PVF Forum: Master distributors in today's and tomorrow's marketplace
Bob Cooper, executive vice president of Smith-Cooper International, talks about today's master distributors.
Your customer needs a handful of 1/8-in. galvanized nipples, but none of your vendors or suppliers have them in stock. Next time, they require 12,000 2-in. 150# street ells delivered to a job site within 48 hours. Problem is, the manufacturer won't have a production run for three to six weeks.
The scenario above sounds, unfortunately, all too familiar. PVF distributors face such challenges every day. All over the country, inventories are being scaled back while manufacturers are streamlining product lines, making it more and more difficult to anticipate - and fulfill - customer demands.