Electrical Industry Roundtable 2014 - 27

and are saying " review all the drawings, fi nd the items required on
the job, quote back as per plans and specifi cations and commit to
the numbers " . Th is practice cannot be supported with the current
function of the distributor.
And fi nally: technology. We have so much product being
introduced from new and existing sources. Who is
the proper partner to play with? What technology
do we want to support ? Th ere is not really any
guidance as to what is universally-accepted in the
industry. We are all making our best judgement on
what to support and in many cases relying on our
traditional partners to bring the best product to
market.
KERR: Segway for you. Do you think the
distributor's role down the road will be to partner
with some contractors, medium or small, and go
in and provide the takeoff and do some of that
work for them?
BRANSCOMBE: I think distributors will look to invest in that
area and add that service for contractor partners who will commit
to working on the project together. It is all about increasing your
chances of securing business - you can quote a lot of jobs with no
commitments or identify other than a quoted number or quote
fewer quality jobs together with the contractor and have a better
chance of securing.
KERR: You see that some distributors are doing integration now on
the control side...
SYER: Canada is developing into an economic monoculture that is
primarily oil-based. In the past this was only the West, and it was
cyclical, boom, bust, boom, etc. Our national economy and our
dollar is now much more petro/resource based, and the entire
country is susceptible to those cycles in a way that it never was. Th is
has huge ripples - waves really - in employment, in construction.
Th is is a very diff erent time for Canada and this concerns me in the
long run especially for the kids that are entering the workforce.
KERR: Th is is a good place to take the last round around the table and
what we've always done is a quick free for all. Is there anything else we
haven't talked about that you feel we should be thinking about? With
the perspective of looking three-years out, fi ve-years out? Something
David Syer.
Canadian Electrical Wholesaler JUNE 2014
27
Electrical Industry Roundtable 2014

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