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Podcast: Resilience in the Face of Market Changes with Robin Lieberman of MF Supply


In this B2B Commerce Uncut podcast, sponsored by OroCommerce, Robin Lieberman, president and owner of MF Supply, and Aaron Sheehan, OroCommerce’s host speaker, discuss overcoming business challenges through resilience and innovation in the face of market changes. Robin shares her journey of buying a failing business and turning it around through hard work and strategic decision-making. She emphasizes the importance of innovation, automation, and marketing in today’s fast-paced business landscape. The discussion also covers the significance of delegating tasks to focus on high-ROI activities, leveraging technology for B2B e-commerce success, and implementing growth strategies to stay competitive in the advent of marketplaces within the fasteners industry.

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Podcast Highlights

  • (04:24) The challenging economic climate at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019.
  • (05:03) Incremental growth through automation and local engagement.
  • (06:31) The strategy to distribute masks via eCommerce to support essential businesses during the pandemic.
  • (07:19) Expansion of product lines to include more emergency supplies like hand sanitizers and gloves.
  • (11:07) Details on the types of products MF Supply specializes in (commercial, mil-spec, Oem branded, standard and custom fasteners for manufacturers), and their approach to customer service.
  • (17:41) Robin's strategy for providing quick and cost-effective solutions to common supply issues.
  • (23:17) The impact of marketplaces on traditional business models in the fastener industry.
  • (25:16) Strategic decisions behind the move to eCommerce for MF Supply.
  • (34:52) Future goals for enhancing MF Supply's digital presence and customer engagement.

Transcript Excerpts

Robin Lieberman: “Marketplaces are inevitable. A technical industry like the fastener industry, people are talking about price; you talk about a race to the bottom. Do you know what these fasteners are doing? These are workhorses. They are holding up and holding together everything around us.”

Aaron Sheehan: “I think you learned so many lessons about people and customer service, and how business works. Because everything you do on a larger scale, everything all our customers do, everything I've ever done, is simply a larger version of that looking somebody in the eye and helping them find something or handling the cash or doing the operation stuff behind the scenes that nobody sees.”

Robin Lieberman: “My thought is that if you have a universal part number, then it's easier to shop for these things. If you have a description-based product or any things in your part that are special plating, special materials, special certification—one feature that's different than the average normal feature—I just think you're really going to get yourself in trouble if you're going to marketplaces for any of this type of stuff. And I think that even though they are commodities, they are special commodities. You know, you can buy the wrong stainless steel, you can buy the wrong drive; it says round head, but you need a pan head. It's really technical. It concerns me about marketplaces. At the same time, I'm in marketplaces. I think the way that Bay works is that it's a lot of work for very low return, and they take a big cut. And it's a low-margin industry, so it's got to be a volume play.”

About Host

B2B Commerce Uncut is a podcast where tough leaders, distributors, and innovators have honest, hard-hitting conversations about digital commerce and transformation. Sponsored by OroCommerce—a leading innovator and provider of customer-driven, powerful, and connected open-source software for B2B digital transformation—it explores the challenges and successes that manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers face in achieving successful digital transformation.

About Guest

Robin Lieberman is the president and owner of MF Supply. With a background in various industries, and with experience in operational and marketing roles, Robin shares her inspiring journey of transforming MF Supply into a thriving business through strategic innovations and resilience.

About Us

WE ARE YOUR PURCHASING DEPARTMENT'S SECRET WEAPON!

MF Supply is a WBE/WOSB certified supply chain partner to business, industry and government. We are sourcing experts and stocking distributors of Hardware, Precision & Mil-Spec Fasteners and Safety supplies. For more than 50 years, we have been supplying manufacturers in the electronics, industrial, commercial, aerospace and military markets with the full range of fastener products and services. Our Cage Code is 58QG4 and our registered name is RL Supply Inc dba MF Supply.

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