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Want to know how well your competitors are really doing? Here’s a little trick…

A strong strategy isn’t just a list of projects—it’s a filter. It helps you say yes to the right things and no to everything that’s a distraction. That’s why every business plan should include a ‘Do Not Do’ List.

One of the most underrated tools in wholesale analytics is the heatmap. Whether it’s tracking picker movement, order issues, or customer support queries, heatmaps help you visualise where things are going wrong.

Too many wholesale businesses get excited about dashboards, only to hit a wall when they realise Power BI can’t create data that doesn’t exist.

In wholesale, most businesses aren’t losing money on one big mistake—they’re leaking it slowly, day after day, through untidy, inconsistent processes.

Most wholesale businesses review what went well each week. But the best ones also review what went wrong—and more importantly, why.

Want to improve your warehouse speed without investing in new tech, systems, or racking? Start by tidying up.

You’ve shown someone how to do that task five times already. Different people, same instructions. Sound familiar?

You’ve got a backlog of orders from the weekend. Pickers and packers are flat out. Customer service is chasing their tails. And yet, delivery lorries are pulling up with hundreds of SKUs ready to be checked in and put away.

Most people wait until the morning to decide what they’re doing that day. That’s a mistake—especially in wholesale, where the first hour can make or break your team’s momentum.

When someone shows up late and nothing’s said, the rest of the team notices. When poor work is overlooked, others question why they bother going the extra mile.

Too many managers only give feedback when something goes wrong. They correct mistakes, flag issues, and try to “fix” poor performance—but rarely stop to coach when things are going well.

Let’s be honest—Fridays can be a productivity black hole in wholesale. The pressure of the week is winding down. Energy dips. Motivation fades.

An employee’s performance has dropped. A teammate is creating tension. Someone’s attitude is affecting the rest of the team. But instead of addressing it head-on, many managers delay.

Workplace favouritism can creep in quietly. A manager trusts one person more. Gives them better shifts. Turns a blind eye to their underperformance.

Want to get more from your team? You don’t need a fancy system—just two ingredients: clear direction and strong motivation. Most underperformance isn’t due to laziness. It’s usually because your team either doesn’t know exactly what’s expected of them, or they don’t care enough to push themselves. And whose job is it to fix both

If you’re not measuring your site’s performance, you’re guessing. And guessing doesn’t grow revenue.

Everyone tracks pick time. It’s the obvious one. Orders out the door = money coming in. But if you’re not tracking putaway time, you’re only seeing half the picture.

When someone’s doing a great job, it’s tempting to leave them alone. They don’t need chasing, they don’t cause problems—and you’ve got fires to put out elsewhere.

It’s easy to train someone how to complete a task. But if you want a high-performing team, you need to go further. You need to train them how to think.

Not all team issues come from shouting matches or visible conflict. In fact, the most dangerous problems are the ones no one talks about—the silent frustration that builds up over time.

Most managers can spot an underperformer. But the real risk to your team isn’t always the ones doing too little—it’s the ones doing too much, quietly.

Most business goals sound great on paper—“Grow revenue by 20%” or “Improve customer retention.” But they often fall flat because there’s no clear path to get there. That’s where reverse engineering comes in.

Discounts might drive a first order, but they rarely build loyalty. In wholesale, repeat business is where the real profit lies. And if your only lever is cutting prices, you’re in trouble.

Your website is the front door to your wholesale business. It’s where buyers discover your brand, browse your products, and decide whether to place that first order.

Your IT systems are only as strong as your weakest link—and in most wholesale businesses, that link is human. One wrong click on a fake email and your entire system could be compromised.

The goods in process is often underestimated. Receiving deliveries, checking them off, and putting stock away sounds simple—but in reality, it’s one of the most stressful and space-sensitive tasks in the warehouse.

Still sending two or three generic emails a month to your entire customer base? That’s not enough—and it’s not smart targeting either.

People don’t build connections with logos—they build them with people. Yet so many wholesale businesses hide behind stock banners and supplier graphics, showing nothing of who they actually are.

That first order isn’t just a transaction—it’s the start of a relationship. And if you want that relationship to last, you need to nail the onboarding experience.

You should treat every customer with respect—that’s just basic professionalism. But treating them all equally? That’s a mistake. Not all customers bring the same value to your business. Some are high-volume, margin-friendly, collaborative partners. Others drain your time, haggle on price, and deliver next to nothing in return. Here’s the reality: ✔ Your key accounts

“Nobody ever leaves” is something some business owners say with pride. But here’s the truth—that’s not always a good thing.

When a business lacks clear direction, it doesn’t collapse overnight—it slowly drifts. Performance drops, people disengage, and progress grinds to a halt. Sound familiar?

In simple terms, strategy is the what, and tactics are the how. You set a destination, and then you decide how you’ll get there.

Operational Excellence isn’t just about being efficient—it’s about being strategically efficient.

Are you spending a fortune on remote access tools like TeamViewer? Or worse—are your sales reps out on the road with no access to your internal ERP system?

Before you can build a dashboard, you need to know where your data actually lives—and for many wholesale businesses, that’s not always clear.

If your business strategy lives in your head—or worse, in a 40-page document no one reads—you’re not alone. But without a clear, visible, and simple plan, your team is likely pulling in different directions. That’s where the one-page plan comes in. It distils your entire business focus into something you and your team can refer

Most wholesale businesses run month-to-month, reacting to what’s in front of them. But if you want consistent, sustainable growth, you need a clear long-term direction—and that starts with a 3-year plan.

Stock sitting in your warehouse might look harmless—but it’s quietly draining your cash flow, space, and operational efficiency.

Not all stock is equal. Some products fly off the shelves daily, while others collect dust for weeks. The biggest mistake warehouses make? Treating all stock the same.

If pickers are constantly doubling back, walking long distances for fast-moving items, or searching for products, your warehouse is losing time on every single order.

Most wholesale business owners focus on revenue, but buyers care about profit, efficiency, and risk.

If you want a high-performing team, you need measurable performance indicators. Here’s a quick exercise to get started.

When a current or potential customer lands on your website or social media, what do they see?

Cybersecurity isn’t just an IT issue—it’s a business survival issue. Hackers are relentless, scanning millions of IPs every second, looking for vulnerabilities.

In a busy warehouse, every extra step a picker takes is wasted time and energy. Over a shift, over a week, over a year—these small inefficiencies add up. The goal? Reduce walking distance.

It’s tempting to step in and fix everything, especially when you know the answer. But if you always solve problems, you’ll become the go-to firefighter

Every employee should know how their work contributes to the bigger picture. Without a sense of purpose, tasks become just another to-do list.

Leadership isn’t just about strategy—it’s about presence.

Most businesses set monthly targets and assume progress will follow. But what happens in between?

Many wholesale businesses stick to a fixed schedule—same hours, same staff, every day of the week. But is that really the smartest way to operate?

The best businesses listen. The best teams know their input matters. Give them an easy way to share ideas—and see what happens.

Most wholesalers set up their pick routes to start with the top sellers — thinking it saves time. But here’s the reality: your pickers are walking the route no matter what. The question is: Are they walking smart?

It’s easy to get comfortable when you have a big customer placing huge orders. But if one account makes up 20%, 30%, or more of your revenue, you don’t have a business—you have a dependency.

Your company should have a clear mission—one that’s visible, communicated, and understood by both your team and your customers.

Suppliers love to push multi-buy promotions—“Buy 3, Get 1 FREE!”—as a way to boost sales. But who’s really winning here?

As a wholesaler, we love to compare ourselves to… other wholesalers. But your customers? They’re comparing you to…

Hiring for culture fit sounds like a great idea—until it turns into an excuse to build an echo chamber. Too many businesses fall into the trap of looking for people who “fit in” rather than those who bring something new to the table.