PHCP-PVF Top Stories

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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recently issued an opinion letter explaining an employee’s available leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may be applied toward time spent traveling to and from a medical appointment.

Few would argue that transporting cargo from one place to the next isn’t complicated. Even during the best of times, there are (literally) so many moving parts to account for, and one tiny blip in the process can produce big (read: expensive) problems. Today, ongoing commercial, environmental, and geopolitical developments are making the management and movement of fleets and freight an ever-changing affair.

Analysis of 5,063 customer responses from 10 MEP distributors confirms what many suspected but few have quantified — customer experience has become the primary differentiator in wholesale distribution. Companies prioritizing experience demonstrate higher retention rates, greater wallet share, and reduced cost-to-serve.

very distributor has it: The pallet of specialized fittings that hasn’t moved since the Biden administration. It’s the high-efficiency boiler ordered for a commercial project that got cancelled three years ago. It’s the "seasonal" SKU that seemed like a genius buy in March until the weather or the building code changed in May.

Between tariff rulings, state product bans, federal efficiency standards and mounting workforce challenges, the PHCP-PVF channel is operating in an environment where regulatory shifts can alter inventory planning, product availability and pricing strategy almost overnight.

Several of the women profiled began their journeys in unexpected places — from architecture programs and greeting card companies to post-9/11 career fairs and water restoration firms. What kept them here wasn’t just product lines or market share; it was the people.

That broader context makes what’s happening at Viega noteworthy, not because the company set out to “make a statement,” but because its executive leadership bench reflects something manufacturing often says it values but doesn’t always operationalize: building leadership based on capability, development and long-term performance, and ensuring strong talent isn’t overlooked.

For commission-side reps, what once seemed like a simple process – reps sell product to distributor, manufacturer ships product to distributor, rep gets commission on invoiced product via sales reporting – has, these days, become quite the labyrinth of accounting processes and procedures. The main confusion driver in this labyrinth is often DC-to-branch, branch-to-branch, or DC-to-contractor transfers that flow across state lines or rep territory boundaries.