by Rich Vurva

There are several ways to measure a company’s success. Sales volume is the most common, but it’s only one way to determine how well a company performs.

The last few years have experienced dramatic change. We’ve witnessed a flurry of mergers and acquisitions, fought through an economic recession that hit U.S. manufacturing especially hard and watched company after company move production from the Rust Belt, to the Southeast and Southwest U.S., and ultimately to Mexico, South America, Asia and other disparate parts of the globe.

Through it all, however, distribution has managed to survive. In some cases, companies have thrived.

Progressive Distributor wanted to recognize the innovative ways that distributors have adapted to changing business conditions. So, we created the Most Progressive Distributor Awards to shine the spotlight on those companies, large and small, across different geographic regions and market categories. Then we approached suppliers and invited them to nominate distributors they felt were worthy of being singled out for praise and recognition.

Although sales volume is a key factor when judging a company’s success, we asked suppliers to think about other criteria important to a channel partner. Do they submit accurate and complete orders? Do they participate in joint sales calls with suppliers? Do they make use of cooperative marketing funds and engage in market planning activities? Are they adept at finding new market opportunities for their suppliers’ products and selling the value of a product vs. unit cost?

Click here to read about the winners of the 2004 Most Progressive Distributor Awards. Read for yourself why suppliers told us these companies deserve to be considered among the most progressive distributors in North America. Each of our winners received a handsome plaque designating them as a Most Progressive Distributor.

This editorial appeared in the September/October 2004 issue of Progressive Distributor magazine. Copyright 2004.