Must Read | The State of Growth 2024 for that position, as it’s often handled by one or two employees who are likely also performing sales functions. TABLE 9: Average Full-time Finance Staff PPAI 100 Distributors 9 Distributors $100M+ 22 Distributors $50M-$100M 7 Distributors $25M-$50M 7 Distributors $5M-$25M 5 Distributors $1M-$5M 1 Distributors Under $1M 1 The staffing trend continues with the industry’s smallest distributors, whose employees are forced to wear multiple hats. TABLE 10: Average Days To Payment PPAI 100 Distributors 37 Distributors $100M+ 41 Distributors $50M-$100M 41 Distributors $25M-$50M 38 Distributors $5M-$25M: 34 Distributors $1M-$5M: 28 Distributors Under $1M: 26 This category represents a potential advantage for smaller distributors, as many large distributors would love to receive payments as quickly as the under $1 million segment is averaging. Yawman adds that distributors rely upon their supplier partners in several ways. “With cash flow critical to small and midsized distributorships and with larger clients in certain verticals which require 60-day payment terms, those suppliers that can partner on payment terms can differentiate themselves amongst other suppliers in the market and can play an integral in a distributor’s sustainable success,” he says. TABLE 7: Average Full-time Sales Reps PPAI 100 Distributors 74 Distributors $100M+ 236 Distributors $50M-$100M 42 Distributors $25M-$50M 19 Distributors $5M-$25M 18 Distributors $1M-$5M 4 Distributors Under $1M 1 This is the first example of a large contrast between staff size in segments that repeats in the next two categories. Predictably, the largest distributors have a much greater pool of sales reps working for them. This does not necessarily guarantee an obvious ceiling for companies with fewer sales reps, however. Savvy investments in technology and online orders can eliminate friction in the order process, which could give some companies the ability to operate at a high level with fewer customer service personnel. This could help account for the $25 million-$50 million segment staffing a low number, or it’s simply an oddity of the survey sample. TABLE 8: Average Full-time Customer Service Reps PPAI 100 Distributors 18 Distributors $100M+ 48 Distributors $50M-$100M 16 Distributors $25M-$50M 13 Distributors $5M-$25M 7 Distributors $1M-$5M 3 Distributors Under $1M 1 Across all segments, distributors have fewer customer service reps than sales reps. In fact, PPAI 100 firms are averaging roughly four times as many sales reps as customer service reps, and distributors with more than $100 million in revenue are averaging nearly five times as many. In the case of the smallest companies, though, that creates a greater burden of responsibility 48 • JULY 2024 • PPAI
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