James Dorn, President

Going From Transactional Joint Planning Purgatory to Channel Strategy Nirvana

Recently, manufacturers have been resurrecting the strategies they developed two to three years ago. However, some elements of those strategies included how they actually evaluated distributor partnerships – even though they may not have worked closely or communicated as well as they could have with their distributors in the past. So, we’re advising them to slow down. https://youtu.be/tTA-ZsyScTc What was appropriate then may no longer be appropriate for your business today, post-pandemic. Because so much has changed, some strategies should change too. Modern Joint Planning Instead of having the same relationship [...]

Going From Transactional Joint Planning Purgatory to Channel Strategy NirvanaJames Dorn2023-01-31T15:57:55-06:00

5 Ways To Minimize Ongoing Supply Chain and Inventory Problems

Product availability is a huge issue in today’s economy. Distributors have been hit hard by the dilemma, which has been far worse in the past few years than in any previous years. Though supply chains are starting to get better, they are not going to be fixed in the next 12 months. So, how do distributors face these problems today and keep their customers from going to competitors? https://youtu.be/zo0WWCh2NQI The experts at Dorn Group suggest the following five ways to minimize those supply chain and inventory problems to ensure you keep [...]

5 Ways To Minimize Ongoing Supply Chain and Inventory ProblemsJames Dorn2023-01-31T15:57:17-06:00

3 Takeaways on Value Creation

Spreading resources too thin in a downcycle is a common trap. In a discussion on threats, themes and strategic planning for 2023, James Dorn of the Dorn Group joins Tom Gale on The MDM Podcast discuss thinking beyond rebates, the rise of customer self-serve, the power of segment focus and pain relief, and a call to rewrite the operating manual for distributor-supplier relationships and value creation. Listen to the full episode now: James Dorn is a regular guest on The MDM Podcast. Listen on your favorite podcast platform. Thoughts? Questions? [...]

3 Takeaways on Value CreationJames Dorn2023-01-31T15:43:02-06:00

5 Threats Facing B2B Manufacturing Distributors

The role of distributors has changed drastically over time. It has gone from representing manufacturers to representing buyers, and it’s still shifting. Today, the role of distributors continues to change, and not necessarily for the better. The distributor business model faces bigger challenges and threats than ever before. With the growing influence of online retailers and supply chains over the last several years, relationships between consumers and manufacturers are shifting. This means that distributors are scrambling to keep up with these changes to stay in the game and stay relevant to [...]

5 Threats Facing B2B Manufacturing Distributors James Dorn2023-01-31T15:56:35-06:00

Stop Trying To Emulate Amazon, Start Listening To Your End Customers

Too many companies today are trying to emulate, or even copy, the strategies of their competitors thinking it will help their business in the same way it helped the other. Take Amazon, for example. Amazon is widely successful in its strategies and would seem like a great business model. But if all you do is copy Amazon, you won’t get the result you need. Although patterning your strategy off of other successful businesses seems like a viable approach, it won’t get you where you want to go in the end. You’ll [...]

Stop Trying To Emulate Amazon, Start Listening To Your End CustomersJames Dorn2023-01-31T15:56:09-06:00