The paradox of leaders in new roles is that the lessons they learned in their last jobs are often irrelevant in their new jobs – but they apply them anyway.
Differentiation by Design: Moving the Distribution Industry into 21st Century Goes Beyond Digital
Peter Jackson, CEO of Miller Industrial Supply, came up in the world of consumer marketing and design before breaking into industrial distribution when he bought Miller Industrial – a 100-year-old MRO and hardware distributor based in the Chicago area – in 2018. Although he’s a newcomer to the distribution industry, he brings ringing endorsements from…
Wholesale Change: Creating Value-Add in a Commoditized Industry (May 12, 2021)
In this episode Peter Neuberger, President and CEO of United Performance Metals, joined Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein to talk about how the distributor has built a successful value-added services model in the highly commoditized metals service center industry.
How Lawson Products Grew Its Enterprise Value by 10x: A Differentiation Case Study for Distributors
Mike DeCata, CEO and president of Lawson Products, loves the way distribution touches all of our lives, and it shows. His impressive career spans from leadership at Grainger, United Rentals, and Chef’s Warehouse to growing the share price of MRO distributor Lawson Products by 1,000% since taking his position there in 2012.
Wholesale Change: The Distributor’s Fee-Based Services Imperative (April 28, 2021)
In this episode, Hurtte, of River Heights Consulting, joined Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein to talk about why, if distributors don’t have a plan for recouping the cost of their services, they will make less money, grow more slowly than the competition, and become less resilient.
Distribution, Disrupted: How Associations Can Lead During Uncertain Times
In the wake of COVID-19, there has been plenty of speculation about the role of distribution associations and how they must adapt to disruption, rapid digitization and the evolution of marketplaces, all of which were accelerated by the pandemic.
Wholesale Change: Breaking Tradition: A Fresh Take on a 100-Year-Old Business (March 31, 2021)
Hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein welcome Peter to the Wholesale Change show to provide his novel perspective on running a distribution company today.
Why B2B Marketplaces Are Booming Today
Despite early failure rates, B2B marketplaces mounted a major comeback and are rapidly outgrowing company-specific websites in many industries.
3 Distribution Maxims That Are Wrong
Measuring profitability by enterprise gross margin is a sledgehammer approach to a problem requiring nuance and precision.
The Lawson Products Path to Differentiation, feat. Michael DeCata, CEO of Lawson Products (March 17, 2021)
In this episode, DeCata joined Wholesale Change hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein to talk about how Lawson Products is differentiating in today’s market with an innovative approach to sales, a strong private-label strategy, and value-added services.