as an outside consultant, Bruce recounts, "I could ask them questions like: Who are you? Why do you buy from these guys? Who else can you buy from? Are they any better or worse? What's good service?" However, it was by asking what the business has done to annoy them, cause them to lose customers, or cause delays that provided the most insights. One of the contractors complained that he really wanted first thing in the morning on-time delivery, mentioning that the client had a 2 p.m. cut-off for next day delivery and he hadn't always received his product on time when calling a bit before then. Bruce immediately promised the man unconditional on-time delivery then asked the contractor for a preferred cut-off time. The contractor suggested 5 p.m. And, to Bruce's surprise, the other contractors he spoke to said the same thing. When Bruce returned to the client and informed the warehouse of the new cut-off time, he was met with immediate protests. The biggest argument was, "But the UPS guy comes at 3:30; that's why we have a 2 p.m. cutoff." Bruce talked to the UPS guy and got him to agree to having the client be his last stop, by offering the man a permanent desk (along with a few amenities) at the warehouse to do his paperwork. The results came almost immediately, Bruce remembers. "Instead of ordering three times during the day, everybody was calling with these huge orders at the end of the day, so we also were getting larger average order size, we're getting cumulative of all the needs for the day. The average order size went to 400% as a result." Capitalizing on that success, the client opened up warehouses near UPS centers. This allowed the client to offer major area contractors a service value that nobody else had, ultimately putting several long-time competitors out of business. Bruce's story is a really good example of how you can creatively think around some of the issues, and basically build your service model into something that's unassailable by the competition. For more information about Bruce Merrifield, visit: www.merrifieldact2.com |
Measuring & Managing Fleet CostsSophisticated New Delivery Costing Drives Higher Profits The 5 Things Customers Want (brief)The 1st of 3 lists defining the markers of Distribution companies outpacing their peers. An Analytical Boost to Service ExcellenceBruce Merrifield and Randy MacLean discuss the handful of key customers in your business, and how to keep them happy and loyal. A Culture of Innovation Starts at the TopSteve Epner and Randy MacLean discuss topics from Steve's book. In this video: How to Innovate. Staying Effective in the Changing World of SalesThe top business know not only how to innovate, but where to spot opportunities where innovation will bring the greatest results. LIPA: Prophet of Customer NeedsSee how implementing LIPA can give you the bandwidth to be more accommodating to your customers with analytics-based service excellence Optimizing Salesforce Pay Through Deep Data AnalysisCompanies are developing more and more sophisticated approaches to sales compensation and here Bruce Merrifield and Randy MacLean examine the trends. Webinar: Profit-Based Sales Incentives (part 1)Webinar: Quantum Sales Compensation - How to Create a powerful new kind of sales incentive plan Using Profit Analytics to Manage Your Sales ForceUse profit analytics to help drive radical profit gains by balancing volume, margin and service costs for every account, doubling and tripling territory profits Sales Force SpecializationDiscussion of how the most successful companies are adopting specialized sales functions, achieving superior results. Managing Product Line ProfitabilityManaging Product Line Profits shows how operations can have a significant impact on net profit and examines Peak Internal Profit, accumulated profit and more 9 Steps to More Profitable RelationshipsDiscussion about a 9-step process aimed at transforming a transactional relationship with an account into a partnership. Profit Value-Based Customer SegmentationRandy MacLean and Bruce Merrifield of WayPoint Analytics discuss profit value-based customer segmentation. The Advantages of SegmentationA discussion of the benefits of segmentation and how this approach can help distributors achieve far greater levels of profitability. How to Turn Big Data Into Big Profits!Top companies like Amazon can leverage big data to predict consumer buying habits. Bruce Merrifield discusses how you can do this too! Gross Margin Percent: A Poor Indicator of ProfitabilityMost distributors have naturally occurring, high gross margin percentage accounts and high gross margin percentage (small dollar pick) SKUs. Triage Customers & Set Priorities to Increase PerformanceRandy MacLean and Bruce Merrifield sit down for a talk about the issues and opportunities, tactics and strategies for increasing profit performance. Discussing the Enterprise Account Selling Model (#3)Continuance of the Enterprise Account Selling Model video series. Refers to a preceding video. Drawn from Bruce's presentation at APIC on March 1, 2016. Getting Your Salespeople to Negotiate SmarterUsing the negotiation process to achieve CTS savings, allowing you to offer your customers lower prices while leaving the table with a larger profit. Looking at a Customer Whale CurveCustomer whale curves are a great opportunity to view the overall picture of your customer profitability and apply appropriate sales models to each Increase Innovation with a Rule and a ToolBruce Merrifield discusses the Wheel of Learning and how this simple tool can catapult you forward with innovative thinking. Cost-to-Serve Math: Why Gross Margin May Fool You Every TimeThis video by Bruce Merrifield and Randy MacLean describes why you can't rely solely on gross margin to determine profitability. The Changing Face of SalesAn in-depth look at some historical limitations to sales compensation, and why those factors no longer apply with the availability of LIPA. Maximizing Account Potential through SegmentationRandy MacLean discusses the value and utility of segmenting your customer accounts. Working on Your Best AccountsWhat to do with your top accounts. Gross Margin FixationA fixation on gross margin – without looking at cost-to-serve (CTS) – has blinded countless distributors and limited their ability to achieve profitability. A WayPoint Client and Whale Curve Success StoryLearn how this distributor was able to massively ramp up its profitability even as it lost many of its customers. Cost Structures: What Makes for a Good Sale?Learn why distributors can't simply rely on gross margin when determining whether a sale will add to the bottom line. Changing Sales Strategy Using LIPARandy MacLean talks about the emergence of a new sales strategy. Why You Should Sweat the Small DeliveriesA discussion on how little extras can sometimes add up to a lot of infrastructure cost in wholesale distribution companies. How and Why Amazon Drives Change for Catalog OperatorsCatalogs still exist, but they have gone online. In this video, Randy MacLean and Bruce Merrifield outline the changing reality of catalog operators. It's Not Who You Think It IsRandy MacLean discusses key profitability metrics for QPM. Why You Should Be Optimizing InventoryRandy and Bruce explain why it's important to optimize inventory in the same way you optimize personnel and other resources toward the best profit opportunities A Two Step Strategy for Being Number One in DistributionIn this video, Bruce Merrifield turns the tables on Waypoint President Randy MacLean, and asks Randy to strategize on how to beat the competition. Using WayPoint's High Volume Account Report to Increase ProfitRandy discusses the benefits of the extraordinarily valuable High Volume Account Report. Prioritizing Your CustomersA discussion of the perils of a cookie cutter approach when it comes to sales and service in the wholesale distribution industry. How Customer Segmentation Unlocks Hidden ProfitsBruce Merrifield of WayPoint Analytics teaches the importance of customer segmentation and the insights it can offer your distribution company. The Element of PricingIt's not necessary to compete with AmazonSupply on pricing when you've got your ordering and delivery systems, fill rates and customer service at a high level. Quantum Profit ManagementRandy MacLean introduces the core principles of QPM and illustrates how it's the most effective way to run a business. The Benefits of a Cost-to-Serve Math ProgramHave you had trouble conveying the importance of CTS to your team? Learn how this course provides an affordable and convenient educational solution. Why Come to APIC?What is the value of the APIC conference for a business, and why does it stand out above other education programs? Getting Results with a Customer AuditGetting Results with a Customer Audit Making Money by Giving Away ProductBruce Merrifield and Randy MacLean discuss profit strategies for wholesale distributors that will raise their cost-to-serve and profits. Webinar: How to Create a Sales Compensation Plan (pt 2)Webinar: Quantum Sales Compensation Plan Part 2 Webinar: How to Create a Sales Compensation Plan (pt 3)Webinar: Quantum Sales Compensation: Designing Your Plan Webinar: How to Create a Sales Compensation Plan (pt 4)Webinar: Quantum Sales Compensation for the Wholesale Distribution Industry: Launching Your Plan |