NetPlus Alliance is committed to providing distributors with ample product training opportunities to enhance and expand their businesses. When a sales team is fully equipped with product knowledge, they can more adeptly offer the best tools to their customers. In an industry where time is always at a premium, on-demand learning is the solution many reach for. That’s why NetPlus partners with BlueVolt to complement in-person and virtual training opportunities throughout the year.
BlueVolt is a learning and enablement platform designed specifically for the distribution channel, helping suppliers and distributors align product knowledge with real-world sales. Its core mission, according to Tom Rangner, SVP of Operations, is simple but powerful: “to strengthen the entire distribution ecosystem by making knowledge easy to access, easy to share, and easy to act on.”
Rather than relying solely on traditional training methods like in-person demos or ride-alongs, BlueVolt centralizes learning into a single, always-available platform. Courses are accessible 24/7 and directly tied to the products distributor teams sell every day. This allows learners to build expertise on their own schedule. That leads to real-world outcomes, Tom explained:
More confidence in customer conversations
Faster onboarding for new hires
Improved credibility with contractors and end users
“BlueVolt plays a critical role because it connects strategy to behavior,” he said. “It becomes infrastructure for growth, not just a training tool. NetPlus brings together best-in-class suppliers and distributors; BlueVolt provides the learning infrastructure that helps those relationships scale.”
Success Story: Apex Tool Group and Tool Shack
To demonstrate the potential for sales growth using BlueVolt as a springboard, NetPlus took a closer look at a distributor-supplier partnership: Apex Tool Group and Tool Shack.
Apex has been a NetPlus supplier partner since 2004, bringing leading brands like Crescent, GEARWRENCH, and JOBOX to the network. Tool Shack, based in Jacksonville, FL, joined NetPlus as a distributor member in 2017. Though their business relationship goes back many years, they’ve independently reenergized their efforts toward growth this past year.
Apex courses saw 1,334 completions in 2025, the second-highest BlueVolt course completion total for the year of all NetPlus suppliers. Tool Shack has 12 users who collectively completed 149 of those Apex courses last year. The distributor also attended the Apex Tool Group Virtual Hands-On Training through NetPlus in 2025.
So far in 2026, Tool Shack has almost doubled its 2025 YTD purchases total with Apex and is on track to far outpace last year’s total. With improved product mastery, the Tool Shack team is more invested and better equipped to outfit their customers with the Apex solutions they need.
“We’ve had a really good partnership with Apex since we’ve been in business,” said Tool Shack Operations Manager David Acra. “Over the past few years, we’ve had a really successful partnership with those guys, and JOBOX and GEARWRENCH are primarily driving our business with them. Recently I’ve been trying to chase a little bit of growth there just to continue building our partnership with Apex.”
Prioritizing Product Training for a Successful Sales Team
Somewhat recently, David said he has made BlueVolt a centerpiece of his team’s quarterly goals strategy.
“To have a trained staff is one of the most important benefits of a customer choosing to shop with us,” David said. “Having our guys trained on the products we’re selling or if a customer comes in and they’re looking for a specific product or need a specific type of solution, my guys know what to recommend. That has definitely been the drive behind training our staff using BlueVolt, and it has been the easiest way to do it, for sure.”
The team has taken to the challenge well, and the $BlueBucks™ incentives certainly don’t hurt. David is hopeful that the promise of increased product knowledge will translate into higher sales across the board. He doesn’t assign specific courses to his team at this point, but empowers his sales team to explore the platform and judge what’s most valuable to them and their customers. That’s not to say assigning courses in the future is out of the question, however.
“We’re really dialing in and focusing on our core categories now,” David added. “As we continue to grow and bring on new product lines, BlueVolt will give me the ability to assign that product line to my sales guys as we’re doing a buy-in on the orders or whatever it may be so they can learn all about the product by the time we’re ready to sell.”
Using Training Tracks to Supplement Strategy
Product training is a top priority for Apex, Key Account Manager JP O’Connor said; it’s a cornerstone of their success.
“It’s always top of mind for us,” he said. “When we sell to a distributor, their salespeople have to be educated on the products they’re trying to sell in order to be successful.”
One of the biggest roadblocks JP sees to traditional product training is finding time when everyone is available. Salespeople are famously on the go most of the time, and customer needs and new opportunities aren’t always predictable. That’s where BlueVolt makes a difference.
“Flexibility is key,” he went on to explain. “BlueVolt gives distributors the freedom to go in at their convenience and take relevant classes without having to wait for a salesperson to come by. If they get a few minutes free or a 30-minute lunch break, they can hop on there and get some training done.”
Apex tried something new to them in early 2026, which they considered a win-win experience for themselves and their distributors. The supplier launched a first-quarter program tying incentives to a BlueVolt Training Track™.
The pitch was simple: complete four specific courses before April, and you’ll earn 11 $BlueBucks, a three-piece adjustable wrench set, and a SHOCKFORCE NITE EYE tape measure.
“This was a really successful program for us. We have 70+ participants from more than 30 distributors. This is definitely astrategy we’ll be using again; it’s a win for everyone.”
After their Training Track courses, Apex included training assessments to gauge how well the learners were able to retain the product information. Not all courses have these, but JP said his team finds them to be extremely useful.
“We find this kind of puts you on the spot: imagine you’re in front of a customer, here’s the scenario, how would you answer it?” he said. “This tactic allows you to fail in a private environment first before you go out to the customer.” If the distributor missed a question in the assessment, the information was readily available to review.
“This comes in handy especially if you’re working with a specialized tool or something that requires a highly specific measurement,” he added. “If your customer needs to know how many foot-pounds a certain torque wrench can handle, for example, you don’t want to sell them the wrong thing. Having full mastery of the details behind different products can be super important.”
A Training Track also supports JP and his colleagues when they’re following up with distributors.
“Suppliers can see which products are being trained on, where engagement is strongest, and where knowledge gaps exist,” Tom explained about the BlueVolt platform from the suppliers’ vantage point. “That feedback loop allows suppliers to refine content, prioritize markets, and better align training with go-to-market strategies.”
When JP and his team know there are three salespeople at the same distributorship who have completed the same track, he knows to ask more about that when he’s working with them.
“If we left it open to take any four classes, the follow-through would be a little bit harder because every single person might have taken different classes. With this tactic, we know everyone has taken these four specific courses and gained new mastery of the same four products. Now, when I’m reaching back out to the distributors who participated in the program, I know I can focus on those four things and we’ll be on the same page.”
The Value of BlueVolt for the NetPlus Community
NetPlus continues to offer BlueVolt to distributor members at no additional cost because it continues to expand product training opportunities, strengthen channel relationships, and drive sales. Its easy-to-use platform keeps the complications to a minimum, allowing busy salespeople to get what they need and move on with their business.
“If you’re looking for something online and can’t find it in a few minutes, many of us would just scrap the idea,” JP said. “Thankfully, BlueVolt’s interface is really easy to use. We’re not in an industry where technology is always our best friend, so to be able to just hop on there and find exactly what you’re looking for is key.”
From David’s point of view, getting his team set up on BlueVolt was worth the effort.
“If it wasn’t for our NetPlus membership, we wouldn’t have the access to BlueVolt and everything it has available for us,” he said. “There’s a little bit of admin work to get it set up and create accounts for all your people, but making this a priority, pushing my guys toward this, and seeing them learn the products, it’s become so clear that this has been a great tool for us.”
His goal, like so many of his peers, is for his team to representgenuine tool experts for their customers, able to offer confident and informative solutions they can’t necessarily get elsewhere.
“BlueVolt’s evolution is focused on making training more connected, more actionable, and more measurable,” Tom said. “The goal isn’t change for the sake of change; it’s to ensure that BlueVolt remains a long-term growth partner for our customers.”
BlueVolt remains committed to increasingly smarter content sharing, enhanced reporting and insights, and expanded flexibility to integrate cleanly into broader learning and operational ecosystems.
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