Complete Story
11/04/2025
[Duplicate] 033. Managing Your Inventory and Supply Chain in a Chaotic Business World
Presenter: Jon and Matt Schreibfeder
Level of Complexity: Intermediate
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Distributors face a multitude of business challenges today. Sales of some products is skyrocketing while demand for other products is plummeting. Frequently vendors cannot ship needed inventory in a timely manner. Transportation issues are resulting in delays in receiving replenishment shipments. Often you need to decide how much to buy before a vendor price increase and evaluate alternate sources of supply. In addition to these replenishment issues, there are many challenges in maintaining a safe work environment while filling customer orders in a timely manner. In fact, composition of these orders may have significantly changed with the boom of e-commerce. In this session we will discuss what distributors can do to address these challenges, how to evaluate possible supply alternatives, and adjust replenishment policies and procedures during the gradual recovery from the pandemic. Most important of all we will discuss how to prepare for future, unknown, marketplace disruptions.
Tariffs, government regulations, changes in supplier performance, transportation disruptions, and many other evolving situations present distributors with a number of challenges:
- Demand of some products is skyrocketing while demand for other products is plummeting.
- Certain stock products are not available, forcing buyers to search for acceptable substitutes.
- Frequently vendors cannot ship what they previously supplied in a timely manner.
- New competitors are entering the market.
- Transportation issues are resulting in delays in receiving replenishment shipments. In this session we will explore how organizations can:
- How to best forecast future demand of products in these uncertain times.
- Calculate anticipated lead times that reflect how long it will actually take to receive replenishment shipments.
- Determine inventory levels that will balance your desired level of customer service (i.e., avoidance of stockouts), your investment in stock inventory, and maximize your net profitability.
- How much to buy when presented with special opportunities.
- Dealing with tariffs, vendor issues, and other supply chain disruptions.
- Set inventory related goals and measure your progress in achieving them.
Bookstore
Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success
Colleen Stanley
In Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success, you'll learn how to increase impulse control for better questioning and listening, which EI skills are related to likability and trust, how empathy leads to bigger sales conversations and more effective solutions, how emotional intelligence can improve prospecting efforts, which EI skills are most common among top sales producers, and much more.
Customers can get product information and price comparisons online. The true differentiator between you and a bot is your ability to deftly solve problems and build relationships. From business development to closing the deal, emotional intelligence will drive your performance - and your success.



