D-Tools

D-Tools Podcast #14: ‘What’s the Buzz’ about… AVPro Edge

In the D-Tools Podcast #14, AVPro Edge CEO Jeff Murray discusses the company's decade-long evolution from a distributor of brands like Atlona and Just Add Power to a comprehensive audio, video, and control solutions provider, emphasizing their dealer-focused support with a 25-person tech team and training facility, strategic acquisitions including RTI to enhance interoperability and expand into light commercial markets, and the critical role of D-Tools i3 Partner Program data in optimizing sales and inventory management.

“Evolving” is a term that is heard a lot in the electronic integration industry these days. D-Tools knows all about that—the company’s software is constantly evolving, adding new features and new integrations. On the supplier side, AVPro Edge CEO Jeff Murray is also the epitome of “evolving.” Murray formed the company back in 2015 and has never looked back, adding new product lines and making multiple acquisitions.

Murray joined the D-Tools “What’s the Buzz” podcast to discuss the history and outlook for the Sioux Falls, SD-based company, which has its original roots in distribution handling products from companies like Atlona, Just Add Power, and others.

“We learned that the biggest problem in this industry is there is just not enough support. There’s not a person to talk to when you need to solve a problem,” recalls Murray. “I think the reason we’ve been in business for 10 years, we’ve grown for 10 years, and we’ve made acquired companies like AudioControl, ThenAudio and now RTI, is because we listen to the dealers. We focus on the dealers, and we help the dealers.”

That dealer support is exemplified by the growth of AVPro Edge’s 25-person tech support team, full lab, and training facility in St. Petersburg, FL.

The recent purchase of RTI fulfills Murray’s vision of having AVPro Edge being “the best at audio, video and control.” The company has been building drivers for its other product lines to accommodate interoperability with various control solutions, so the opportunity to bring RTI into the company’s fold brings even more choices to AVPro Edge dealers. He also sees the acquisition helping expand the company even more deeply into the “light commercial” space.

During the podcast discussion with D-Tools’ Tim Bigoness and Jason Knott, Murray also touted how vital the D-Tools i3 Partner Program data is in helping guide AVPro Edge’s sales and inventory management.

“Data is very important to us,” he notes. “We like to be able to see who is looking at our product, who is quoting our product, who is spec’ing our product on to projects. As you know, it’s really hard in this space to forecast when jobs are actually going to happen, especially in commercial.”

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