According to the EY Growth Barometer, 29% of family business executives are employing technology to improve productivity. How exactly are these leaders harnessing the power of technology?

New customer expectations, mature sales organizations, staid industries, increasing competition from Amazon—the challenges for distributors seem to multiply by the day. Businesses as diverse as a furniture wholesaler, a firefighter equipment supplier and point of sale supplier explained how they’ve dealt with some of the common challenges confronting people in the industry and how they’re taking their ecommerce to the next level at a SuiteWorld19 session last month.

Succession planning is essential for family business survival, especially for those where leaders are nearing retirement. According to the Family Business Center, 70 percent of family businesses would like to pass their business on to the next generation, but only 30 percent will be successful.

NetSuite’s Ranga Bodla recently sat down with Jeffrey Gradek, President of Filter Services, a leading distributor and servicer of commercial and industrial filtration products, to discuss the company’s decision to move off Macola to a true cloud ERP system. Filter Services went through a rigorous analysis and evaluation of solutions from Prophet21, Microsoft Dynamics, IBS and NetSuite, and ultimately chose to go with NetSuite. Below are highlights from the conversation.

It is no exaggeration to say that family businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy – representing 64 percent of U.S. GDP, 62 percent of employment and 78 percent of new job creation, according to research from Kennesaw State University. Moreover, family businesses represent the full spectrum of America’s business landscape – ranging from small businesses to major corporations. In fact, some of the most iconic American brands – including Ford, Estee Lauder and Walmart – are family owned and controlled.