Technology—it’s a topic that is both intriguing and plaguing the electrical industry these days. It’s also a topic that will be at the forefront during the National Association of Electrical Distributors’ (NAED) National Meeting April 25-28 in Washington, D.C.
Ken Cain, vice president of marketing at Capital TriState, will be moderating a panel on information technology on Friday, April 27, at 10:15 a.m. Cain says, the educational session will cover the challenges that electrical distributors face today, from a technological standpoint.
Panelists Chris Phillippe, branch manager at Eoff Electric Supply, Phil Hale, CIO at Elliott Electric Supply, and David Rosenstein, president of Connexion, will focus on how their companies use technology to keep their business running efficiently and to create value for their customers.
The session will include an opportunity for audience members to ask questions of the panel. Cain said, “The questions I would ask to get the conversations going are…‘What’s been your greatest success in this arena over the last five years?’ ‘What’s been your greatest failure?’ And, ‘What is your order of priorities and what is your biggest challenge?’”
From Cain’s perspective, he sees several challenges when it comes to technology. “How do you keep up with it and how do you pay for it?” Cain said.
Another challenge is the belief that technology can solve everything. “We can’t do everything via electronics, because a large part of our industry still wants paper content…still wants to be communicated with on the telephone,” Cain said. “But today, about 30%-plus of the electricians on jobsites are carrying smartphones…so how do you deliver the information?”
Cain has been in the electrical industry for about 35 years. He believes the technology panel at NAED’s National Meeting should be a packed house. “It’s one of the biggest issues facing the industry today,” Cain said. “It’s the reason other channels outside of electrical distribution are biting at us, because they’re better at the technology than we are.”
For more information on the technology panel, visit the National Meeting page at NAED.org. Interested in finding out more about how NAED is helping keep technology at the forefront, visit the Strategic Technology site at NAED.org/strategictechnology.
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