The past few years have been challenging for industrial and construction distribution firms. Increased margin pressures, customer demands to expand their product and service offerings, and a shrinking customer base resulting from U.S. manufacturers moving production to Mexico, China and other parts of the globe were among the concerns that distributors faced. In this tough business environment, distributors needed to work smarter than ever before.
  Progressive Distributor created the Most Progressive Distributor Awards to recognize the innovative efforts of distributors to adapt to changing business conditions, Rather than simply identity the largest distributors as some lists do. this effort is intended to acknowledge the hard work being performed by distributors of all types. large or small, in a variety of market segments arid. geographic locations.
  And who can better decide which distributors are among the most progressive in North America than the supplier companies whose products they represent? This summer we invited suppliers to nominate companies they believed were worthy of recognition. We asked them to nominate companies that consistently submit accurate and complete orders, take advantage of technical and sales support provided by suppliers, make appropriate use of marketing funds, share point-of-sale information, have sales staffs capable of selling value vs. cost, willingly implement new ideas and technologies and more.
  Suppliers nominated more than 50 companies for consideration. From that list, Progressive Distributor selected four companies to receive this years awards.

  Read on to find out why their supplier partners belived these companies deserved the title of Most Progressive Distributor.


  In today's price-crazed business climate, the only thing customers seem to care about is finding the cheapest source of supply. Yet Massasoit Tool Company of Warwick, R.I., succeeds by clinging to a selling style that's becoming a lost art. "We always attempt to sell value rather than price. Where someone has been buying a low-end product, we're not afraid to go in after business with a much higher priced product," says company president Jim Jaques.
  For example, this abrasive specialist convinced a manufacturer of metals used in the rotogravure printing process to switch to an abrasive belt that cost five times more than the product it previously used. But the higher priced belt also achieved superior performance, enabling the company to dramatically reduce its reject rate. The productivity gain far outweighed the cost of the belts.
  "On an initial sales call, we say to a customer,'Tell me what your problem is. That's what we want to focus on. When we can demonstrate our value doing that a few times, we end up with a pretty loyal customer," Jaques says.
  Mike Marshall, division sales manager for J. Walter Inc., nominated Massasoit Tool Company for the Most Progressive Distributor Award because it captures business by working harder than the competition, not by offering the cheapest price.
  "They're not just a procurement agent for the end-user," he says. "They help their customers set new standards for quality and performance that increase their competitive advantage and lower the customer's risk. They also demonstrate better than anyone else the ability to increase their customer's profitability and lower their total costs.

  "New England is a hotbed for manufacturing of abrasive products. Yet, here's this little company that takes care of customers so well that people want to do business with them. In addition, they represent their manufacturers as well as any company I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with."