Driving A Collaboration Between Legacy and Innovation: Hovis Auto
Many consumers think of Amazon as the top innovator in the industry—and they have certainly accomplished a lot (take a look at my letter to the new CEO of Amazon). But Amazon wouldn’t exist were it not for the distribution companies who paved the way. In reality, distributors have been paving the way for better technology, more compelling customer service, and higher quality products for years—long before Amazon transitioned from a bookseller to a massive multi-product sales platform and distribution company.
Riling People Up About Distribution
If I were to describe the We Supply America journey in the simplest and perhaps most humorous terms, I’d say this: I’m traveling across America to rile people up about distribution. There’s something about getting into the We Supply America RV and traveling the country that makes me feel like the best type of cheerleader, the type of cheerleader our industry needs (but, you know, minus the mini-skirt and pom-poms).
Leading from the Middle: The Purpose of Distribution
I asked Julia Klein, CEO of C.H. Briggs, what she thinks the role of distribution is in our society. What she said about distribution struck me. “People call us the middleman, but I’ve said for years that we lead from the middle.”
On the Road with Dirk – 07.25.21
The We Supply America tour had a GREAT week visiting Coburn’s Supply in Lafayette, Louisiana, participating in a customer appreciation day, and then heading north to St. Louis (with a little accident thrown in—see below). I had two great visits with Holt Electric (you have to check out their branding!) and Cee Kay.
Distributors: Partnering with Customers to Serve the American People
I talk a lot about lifting the human spirit, but that means more than just the friendships and service-mindedness that permeates these distribution centers—it also refers to the entrepreneurial spirit.
An Open Letter To Amazon’s New CEO Andy Jassy As Jeff Bezos Lifts Off Into Space
Dear Andy,
Congratulations on your appointment to CEO of Amazon. You certainly have big shoes to fill, as light as they might seem at this moment, with Jeff Bezos and his shoes at zero gravity traveling into space today.
On The Road With Dirk 07.18.21
The We Supply America tour had a terrific week, and I enjoy my solitude between stops, but my wife Gail joined me on the tour this week. Having picked her up at the Harrisburg, PA airport, I informed her that her romantic husband had planned to spend our first full day together getting the toilets of the RV fixed for the third time. Who needs fancy gifts when you can show your spouse you love them by ensuring they have access to working plumbing?
Distributors Commitment to Us and Each Other: The Wiseway Every Day
“Wiseway every day” is the mantra of the Wiseway Supply team. It’s a callout to like-minded individuals: This is who we are. This is who we want to be every day. And that sentiment holds true in Cincinnati, OH, where we met up with Wiseway Supply.
Porter Pipe’s Family-Based Culture Creates Opportunity for Employees
“Building exceptional partnerships, so we can help build America.”
That’s what’s written on the side of the delivery trucks for Porter Pipe & Supply. It’s a commitment to the people who make up this company, as well as to their clients and everyone they serve. Once you become a customer, you become family.
On the Road with Dirk 07.11.21: Noble Pursuit of the American Dream through Distribution
I was at Fromm Electric in Reading, PA earlier this week for a We Supply America tour stop (following Bender Supply in New Haven, Ct. on Tuesday, and Almo in Philadelphia on Wednesday— and then C.H. Briggs also in Reading the following day on Friday). I met so many spirited people at each of these stops.
