Canadian Electrical Wholesaler
Published by Kerrwil Publications Limited with the support of Electro-Federation Canada (EFC)
Eaton

Message From The Editor

New clientele and new practices

I recently travelled to a part of the world that has never celebrated Thanksgiving or pardoned a turkey, but yet there were huge posters everywhere announcing Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, the increase in online shopping this famous Monday was estimated to be between 16% and 22%, and reach US$1.5 billion, yet people were back at work. These consumer practices have an impact in our industry: times change, the clientele also, and they have new requirements. It is important to adapt. We present a profile of a leader who has taken a gamble on adapting to new market trends, and we continue our thinking on the importance of having the right people in place on your team. Good reading!

Line Goyette, Managing Editor
linegoyette@kerrwil.com  

Changing Scene

Best Practices — Your Business

New Customer Demands and the Onset of Emerging Market Players

By Swati Patel
Electrofed Change is a common factor impacting every business today. In the electrical market, the tempo of change is quickening as businesses adjust their products and services to meet new needs. But why are things changing so rapidly? The rate of change has a lot to do with new customer demands. Concepts such as smart cities, electric vehicles and net zero homes and buildings are driving new socially responsible behaviours among end-users. In turn, this has created opportunity for flexible, efficient systems and applications that interoperate and offer end-to-end solutions at home and at work. The solutions in demand also require synergy between electrical, IT/data and security systems. Read More

Peers & Profiles

Bernard Pitre, President and CEO-General, Convectair-NMT: the Hidden Side of the Disciplined Accountant

By Line Goyette
Convectair Bernard Pitre is astonishing. Creativity and innovation are not words that we automatically associate with accountancy training, but this would be a mistake in the case of Bernard Pitre. We could say that his entire professional career, on the manufacturing side and on the distribution side, has as the common denominator building components: heating, air conditioning, distribution of electrical products… but this simplification ignores the challenges he took on along the way. Read More

Market Research

New Report: eCommerce within the Construction and Industrial Markets, Part 2

By David Gordon
Channel Marketing Group The advent of Amazon Business has motivated many distributors to consider the implications of ecommerce, and make investments. To better understand the state of eCommerce within construction and industrial trades, Channel Marketing Group asked distributors for input on their own eCommerce initiatives, as well as how they see Amazon Business as a competitor. Part 1 presented highlights from the report's overall ecommerce findings. Here in Part 2: Amazon's influence on eCommerce. Read More

Looking back

The History of Copel

CEDA Copel was an organization that united 16 of Canada's leading electrical distributors. It was during the 1969 convention of CEDA that E. Mullaly of Saint John and Jeannine Guillevin Wood of Montreal first discussed the idea of forming an organization of independent distributors. A meeting in August 1969 brought together independent electrical distributors from across Canada to form a consortium that would enable them to combine resources, experience and purchasing volume to compete more effectively with national distributors. In its time, Copel was the largest organization of its kind. Read More

Human Resources

Transformation of the Grid — and Preparing the Next Generation

By Michelle Branigan
EHRC Many Canadian electrical assets are approaching the end of life, and there is a need to refurbish or replace much of the system. Countries around the world, including Canada, are looking to decarbonize existing energy systems. Smart homes, smart cities, renewable generation, the integration of electrical vehicles, energy efficiency, energy storage — these will all have an impact on the industry and how we deliver electricity within a changing environment. So what does this mean for the workforce? Read More

Economy

Investment in New Housing Up 8.9% in September YOY

Statistique Canada Increases in new housing investment were reported in eight provinces, with the largest gains in Alberta (+$154.3 million), Ontario (+$126.5 million) and Quebec (+$102.4 million). At the national level, Ontario ($2.2 billion), accounted for 40.7% of total investment, followed by British Columbia (20.7%), Alberta and Quebec (both at 15.1%). Quebec and New Brunswick were the only provinces that posted a year-over-year investment increase for all building types. Read More

Published by Kerrwil Publications Limited with the support of Electro-Federation Canada (EFC)
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