The Newest Future of Fastener Distribution

Date: 2010.09.01 | Category: Fastener Industry | Tags:

When I was listening to an episode of Fully Threaded Radio, something said in a discussion about the old days struck me.  As recently as 50 years ago, most fasteners were sold by general industrial supply houses, not by specialist fastener distributors.  This caught my attention because I had never thought about how relatively short a time fastener distributors have been on the scene.  The good news is that if there are so many fastener distributors now, there must be a market for their services.  Our challenge in the coming years is to zero in on the services that fastener distributors provide that cannot be duplicated by the generalist industrial supplier and/or the internet, and focus more intently on those services.  I’ve mentioned before that if you think your job as a fastener distribution salesperson is to make sure your customer has all of the latest manufacturer catalogs, you will find that the internet will make you (has made you) unimportant.  But which roles do fastener distributors have that can not be filled by technology?  The irreplaceable roles exist, but we have to do a better job of identifying them and focusing on them to maintain our relevance.

The human touch side of fastener distribution is powerful, but as we employ technology to help do our work (and we definitely should employ it often and with creativity) we are left with the human side as the only part of our business that can’t be easily duplicated by the mega supply house.  Think of yourself as an MD of fasteners, and decide how to fine tune your bedside manner so that you can be a better doctor than a computer can.