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Wholesale Change: How Private Equity Leaders Evaluate Distributors (June 9, 2021)
John Schweig, Chairman of the Board at BlackHawk Industrial and Operating Partner at private equity firm Snow Phipps, joined hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein for a peek under the covers of how these firms evaluate distributors, from people and processes to market opportunities.
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It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Industry Anymore
This post previews some of the key findings in the first report based on our research for the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors into how distributors can take strategic action in response to disruption. Download the report now.
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Wholesale Change: Distributors’ Quarterly Checkup: Notable Results, Surprises & Market Moves (May 26, 2021)
In our regular quarterly checkup, Wholesale Change hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein dug into public distributors’ earnings reports from Home Depot, Fastenal, CDW, Beacon and more.
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The Most Common Mistake Leaders Make in a New Job
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.
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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…
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Wholesale Change: A Way Around Amazon: Portfolio Management for Distributors (April 14, 2021)
Learn how distributors can analyze transactional and customer-provided data to generate industry-specific insights, develop robust benchmarks and tailor advice to match customer objectives.
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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.