Defending margin in a distribution business.
Wholesale distribution is a margin management business disguised as a logistics business. Our work in this sector focuses on the structural levers that protect and expand distribution margins.
The four challenges we see most often
Supplier fragmentation
Too many suppliers, too little negotiating leverage. As SKU counts climb, purchasing power per supplier declines and administrative overhead rises disproportionately.
Logistics cost creep
Rising freight, fuel, and labour costs eat into distribution margins that were thin to begin with. Route inefficiencies compound over time without structured analysis.
Working capital trap
Slow-moving inventory ties up capital that could fund growth. Most distributors don't know which SKUs are actually profitable when carrying costs are included.
Customer concentration risk
Revenue is often concentrated in a handful of accounts. Losing one large customer can trigger a structural crisis rather than a recoverable shortfall.
What a typical engagement delivers
Most wholesale distributors we work with have grown by adding volume without scrutinising whether that volume is actually profitable. Our diagnostic phase typically uncovers 2–4 percentage points of hidden margin within the existing business.
Implementation work then focuses on locking those gains in — through supplier consolidation, route optimisation, SKU discipline, and working capital management.
EBIT margin improvement (median across engagements)
Reduction in active supplier count
Improvement in inventory turn
Return on engagement fee within 12 months
Start with the Diagnostic Sprint.
30 days. A clear picture of where you are losing margin.
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