{"id":5407,"date":"2024-01-05T10:25:58","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T15:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/distributionstrategy.com\/?p=5407"},"modified":"2026-09-07T16:11:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T20:11:32","slug":"distributors-need-rock-stars-to-beat-inflation-with-optimized-pricing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/distributionstrategy.com\/2024\/01\/distributors-need-rock-stars-to-beat-inflation-with-optimized-pricing\/","title":{"rendered":"Distributors Need Rock Stars to Beat Inflation with Optimized Pricing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inflation has hit wholesale distributors hard and the interest rates intended to stop inflation continue to influence costs, financing and resources. Wholesale distributors need superstars to beat inflation with optimized pricing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Superstar Wayne Gretzky dominated professional ice hockey for over 20 years. They called him \u201cThe Great One.\u201d Many business leaders still follow his vision: \u201cSkate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.\u201d That\u2019s easier said than done for folks like me, trying to skate and score in today\u2019s economics.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You might remember a pre-pandemic economy as an era of financial stability, low unemployment, positive growth and global supply chains. I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be no return to that \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As those indexes collapsed, governments flooded providers and consumers with financial incentives. This spending solved some problems and motivated some reforms. However, it also triggered continuing inflation. Professional economists say this inflationary ecosystem may be our new normal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the problem<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Inflation affects wholesale distribution directly and indirectly. It increases the prices charged by manufacturers and the cost of day-to-day operations. Inflation drives distributors to adjust pricing to dynamic trends in customer demand and competitor marketing. It\u2019s hard to see \u201cwhere the puck is going.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Noted economist <\/span>Alan Beaulieu<\/span><\/a> told steel executives this past August, \u201cInflation will be with us for the rest of the decade, at an on-again-off-again capacity.\u201d At an October meeting of <\/span>The Association for Manufacturing & Technology<\/span><\/a>, Beaulieu dug deeper. He sees good news and bad news in lessons learned during the pandemic.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n