Note: For this 2MM, we use the term ‘incentives’ to include any pay-for-performance. If the entire sales team is consistently achieving its incentives, you likely have a problem. When we visit wholesalers, one of the metrics we look at is the Incentive Attainment Rate. More often than not, the Incentive Attainment Rates for the sales organizations we see are 90% or higher. This means that either the wholesaler has all super star sales reps, or the Incentive goals are…

In a world where it’s possible to track almost anything and everything, how do you get supervisors to better manage their people with the information available?

Business is getting more complicated each day. Implementing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is one way wholesalers can gain quick insight into the impacts of their decisions and the effectiveness of their overall strategy.

After making all the “right” moves to lower delivery costs, are you still seeing expenses remain stubbornly high? You’re not alone. When the numbers aren’t budging, wholesalers are left wondering why their efforts aren’t translating into actual savings. Volume has been down multiple years in a row. Costs are increasing. New accounts are opening. Management wants to save money, so they look for savings in delivery (after all, delivery is the most expensive service…

When there are high numbers of SKUs showing variances, you have sloppy inventory processes. It doesn’t matter if the variances are positive or negative, small or large – the fact that there are a lot of them is the problem. A small inventory variance is always better than a large inventory variance, but enough small variances can indicate a significant process issue. We understand that thousands of cases are being moved every day in the warehouse, and that counting…

If you solve for your annual profit goal by budgeting top down, you are not alone, but you may be short-changing your profit goal. Many wholesalers do annual budgeting from the top of the P&L down to the operating profit line. In other words, they solve for their annual profit goal. We call this “settling” for your profit. We believe ownership can get short-changed when they settle or solve for the profit that’s left. From an accounting perspective, it makes sense to…

Every wholesaler wants sustainable growth, but too many wholesalers are stuck operating in “the way we’ve always done it.” If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. VXP recently interviewed Wes Verno on their Tapped In Sales Podcast to discuss how wholesalers can take their limited resources to be more effective in 2026. Watch it below or listen to it wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t have 55 minutes? Download our key takeaways: Verno and VXP Interview…

When management is not around, disenfranchisement can abound. Disenfranchised employees are more likely to care less about the company or the quality of their work, and eventually leave the company altogether. Employees often view upper-level management as unavailable to workers. In most wholesalers, employees are more loyal to their direct supervisor or teammates than to the company itself. Too often, wholesaler leadership and higher-level managers are not…

New SKUs are critical to the future of the beverage industry, but pose significant cost risks to wholesalers if unsuccessful. All new SKUs have a certain degree of risk. Wholesalers need to know how to measure and manage the selection of new SKUs. Just about every wholesaler has to deal with more SKUs than they want to carry. Suppliers are attempting to stimulate growth by introducing new sizes and flavors, a trend that has been ongoing for several decades. Consumers seek new items that meet…

Inventory theft is more than a breakage problem – it’s also a leadership problem.