With direct selling and sourcing causing waves, Counselor asked leading industry executives this question: “Do you feel there’s currently more or less trust between suppliers and distributors than there was a decade ago?” Here’s what they had to say:

David Nicholson, President, PCNA (asi/78897)

“Given the complexity of business today, I believe there’s more trust – or at least more inter-dependence – between suppliers and distributors than 10 years ago. If you consider compliance requirements, tariff and global trade issues, technology investments and speed of fulfillment, these demand a closer working relationship for success.”

Joshua White, SVP, BAMKO (asi/131431)

“Relationships have generally shifted further to each end of the spectrum, with fewer lukewarm relationships. There are more suppliers now than ever before with whom we have deep, trusting and heavily integrated relationships. We’re doing more with them and making substantial investments in integrating our business and technology into theirs. On the other end of the spectrum are suppliers who are really struggling to keep up with the pace of change. Those struggles manifest themselves in ways that put a strain on the relationship.”

Terry McGuire, SVP, HALO (asi/356000)

“There’s definitely more trust because there’s more transparency. We still tend to operate as a ‘small town’ industry in that there really are no secrets.”

Alan Tabasky, VP/GM, BEL USA

“I think the trust level is basically the same. We operate in a huge marketplace; the U.S. economy is the largest in the world. There’s plenty of business for everyone. The most important thing to remember is that we all have a place in our industry and we can all learn from each other. Distributors need suppliers and suppliers need distributors. Treat your employees and customers well, provide value, keep learning and stay relevant.”