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Operations

Leading with Purpose in the Age of Automation

The game doesn’t end when the shift is over. It lives on in every person you’ve lifted up and every team you’ve shaped.
  • Will Quinn
  • June 5, 2025
Distribution Sales Strategy

The Two Buyer’s Journeys in Distribution: A Practical Guide for Sales Leaders

In wholesale distribution, the buying process isn’t always as clear-cut as we think it is. And it’s not just one process.
  • Mike Kunkle
  • June 4, 2025
Distribution Technology

Self-Service on the Rise: SMBs Turn to Automation to Meet Buyer Demands and Improve Payment Efficiency

Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly turning to self-service technologies to streamline operations, meet customer expectations, and drive revenue growth.
  • Chris Fisher
  • June 3, 2025

Upcoming Programs

  • Upcoming Program

State of Distributor Pricing and Costing

Join us on June 11, 2025 at 9 PT / 12 ET as we delve into the current state of distributor pricing and costing
Register Now
  • Upcoming Program

Fixing the Data Problem: Building a Digital Supply Chain That Works

Join us on June 18, 9 PT/12 ET, to explore the data infrastructure behind the electrical, HVAC, and plumbing industries, and where it’s headed
Register Now
  • Upcoming Program

AI News and Gurus: The Show for Intelligent Distributors

Join us on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 9 PT/12 ET for a new AI News and Gurus: The Show for Intelligent Distributors
Register Now
AI in Distribution

Distributors and Generative AI: Strategies for Maximizing Return While Minimizing Risk

The hot new form of AI is rapidly spreading into the business world. Two distributors describe their AI journeys.
  • Don Davis
  • May 30, 2025
Operations

Redefining Professionalism: A Closer Look at Wholesale Distribution

Regardless of how we got here, what many of us discovered is a career that offers more than just selling and moving boxes.
  • Mark Bray
  • May 28, 2025
Innovation

Leading with Purpose in the Age of Automation

WMS, LMS, OMS, WES, YMS: whatever acronym we use, they’re all tools, but they’ll never replace the need for leadership.
  • Will Quinn
  • May 28, 2025

Recent Reports

State of CRM and Sales Analytics in Distribution

2025 State of Technology in Distribution

From Silos to Synergy: Transforming B2B Distribution with Automation and Collaboration

Optimizing B2B eCommerce for Distributors: Strategies for Scalability, Supply Chain Visibility and Digital Integration

hand touching icons of digital people
Digital Strategy

Webinar: The Future of e-Business in B2B

In this webinar you’ll learn how to build the right customer experience to compete effectively in the future.
  • Dean Mueller
  • November 4, 2021
person at laptop with digital representation of the cloud
Digital Strategy

Getting the Most from Cloud ERP

Our guest, Barb Zimmerman, Managing Director at ITDirections, joins us for a presentation about cloud ERP. Barb shares her expertise on how distributors can
  • Barb Zimmerman
  • October 27, 2021
Women in Your Workplace
Distribution Industry Analysis

Women in Your Workplace: They’ve Left and You Need Them Back

Now more than ever, the need for talent in your organization is critical. With the recovering economy but continuing virus fallout, distributors need the
  • Gail Ludewig
  • October 26, 2021
5 Ways Cloud ERP Returns Your Investment
Digital Strategy

5 Ways Cloud ERP Returns Your Investment – and Then Some

We expect that cloud-based ERP will be nearly universally adopted within the next decade.
  • Barb Zimmerman
  • October 20, 2021
phone hanging from a chord
Distribution Sales Strategy

Webinar: A New Sales Channel – Telephone-Based Sales Reps

In this free webinar, we discuss how distributors have historically used telephone-based sales reps, how successful these programs have been, and how this has
  • Dean Mueller
  • October 20, 2021
cargo ship docked at shipping yards with lots of shipping containers on the dock and the ship
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: How to Manage Through the Supply Chain Crisis (October 13, 2021)

Product shortages, supply-chain delays, hard-to-find labor – what are the best practices in navigating through the current supply chain madness?
  • Ian Heller
  • October 13, 2021
donuts
Distribution Marketing

The Younger Your Customers, the More Important Your Sales Reps

Your value proposition – not the age of the buyer – determines the value your sales reps can add.
  • Ian Heller
  • October 12, 2021
sales channel icons - phone, email, mail, marketplace, storefront
Distribution Sales Strategy

Webinar: State of Manufacturer Sales Channels

In this free webinar you’ll get the latest research on manufacturers’ plans to reach the end-user, and how distributors fit into the picture.
  • Dean Mueller
  • October 6, 2021
Manufacturers’ Top 3 Concerns About Traditional Distribution Channels
Digital Strategy

Manufacturers’ Top 3 Concerns About Traditional Distribution Channels

Here’s why an increasing number of manufacturers are going direct to the end customer.
  • Ian Heller
  • October 5, 2021
Digital brain on a computer chip indicating AI
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: On the Front Lines of Benco’s Digital Transformation Story (September 29, 2021)

In this episode you’ll hear from this visionary leader about how they came to the decision and how the journey is going.
  • Ian Heller
  • September 29, 2021
checklist
Distribution Marketing

40+ Ways Distributors Are Using Analytics for Growth

Here are more than 40 ways distributors are using analytics to improve sales effectiveness, increase efficiencies, and drive growth.
  • Jonathan Bein
  • September 27, 2021
Shake Up Sales Models and See Results
Digital Strategy

Shake Up Sales Models and See Results

An early jump into next-generation capabilities could help distributors grow at twice the rate of the economy. 
  • Benj Cohen
  • September 23, 2021
Silver screw in a field of rusty screws
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: Global Industrial CEO Barry Litwin: Driving Differentiation Amid Disruption (September 15, 2021)

In this episode we spoke with Barry Litwin, CEO of Global Industrial Supply, a $1B distributor focusing on small and midsize businesses.
  • Ian Heller
  • September 15, 2021
Distribution Marketing

6 Steps to Help Your Customers on Their Shopping & Buying Journey

Take bold action to meet build an efficient, seamless experience no matter the channel your customers are shopping and buying from.
  • Dean Mueller
  • September 15, 2021
business people standing around talking with the Varis logo
Distribution Industry Analysis

Office Depot Hires the Amazon Business Team to Build a Rival Marketplace

As many distributors wonder how to respond to the breathtaking growth of Amazon Business, Office Depot has gone on to create what looks like
  • Ian Heller
  • September 14, 2021
Distribution Industry Analysis

3 New Strategies Distributors Are Embracing in 2022

Distributors learned some difficult lessons through the pandemic, and they’re planning to build resilience by investing further in digital capabilities, accommodating remote work where feasible, and more.  This post
  • Ian Heller
  • September 8, 2021
shopping cart represented digitally with an arrow pointing down into the basket
Digital Strategy

Webinar: Is Your Product Data Making You Money or Costing You Sales?

Join us for a fireside chat with Dawn Zassick, VP Customer Solutions at Magnitude Agility, for insider tips on using your product data to
  • Ian Heller
  • September 8, 2021
Marketplace
Digital Strategy

The Risk That Marketplaces Pose to Your Distribution Business

Platforms are indeed “eating the world.” Most distributors can still choose whether they will do the eating or be the meal.  This post presents
  • Ian Heller
  • August 23, 2021
Distribution Industry Analysis

How AI Drives Sales Productivity to Offset Labor Shortages

The difficult post-pandemic labor market is having an impact on businesses across industries from retail and hospitality to manufacturing and distribution. While there is high demand
  • Benj Cohen
  • August 19, 2021
safety
Distribution Industry Analysis

How Arbill Built Its Product & Service Strategy on an Unwavering Foundation of Safety First

Safety distributor Arbill has developed a deep set of services, including training and compliance, as well as a private-label product line to meet customers’
  • Ian Heller
  • August 16, 2021
business person carrying a box with their belongings
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: The Death of the Distributor Sales Rep Has Been Greatly Exaggerated (August 12, 2021)

In this episode of Wholesale Change Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein talked about how conversations around the role of the sale rep today need
  • Ian Heller
  • August 12, 2021
Distribution Marketing

Gustave Larson’s Sales Force Transformation & the Distributor’s Focus on the Customer’s Customer

Read how HVAC distributor Gustave Larson has introduced and driven real value from innovative services. Andrew Larson, the long-time CEO and chairman of Gustave Larson, an HVAC
  • Ian Heller
  • August 5, 2021
hand holding phone with holographic shopping carts being projected from the screen
Distribution Sales Strategy

Webinar: 2021 State of Shopping and Buying in Distribution

his free webinar we shared the results of our research on what your customers want in 2021 and beyond.
  • Dean Mueller
  • August 3, 2021
Distributors’ Customers Prefer Manufacturers’ Websites and Search Engines
Digital Strategy

New Study: Distributors’ Customers Prefer Manufacturers’ Websites and Search Engines

Distributors continue to fall behind in building websites that meet their customers’ needs better than other choices, such as search engines and manufacturers’ digital
  • Ian Heller
  • July 27, 2021
PPE gloves, ear coverings, ear plugs, respirator mask
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: How Arbill Doubled Down on its Safety Focus When the PPE Market Shifted (July 21, 2021)

Take a closer look at how the PPE industry changed overnight when COVID-19 hit last year and the challenges that have come with that,
  • Ian Heller
  • July 21, 2021
Distribution Industry Analysis

What Private Equity Firms Want in a Distributor: A Look Behind the Curtain

Get an insider’s look at how private equity (PE) firms evaluate distribution companies, from people and processes to market opportunities. John Schweig, Chairman of the Board at BlackHawk Industrial and
  • Ian Heller
  • July 16, 2021
business person with tablet looking at holographic data being projected off the screen
Digital Strategy

Webinar: State of Analytics in Distribution

In this webinar, we reveal the results of our survey of distributors on how they’re using analytics now and their plans for leveraging data
  • Robert Kelley
  • July 14, 2021
When It Comes to Tech, You Only Get One Chance for a Great First Impression with Sales Reps
Digital Strategy

When It Comes to Tech, You Only Get One Chance for a Great First Impression with Sales Reps

Distributors must implement a state-of-the-art tech stack to preserve market share, according to Ian Heller in the NAW research report, “Strategic Change During Disruption:
  • Mark Heneine
  • July 6, 2021
dollar sign made out of code
Digital Strategy

Webinar: 10X Tech Stack: 3 Technologies That Supercharge Your Procurement-to-Payment Cycle

In this webinar, Jonathan Bein and Rob Kelley present technologies that dramatically shorten the time from procurement to payment while reducing errors, rework and
  • Robert Kelley
  • June 30, 2021
Why Frank Hurtte Believes Fee-Based Services Are Do-or-Die for Distributors
Distribution Marketing

Why Frank Hurtte Believes Fee-Based Services Are Do-or-Die for Distributors

In his book, The Distributor’s Fee Based Services Manifesto: Why You Need to Consider Charging for Your Services, distribution expert Frank Hurtte argues that distributors face a tough challenge. As market
  • Ian Heller
  • June 24, 2021
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