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Operations

A Hidden Margin Killer for Distributors: Inefficient Order Processing

Order processing rarely grabs headlines, but it often determines whether a distributor protects margin or watches it slip away.
  • Keith Fatula
  • September 3, 2025
Maximize Your Operation With the Right Warehouse Design and Layout
Operations

Critical Skills for Front-Line Leaders in Distribution

You get tested when power and systems go out and you’ve got three hours to figure it out before you miss every commitment.
  • Will Quinn
  • August 26, 2025
Distribution Technology

Beating Delivery Delays with Smart Logistics: Why Distribution’s New Competitive Edge Lives in the Last Mile

Smart logistics technology isn’t replacing human expertise, it’s amplifying it.
  • Brian Hopkins
  • August 26, 2025

Upcoming Programs

  • Upcoming Program

How Distributors are Driving Employee Engagement

Join us on Sept 10, 9 PT/12 ET, as we explore how top-performing distributors are building engagement that fuels performance and loyalty.
Register Now
  • Upcoming Program

Economic Update: Forecast Trends Shaping Distribution

Join us on Sept 11, 2025 at 9PT/12ET as we navigate economic forecast trends with Economist Alex Chausovsky.
Register Now
  • Upcoming Program

The Sales Rep’s AI Playbook: What’s Working in Distribution Today

Join us on Sept 17, 2025 at 9PT/12ET as we delve into what real AI adoption looks like in the field today and how
Register Now
  • Upcoming Program

The Distributor’s “Technology Dreamstack”

Join us on Sept 24, 2025 at 9PT/12ET as top technology leaders will help you prioritize and make smarter technology decisions.
Register Now
AI in Distribution

Palmer Holland Rolls Out AI Product Platform to Streamline Product Data

Palmer Holland, a Cleveland-based specialty chemical and ingredient distributor, has launched an AI-driven product knowledge platform aimed at streamlining how customers and suppliers access
  • Distribution Strategy Group
  • August 26, 2025
AI in Distribution

Pattern Group’s $400 Million IPO Puts Distributors on Notice as Brands Double Down on Marketplaces

Pattern uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to process more than 46 trillion data points and add 100 billion more each week.
  • Distribution Strategy Group
  • August 25, 2025
2013 state of e-commerce in distribution
Distribution Technology

The E-Commerce Revolution is Pushing Distribution Toward a Digital-First Future

As a catalyst for transformation, e-commerce strategies can be tailored for distribution and leveraged to facilitate improvements across customer experience, sales enablement, and supply
  • Travis Rothstein
  • August 23, 2025

Recent Reports

The State of Customer Experience in Distribution

Transforming Wholesale Distribution with AI

State of CRM and Sales Analytics in Distribution

2025 State of Technology in Distribution

busy warehouse
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: From Master Distributors to Marketplaces (December 15, 2021)

Marketplaces have moved that endless assortment right in front of the customer. This has changed the dynamics for distributors and even more for master
  • Ian Heller
  • December 15, 2021
From Master Distributors to Marketplaces Part 3
Distribution Industry Analysis

From Master Distributors to Marketplaces Part 3: Berkshire eSupply, Varis and Value-Added Services

Learn about growth options for master distributors, including how they might work with certain marketplaces.
  • Ian Heller
  • December 14, 2021
From Master Distributors to Marketplaces Part 2
B2B eCommerce

From Master Distributors to Marketplaces Part 2: Berkshire eSupply is an “Upside Down” Marketplace

Berkshire eSupply benefits by making its products available on hundreds (and potentially thousands) of websites operated by small and midsize industrial distributors. It’s a great plan,
  • Ian Heller
  • December 10, 2021
hand interacting with digital interface
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: ADI’s Digital Transformation (December 8, 2021)

Our Wholesale Change hosts and Tisdale discuss ADI’s remarkable journey.
  • Ian Heller
  • December 8, 2021
Distributors Must Go Beyond ‘Price and Availability’ to Remain Relevant to Manufacturers
Digital Strategy

Distributors Must Go Beyond ‘Price and Availability’ to Remain Relevant to Manufacturers

Having robust digital capabilities is no longer optional for distributors who want to retain channel share.
  • Dean Mueller
  • December 7, 2021
Product Data is Critical if You Want to Compete in the Next 3-5 Years Online
Digital Strategy

Product Data is Critical if You Want to Compete in the Next 3-5 Years Online

Keeping the customer at the center is key to providing the product data a customer needs to find a product, then transact.
  • Dean Mueller
  • December 2, 2021
hand holding tablet with other hand manipulating holographic data over it
Distribution Sales Strategy

Webinar: A New Sales Model for Distributors

art of our Reinvention of Distributor Sales and Service series you’ll learn best practices in implementing a new model for engaging with your customers.
  • Dean Mueller
  • December 1, 2021
warehouse-master-distributors-and-marketplaces
Digital Strategy

From Master Distributors to Marketplaces: Part 1 – How Endless Assortment Moved from Behind the Scenes to in Front of the Customer

Marketplaces represent an existential challenge for master distributors.
  • Ian Heller
  • November 30, 2021
What’s Driving the Supply Chain Crisis, and How Distributors Can Navigate It
Distribution Industry Analysis

What’s Driving the Supply Chain Crisis, and How Distributors Can Navigate It

Helgi Leja, of Distribution Performance Solutions, and Bruce Strahan, of Argon & Co., talk about managing through a supply chain crisis like the one
  • Jonathan Bein
  • November 23, 2021
5 Ways to Build Resiliency for Any Disruption
Digital Strategy

5 Ways to Build Resiliency for Any Disruption

Whatever your company’s size, it is necessary to prepare for operational obstacles that may come your way. Here are five strategies to build resiliency
  • Benj Cohen
  • November 17, 2021
people putting gears together
Distribution Sales Strategy

Webinar: The Reinvention of Distributor Sales & Service

This is the second of three webinars on the Reinvention of Distributor Sales and Service. You’ll learn the value of and process for creating
  • Dean Mueller
  • November 17, 2021
hands coming together to form the shape of a lightbulb
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: How Buying Groups Help Distributors Fight Disruption (November 10, 2021)

What keeps Jennifer Murphy, President of NetPlus Alliance, up at night in a time of consolidation and disruption? The independent distributor’s relevance.
  • Ian Heller
  • November 10, 2021
Benco Dental
Digital Strategy

Benco Dental on Its Transformation into an “IT/Data Business That Also Sells Dental Products”

With his team, managing director Chuck Cohen has put his money where his mouth is by changing every foundational IT system at Benco Dental,
  • Jonathan Bein
  • November 9, 2021
Technology is Advancing Faster than Ever
Digital Strategy

Technology is Advancing Faster than Ever – Are You Keeping up?

We recommend distributors focus on getting their core technology stacks right so they provide solid foundations for adding on enhanced and emerging components.
  • Ian Heller
  • November 9, 2021
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
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