Distributors, manufacturer profit from council

摘要

For more than 20 yr, ESAB and its distributor council have partnered on policies, training programs, and products. While it may seem like every manufacturer operates some form of distributor council, that wasn't always the case. In 1981, ESAB Welding and Cutting Products (or Alloy Rods, as it was then known) made a strategic move to partner more closely with its distributor network. The Florence, S.C.-based firm set a twofold goal - learn from its frontline sales team and help its distributors learn more about the ESAB product line. "This was a relatively new concept," says Phil Plotica, who was there at the beginning. "While we had lots of informal meetings and communications during the normal course of doing business, there was no clear time for executive-level management and distributors to focus on ways to work better together." The retired senior executive with Alloy Rods and ESAB says this is why the company started the ESAB Distributor Council. "It may well be the longest continually operating group of its kind in the industry," states Plotica, who now works with ESAB as a consultant. "It acts as a sounding and advisory board to guide programs and policies that appeal to the ESAB welding-distributor network." For ESAB North America, the council is crucial to its success because the firm does 85 percent of its business through its distributors. These distributors explain manufacturing expectations, perceptions of the ESAB's strengths and weaknesses, view of product lines, and opinions of ESAB policies and procedures. From a marketing standpoint, the Distributor Council is invaluable because the distributors know what customers want. One year, for example, ESAB wanted to introduce a gas-apparatus outfit containing five welding tips, a rosebud, and three cutting tips. Distributors said that end users wanted a package with a single welding tip, a single cutting tip, and no rosebud. This insight led ESAB to adjust the package to meet market demands.