TABLE 16. What hurdles are hindering your integration progress? Time Resources/ Money System Limitations Lack of tools/ services Other PPAI 100 Distributors 40% 23% 23% 7% 27% Distributors $250M+ 29% 14% 14% 0% 57% Distributors $50M-$250M 33% 28% 33% 11% 22% Distributors $10M-$50M 39% 31% 39% 23% 23% Distributors $1M-$10M 43% 29% 29% 14% 29% Distributors Under $1M 42% 42% 25% 17% 25% Kurt Tempelmeyer Must Read | The State of Innovation 2023 Kurt Tempelmeyer, national operations director at West Palm Beach, Florida-based Fully Promoted – ranked the No. 18 distributor in this year’s PPAI 100 – is surprised that more top distributors concurred that time (40%) acts as a more significant impediment compared to financial constraints (23%) or limitations of systems (23%). “This revelation is particularly intriguing, indicating that substantial financial resources don’t necessarily provide the advantage one might anticipate,” Tempelmeyer says. “Instead, agility and ingenuity will likely win out. Less is more.” TABLE 17. How significant to your company is the ability to have integrated inventory and order status information to purchasing decisions? Very Significant Significant Neutral Not Significant PPAI 100 Distributors 57% 43% 0% 0% Distributors $250M+ 71% 29% 0% 0% Distributors $50M-$250M 44% 56% 0% 0% Distributors $10M-$50M 36% 43% 21% 0% Distributors $1M-$10M 67% 33% 0% 0% Distributors Under $1M 33% 33% 8% 17% “Hopefully, suppliers are paying close attention to this metric,” Feigenblatt says, “as lack of integrated inventory and order status not only creates friction but also decreases search results visibility and potential sales.” Tempelmeyer breaks it down like this: Achieving the status of a $1 million sales representative hinges on generating $500 per hour. “This objective becomes challenging when tied up on the phone with an inadequately staffed customer service department, struggling to verify inventory availability,” Tempelmeyer says. “While your salesmanship might be on par, your potential remains constrained due to ineffective operational procedures. To come out on top, a transformation is imperative, requiring an overhaul not only of our technology systems, but also our operational workflow.” 56 • OCTOBER 2023 • PPAI
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