Summary

For most distributors, cash-flow pressure is usually attributed to external forces. Tariffs increase landed costs. Freight becomes more expensive. Suppliers change prices. Customers demand longer payment terms. Interest rates increase the cost of carrying working capital. Supply-chain disruptions make inventory planning more difficult. All of these pressures are real, but they are not necessarily the whole story.

A significant portion of the cash-flow problem can originate inside the distributor's own operating model, in the gap between what is happening in the business and what the business can actually see, understand, and act upon. A distributor can be generating healthy revenue and still be steadily destroying cash.

The Cash Flow Blind Spot is a practical guide for distributors to effectively identify and remedy their inventory and pricing gaps, to build stronger profitability and pave the way for sustainable growth.