15 | DWC - Catching Up With DWC CEO, Travis Williams

As Distributor Wire & Cable (DWC) concludes its 15th year in business, the company has never been more vibrant and positioned for success. Throughout 2023, we’ve looked back on our past by celebrating some of DWC’s milestone moments with some of our more seasoned staffers. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the present, and perhaps what lies ahead for DWC’s future as we sit down for a quick conversation with DWC CEO, Travis Williams.

The Monthly Wire: You’re a seasoned veteran in the electrical wholesale industry, what are some of the more important changes that you have witnessed in the industry since your beginnings?

Travis Williams: That cliché, “The more things change the more they stay the same,” applies to this industry. Ultimately, over the long term, the most successful electrical distributors and suppliers are focused on relationships and customer service. There has certainly been change in technology, techniques, data farming, AI, searching functions, customer information access, consolidation, the list goes on and on. The blocking and tackling of running a business in this industry continue to be the fundamentals of building relationships and delivering exceptional customer service!

The Monthly Wire: DWC has experienced a ton of growth since you joined the company. In your view, what has been the key to this growth and success?

Travis Williams: Trade secret!! (laughs) No, actually, it is very straight forward. There are no real secrets in this industry or in this business. As a company that is devoted to the growth of our customers as well as our own growth, we find that we just seem to simply care more!

We work hard. We work smart. We are nimble. We work as a team. We are genuine. We appreciate and value our colleagues and our customers. These are things that so many companies talk about. We've managed to align our entire business with these guideposts, so when we set goals, we are able to achieve them. Everyone here has really bought-in! To me it is just that simple.

The Monthly Wire: How has DWC’s culture played a role in the success of the company?

Travis Williams: We really focus on our culture. Culture is at the core of all of the success and growth that this company has achieved! DWC's culture is organic and authentic. It's evolved over the years, and will continue to evolve. At the core, we've come to the conclusion that if we collectively strive to build a company culture where each individual can make a difference and genuinely enjoys the work - success will follow.

The Monthly Wire: As Distributor Wire & Cable celebrates 15 years in business, can you paint a picture of where you see DWC 15 years from now?

Travis Williams: Continually building improving and evolving. For 15 years we have been consistently advancing each facet of the business. Today, a key difference is we are strategically planning our business, a luxury we didn’t have in our early days when things were much more about reacting than planning ahead. With this more strategic approach comes with a high level of accountability for real results. It also comes with providing resources and a focus on developing people through training, education, and hiring top talent among so many other things. Today's DWC has a multifaceted approach to improving each part of the business. Or strategy and our alignment is what is ultimately driving our ability to deliver customer service improvements. I see a company that each and every day, will be focused on improving the customer experience. When I step back and look at the potential of what we can achieve at DWC, it's easy to envision some pretty amazing results over the next 15 years!