How Wholesalers and Distributors Stack up in 2019

Published on January 16, 2019 by Barnes Dennig in Wholesale / Distribution

Request your private copy of the 2018 Compensation and Benefits Benchmarking Study here.

Barnes Dennig, USI Insurance and WesBanco collected compensation and benefits data from 46 regional wholesalers and distributors. By gathering this information, participants can compare their infrastructures to others in the region. Below are some statistics related to the companies who participated in 2018.

Company Background

• Of the 46 participants, 33 had over 50 employees and 13 had under 50 employees
• The most respondents were in the $51-$100 million range (13 companies)
• The main company type reported was S Corporation, followed by C Corporation
• 84% of companies surveyed outsource their payroll services
• The average ROTA is 11.1% (up from 10.6% in our 2016 study)
• When asked what percentage of the company’s gross margin represented compensation, benefits, bonus and commissions, the following was revealed: 28% compensation; 5% benefits; 5% bonuses and 7% commissions

Financial Information

• 2018 average salaries are listed in the report. For example, the average base salary for the President/CEO in a company with over 50 employees is $252,919
• The range of annual employee salary increases in 2018 was 1.8% to 4.5%
• 71% of companies offer commissions to outside sales personnel. Of the 71%, percent of gross profit (66%) is utilized most frequently as a means for calculating commissions
• 44% of companies offer commissions to inside sales personnel. Of the 44%, percent of gross profit (50%) is utilized most frequently as a means for calculating commissions

Benefits Information

• Of the participants, 98% offer health insurance, 82% offer disability insurance, 50% offer cafeteria plans/Section 125 plans to their employees
• 76% of employers contribute a flat amount to employee Health Saving Accounts
• 12% had a specialty prescription drug claim in excess of $100,000 annually in the last two years
• 51% indicated that they currently implement a wellness program
• Enhanced compensation and skills/personality profile assessments were the top two employee recruitment strategies
• The top two strategies to retain talent are increased compensation and leadership development programs

Additional Resources 

These statistics were pulled from the extensive report created by Barnes Dennig, USI Insurance and WesBanco. You can request a copy of the full report here.

We recently covered the findings at an in-depth roundtable event. For more information, a recording of the presentation, and findings, please visit our website here.

If you have questions about this report, or wish to know how your company can be better positioned to compete in 2019 and beyond, have a member of our Wholesale/Distribution team contact you at no charge here, or by calling 513-241-8313

 

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