Contributed by Cole Daniel, Key Account Manager, 10 years 

Two global events early in my career—the 2014 oil and gas industry downturn and the COVID pandemic—shaped where I am today: working in industrial distribution as a key account manager for R.S. Hughes, supporting customers in aerospace, transportation and other exciting industries. 

Not My First Choice 

I love what I do, but I didn’t start out with industrial distribution in mind. I’m from Oklahoma and attended Oklahoma State University, planning to work in oil and gas. Oklahoma State is a major pipeline for professionals entering that industry. 

Two years into college, the industry took a major downturn, forcing me to rethink my path. I was halfway through my college career, thinking, “Am I going to be able to get a job?” A professor with sales experience encouraged me to consider industrial distribution. I immediately said no. I envisioned door-to-door sales. I didn’t want to do that. My professor convinced me that industrial distribution offered many opportunities, so I changed course. 

After graduation, I followed my wife to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for her new job. I interviewed for a field sales role with R.S. Hughes but was offered an inside sales position instead. “It’s not really what I’m looking for,” I remember thinking. But after speaking with the sales manager, I saw the value in starting inside, learning the business and transitioning to field sales.  

Wearing Two Hats 

My first job at the Tulsa branch set me for a bright future. Our division was small, so I wore many hats, splitting time between the warehouse and inside sales. I got my hands on the product, learned what they were for, what I was shipping out and how customers used them. That early exposure helped me understand the business. 

As we grew, we hired a warehouse person, and I moved into operations full-time. I was buying products, making cold calls, setting up calls for our Outside Sales Team and handling order processing. I was getting into the nitty-gritty of our operations.  

Eventually, I transitioned to SupplySight, our end-to-end inventory management program. I drove the van, made deliveries and met with customers, which I enjoyed. That confirmed my interest in outside sales, and I continued pursuing it. 

When the World Shut Down 

By October 2019, I’d felt I’d really made it. I had my own territory, and my career at R.S. Hughes was on track. Then the COVID pandemic hit, forcing me to pivot. Our Tulsa location was heavily tied to aerospace, a seemingly stable industry, until 2020.  

I remember driving to work and seeing American Airlines parking about 80% of its fleet in Tulsa. It was airplane after airplane, all wing to wing, 200 or 300. I thought, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’  

I had to change my approach and diversify. I started calling on hospitals and other industries while aerospace slowed. By the time aerospace rebounded, we were rocking and rolling. The territory had grown into a healthier mix of accounts. 

What I Love About My Job 

Recently, I transitioned to a key account manager role, where I’m a partner in my customers’ businesses. This position allows me to understand their business, help them operate smoother and make a positive impact. My goal has always been to get to know their business so well that it feels like I work there. 

I enjoy learning what customers do and what they care about. I love talking to customers and asking, ‘Tell me about your business.’ I love seeing the light in their eyes when they talk about what they do. 

That sense of partnership becomes especially important in aerospace and commercial vehicle accounts, where the stakes are high. Customers trust us to ensure the planes are flying and the school buses are coming off the lines. I always say my job is to make our customers’ jobs easier. When customers see us deliver on that promise, it makes all the work worth it. 

Anticipating Customer Issues 

One way I add value is by identifying customer issues early. The process often starts when someone—me, Customer Care or Warehouse & Logistics—notices something off. Managing complex accounts cannot be done alone. I cannot claim credit for our success. It truly takes a village. 

Once we identify an issue, the team confirms whether the material is on order, incoming or discontinued. If the issue is real, we bring the right internal people together, including national account resources and the manufacturer partner when needed, to resolve it. 

That vigilance is even more important as global supply chains have changed. Lead times are less predictable now, and qualification requirements—especially in aerospace—make substitutions more complex. You cannot simply substitute a different product without review and approval, so staying proactive and connected with key customer contacts is critical. 

A Sense of Urgency 

An early experience on the Inside Sales Team helped shape my sense of urgency. A customer once requested next-day early-morning delivery of a part, even though the shipping cost was far higher than the part itself. When I asked if they wanted to save money on shipping, the customer explained that it was an aircraft on ground (AOG) situation. Every day that airplane remained grounded cost the airline tens of thousands of dollars. 

That conversation changed how I think about customer needs. If something has to ship next-day air, the cost of shipping may be secondary to the cost of downtime. I try to carry that urgency into every customer situation by identifying problems early, communicating clearly and helping the team present a solution before the product runs out. 

A recent example of this involved a small, discontinued part that was not critical on its own. But in aerospace and transportation, every part of the end product matters. The $10 component needed to be treated with the same urgency as a $1,000,000 part. 

Because we identified the issue early, the team was able to notify the customer, test alternatives, find a replacement and secure engineering approval without slowing production. The key is not simply saying, “Here’s the problem.” It’s saying, “Here’s the problem, here’s the team, and here’s our plan to get ahead of it.” That kind of communication builds customer confidence. 

That all fits with R.S. Hughes’ core value of having a relentless commitment to serving our customers. We truly care. We take care of our customers and co-workers. If we see something or someone who needs help, we help them. That environment is truly special, and why I’ve stayed for ten years.