Each year for our Know Your Distributor issue, Locksmith Ledger profiles a few distributors. We asked them about their business, how they engage with locksmiths and security pros and how they’ve dealt with the ongoing COVID crisis. This year, Banner Solutions, H.L. Flake and Top Notch Distributors took the time to answer our questions. We thank them for their contributions. (Editor’s note: These were collected and published before the announcement in early April 2021 of Banner's acquisition of Flake.)
Banner Solutions
Banner Solutions is a relatively new name in the distribution game, beginning in 2019. However, its foundation stretches back decades under the names Midwest Hardware, Akron Hardware, Strauss Lock and Hardware Suppliers. Banner has nine distribution warehouses and headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Banner’s profile was provided by Ben Smith, vice president of marketing and eCommerce.
What makes you different from other distributors?
Banner Solutions views every interaction with our customers as an opportunity to provide solutions, not just sell hardware. Of course, we want to be the destination for the product needs of our locksmith customers, but more than that, we want to be known for finding ways to solve problems where others can’t or won’t.
What’s your strength?
Our people. I know, everybody says that. Specifically, it’s that our people know their stuff, that they’re committed to treating our customers’ businesses as though they were their own and that they seek out ways to elevate the customer experience to the best that it can be. It isn’t just that they’re pleasant; it’s that they go above and beyond to deliver.
What training do you provide to locksmiths and security pros?
One specific area that we’re excited to provide training around is electronic access control. We have a team of EAC experts that understand the challenges a locksmith faces when getting into electronic access situations — bridging the knowledge between mechanical hardware and electronic. This same team can assist customers in creating electronic access solutions for any specific opening challenge. From design to implementation, we’re able to educate our customers on every aspect of electronic access.
What other benefits do you provide to locksmiths?
Ultimately, we know locksmiths seek convenience at a fair price. A tremendous amount of our locksmith customers use bannersolutions.com to source the products and information they need. Real-time price and availability, backed by our industry-leading distribution network, make our site a valuable tool for locksmiths. We also support all major manufacturer locksmith programs, from reporting purchases to stocking the products that locksmiths use throughout their business.
What’s new about your business that a locksmith might not know?
Banner Solutions is in growth mode. Although we’ve boasted a nationwide reach for many years, locksmiths in the Pacific Northwest should know that we now have an arsenal of distribution centers ready to support their region with next-day service. Our approach is as a national supplier with regional roots all throughout the country. Many members of our ever-expanding team have decades in the door hardware business and have built strong customer relationships in their specific regions.
What product categories are the most requested by your customers?
Unsurprisingly, locks, door closers and exit devices are the most requested. Of course, demand for electrified products continues to pick up throughout our business.
Has that changed in the past year, and do you anticipate a change in the next year?
For sure. Very few people paid attention to grabbing ahold of a lockset or a door pull prior to March of last year. That changed overnight and brought a significant increase in demand for anti-viral finishes and low- or no-touch solutions. This will continue for some time. But looking beyond that, we’ll continue to see an increase in products that retrofit standard mechanical locks but enable credentialed access and monitoring capabilities. (Think: electronic, Bluetooth-enabled small-format interchangeable cores.)
How do you compete with online sellers?
Good question. For us, it’s fairly straightforward: Deliver the same level of convenience in online ordering and back it up with the best human-to-human interactions. Troubleshooting, product selection advice, electronic system design, training — the large online players don’t have that. It isn’t their focus. Interacting with a human is such a vital part of this business, we’re confident that our website addresses and exceeds the convenience of online sellers and that our people make us a hands-down better source for security professionals.
What challenges did COVID bring to your business, and how have you been able to navigate them successfully?
Beyond the economic effects, we dealt with the same concerns as any other business — moving our workforce to remote locations, engaging customers almost exclusively through phone or web and dealing with COVID cases within our own ranks. But our team is dynamic and flexible. We moved our office staff home quickly to protect their health and the health of our essential distribution center staff. Our customers have been awesome, so we’ve come through much of it unscathed, but we very much look forward to getting in front of our customers again.
How would you describe the overall state of distribution today?
Evolving. Amazon and Walmart continue to expand what they offer, creeping further into our product markets. That said, Banner Solutions is proud to be leading the charge for evolution and innovation in distribution. We’re bringing large swaths of industry knowledge into a single organization and focusing on the digital forefront to make sure that our value goes beyond just straight distribution, which is really what’s being threatened. Doing more than just fulfilling orders ensures there’s unique value in our layer.
What do you see as the future relationship between locksmiths and your company?
Banner Solutions will continue to provide locksmiths with the highest level of convenience, product knowledge and inventory. We’ll focus on delivering the best human-to-human interactions possible — advice, training, system designs — backed by industry-leading programs, distribution and technologies that make it easier for locksmiths to get the job done.
H.L. Flake
H.L. Flake has been around since 1912, originally as a bicycle retailer that eventually moved into locksmith tools and supplies. It now is under the Security Pro Supply umbrella, supplies more than 40,000 different items and has its headquarters in Houston. H.L. Flake’s profile was provided by CEO Mark Knight.
What makes you different from other distributors?
We truly are customer-focused and here to serve the locksmith security professional community. We don’t sell around our customers, the security professional, to the end user. Also, the breadth of product that we offer along with our ability to ship the same day make us unique.
What’s your strength?
We’re customer-centric and locksmith security professional-focused. The breadth of our product offering and the ability to ship nearly all orders on the same day with UPS pickup at 7:30 p.m. CT is another strength. We’ve integrated technology to provide a seamless customer experience, and our bilingual, technical sales staff has more than 600 years of combined experience to provide exceptional service.
What training do you provide to locksmiths and security pros?
We provide technical product training across all categories. This consists of free training sessions as well as paid training, which includes ALOA accreditation. We also have provided Business Roundtable sessions, which focus on business operations for the locksmith and security professional, for no charge. These can be found under the Educational Resources tab on securityprosupply.com.
What other benefits do you provide to locksmiths?
The advanced technical assistance that we provide is one, and locksmiths not only benefit from us being a one-stop shop that provides same-day shipping, but also that we provide their historical purchase data online to make for easier ordering. We also provide formal business reviews on a monthly or quarterly basis for their business. These include a year-over-year purchase history summarized by product category.
What’s new about your business that a locksmith might not know but should?
We have a contemporary, mobile-friendly website launching in the spring that will be easier to navigate on your phone. What’s also new is that we offer advanced technical assistance for access control and that all of our training is now ALOA-accredited. Finally, we expanded the lines we carry across the categories, including automotive, and stock nearly all brands from the major manufacturers.
What product categories are the most requested by your customers?
In 2020, we saw stronger demand for residential hardware, automotive and access control. In access control, we saw many new products being brought to market and particularly strong demand for touchless solutions.
Has that changed in the past year, and do you anticipate a change in the next year?
As a result of the pandemic, we saw a change in the mix. We expect the product mix to trend back to historical norms in the second half of 2021. However, we see increased demand for access control and automotive continuing. In response, we’ve focused on providing access control education and support to our locksmith customers, and we see this becoming an increasingly larger part of their business. For some of our larger locksmith customers, access control is now over 30 percent of their revenue. Meanwhile, with consumers looking to migrate away from high-cost dealers for their key and remote demands, we believe that the locksmith community will continue to see their share of the automotive aftermarket grow.
How do you compete with online sellers?
Even before launching our new website, we had 3-5 times the typical distributor order volume coming through our site. That’s because the ordering experience is tailored to the customers we serve. Residential and automotive products seem to have the most online activity in marketplaces and with virtual distributors, and, largely, we don’t see the majority of products we distribute being offered in online marketplaces. Most of the commercial-hardware manufacturers don’t allow resellers on the marketplaces, because they can’t support the brands in the way that we do with technical and warranty support. As far as virtual distributors online, we haven’t seen disruption in most of the product areas.
What challenges did COVID bring to your business, and how have you navigated them successfully?
We pivoted quickly to allow many in the organization to work remotely. We had the technology in place, so it was a seamless transition for our team and our customers. This allowed for those who had to be onsite to have more social distancing and less exposure to others as well. We actually found that most people working remotely increased their productivity. We also changed the process in Will Call to allow customers to pick up their orders in a touch-free environment and to be in and out in less than 2 minutes, which was a big benefit. Of course, we had to cancel our in-person trade show, but we moved to online education, initially with much of it being provided free, and offered weekly business roundtable discussions for the locksmith community as a way to stay connected and to provide value to our customers. Our first-of-its-kind virtual trade show in the fall included dozens of online educational sessions, more than 40 vendors and nearly 1,000 attendees.
How would you describe the overall state of distribution today?
Although a lot has changed, a lot has stayed the same. Even with consolidation, distribution is extremely fragmented. Certainly, technology plays a bigger role in providing customers with the contemporary experience they expect. However, there are new and different entrants that are looking to disrupt the market. Some product lines have lower barriers of entry, while others are more difficult because of the range of manufacturers and brands that have to be supported. Those who focus on the customer experience from beginning to end will win.
What do you see as the future relationship between locksmiths and your company?
We talk about winning the hearts and minds of our customers. We believe that our relationships are stronger than ever. We like to say that we are “for the locksmith and security professional,” which means that we don’t sell around the trade. We’re here to support the community. Through our efforts after the pandemic started, we have added a number of new customers and found that our existing customers are directing more of their spend to us. For that loyalty, we’re grateful.
Top Notch Distributors
Top Notch sprang out of modest beginnings in 1975 — a small barn in Pennsylvania. Today it has four distribution centers and ships nationwide, with its headquarters still in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Top Notch’s profile was provided by Brad Ashley, vice president, commercial.
What makes you different from other distributors?
Our people. Top Notch has a sales team that averages 20-plus years per person in the business and a robust customer-service team that strives to provide our customers with the best experience in the industry.
What’s your strength?
Our leadership team. Top Notch’s business leaders in the residential, commercial and electronics fields provide the expertise and resources our sales and customer-service teams need to ensure the best customer service possible.
What training do you provide to locksmiths and security pros?
When it comes to training, Top Notch is flexible. Whether it be hopping on a video call, providing pricing guides or conversion charts, or taking technical service calls from the field, we always make ourselves available to help our customers.
What other benefits do you provide to locksmiths?
We have a sales associate dedicated to communicating with locksmith customers daily — constantly providing insight on how Top Notch is the best choice for their hardware needs and taking feedback on how we as a company can better serve them.
What’s new about your business that a locksmith might not know but should?
In the past year, Top Notch improved its shipping capabilities by opening a state-of-the-art distribution facility in St. Charles, Missouri. We also invested in warehouse robotics and automation in our distribution centers across the country to serve our customers faster and more efficiently.
What product categories are the most requested by your customers?
Although our customers most often request Allegion commercial and residential brands, such as Schlage, Falcon and Von Duprin products, Top Notch carries more than 100 architectural door hardware brands to suit all customer demands.
Has that changed in the past year, and do you anticipate a change in the next year?
In the past year, we increased our stock of ASSA ABLOY brand products, specifically SARGENT, Corbin Russwin and Yale. We expect our business with these brands to take a major leap as we move forward in 2021 and beyond.
How do you compete with online sellers?
We offer best-in-class service and customer care. We like to think that after a customer experiences the “Top Notch Difference,” they will continue to come back to us for their hardware needs.
What challenges did COVID bring to your business, and how have you navigated them successfully?
Because of manufacturing issues throughout the year, managing our lead times to deliver customers’ orders in a timely manner was our biggest challenge. However, by being prepared and bringing on increased stock early on, we were ready to handle most of our customers’ requests.
How would you describe the overall state of distribution today?
Overall, strong. If last year’s crisis has proven anything, it’s that wholesale distribution is the lifeblood for our customers to take care of their customers efficiently and in a timely manner.
What do you see as the future relationship between locksmiths and your company?
Top Notch plans to continue investing in personnel, inventory and our services to build stronger relationships with our locksmith customers. It’s our goal to continue to support their efforts and needs as we continue to grow with them and their businesses.
