Market Center Distribution
To effectively advance the science of delivering HVACR products and supplies to the ultimate user, members of the Northamerican Heating, Refrigeration and Airconditioning Wholesalers Association have developed a business model called Market Center Distribution.
Market Center Distribution (MCD) is quite simply the integration of information technology (IT) with regionally established distribution centers, staffed and managed by persons familiar with local markets and customers. This model is intended to bring order and efficiency to the distribution channel by eliminating redundancies through seamless information exchange among suppliers, distributors and customers, and the use of appropriately trained distributor personnel.
MCD has a two fold purpose:
- To serve as a testament to the effectiveness of locally sited, independent distribution in an era when the function is under attack by new channel entrants who would have us believe that the "middleman" is no longer necessary. MCD affirms the role of the independent stocking distributor and all he or she brings to the table as the key linchpin of the distribution channel.
- To challenge the independent distributor to continually improve his performance in the channel. This will be done by continuing identification of and strengthening of core competencies possessed by those distributors. To accomplish this, trade associations like HARDI must provide education and training programs to facilitate the process of distributor self-evaluation and improvement.
This results in a determination to identify the HARDI "brand" as characterizing a distributor who is committed to this process of continual improvement.
- For the Manufacturer - MCD offers a commitment from distributors to work openly with them to reduce channel costs and maximize market share.
- For the Contractor/End User - MCD offers a commitment from distributors to ensure product is made available to them in the most cost-effective "total value" oriented way.
- For the Distributor - MCD offers a rallying point to perpetuate their pivotal role in the supply channel in the face of a changing market place.
As the educational provider, HARDI's committees and councils are charged with the responsibility to identify and deliver to the membership essential educational services to support the MCD business model. This is accomplished through conferences, accredited distance learning and the preparation of necessary studies and reports on the HVACR distribution business ? such as gathering annual business statistics, sales trends and forecasts, compensation studies, as well as support of appropriate eCommerce standards and other distribution and information technology services.
There follows a series of essays exploring the MCD concept and some of the information which has been conveyed through association programs over the past year as the MCD concept has been developed.
Market Center Distribution
What It Means; What It Takes
COMPLETE PDF (550KB)
Hot Topics
HARDI Represents Distribution Industry Wide
HARDI is dedicated to advancing the science of distribution in the HVACR industry for all firms engaged in getting products to market manufacturers, wholesaler-distributors and HVACR retailers.
Market Center Distribution Holds The Key to the New Economy
There is an eager sense of anticipation as we move deeper into what many believe is a second industrial revolution.
Market Center Distributors Focus on Core Competencies
In an effort to develop a sustainable competitive advantage, the distributor is urged to find some value-added feature they offer which is unique and which sets them apart from the competition.
Vision Engineering and the MCD Wholesaler
Success in the new economy is not about perpetuating "old thinking" rooted in the past. It's not about catching up.
The MCD Distributor in a Mature Market
We are in a race for what may be a shrinking or stagnating pool of product need and we must find ways of developing market niches, cutting production and process costs so that we can come to the market with a price advantage, and finding ways to create or identify demand for the specific value-added services we bring to our customers.
The Changing Tide of Wholesaler Sales
The successful Market Center Distributor will set out on a strategy of differentiating itself from the competition.
Creating & Selling a Brand for the Market Center Distributor
Individual firms within their markets can develop brand awareness of the services they bring to the table as opposed to competitors engaged merely in commodity marketing.
The Market Center Distributor and the Supplier Relationship of the Future
Where do we stand now as manufacturers and distributors look to the future? Are we actually seeing the open sharing necessary for the third level relationship?
Evaluating the Supplier Relationship
What do suppliers bring to the table and when does an honest and open relationship demand that we evaluate the supplier efforts to make it reasonable and fair for a distributor to effectively carry out its own mission?
Inventory Management for the Market Center Distributor
With the advent of current electronic processes, old "seat of the pants" inventory management methods waste the efficiencies which technology makes possible.
MCD in an E-Commerce World
There is a lot more to building and sustaining customer demand than just providing an Internet site and having a stadium or football bowl game named after you.
Effective Meetings for the Market Center Distributor
Turning Conflict & Gridlock Into Productivity
If we are going to have meetings we had best make sure they are spent productively.
Cost Efficient Warehousing for the MCD Distributor
Although warehousing is a very traditional business, the function has probably changed more in the last twenty years than it did in the previous century.
Designing an Outside Sales Compensation Program for the MCD Distributor
No two salespeople are alike and that a "one size fits all" compensation program fails to address the variety in territory, salesperson skills, and company goals which exist at the typical distributor.
Market Center Distribution in a Tough Economy
Distributors have played so well for so long. See this as the opportunity for which you have been waiting!
Business Ethics for the Market Center Distributor
The Market Center Distributor will want to be recognized as adhering to the highest standards in relations with customers, vendors and employees.
Questions & Answers About Market Center Distribution
As NHRAW introduced the MCD concept, it became the subject of a panel forum at the 2001 Las Vegas conference with representatives from manufacturers and wholesalers taking part. There follows a sampling of the questions posed and answers given by the panel members.
