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AI in Distribution

AI Takes Center Stage at Profit and Productivity Summit  

Unlike many industry events, the summit will emphasize AI as a tool already transforming distribution.
  • Distribution Strategy Group
  • September 16, 2025
AI in Distribution

AI Produces Quick Wins for Home Décor Distributor Howard Elliott

The ability of AI to recognize attributes in product images of 5,000 SKUs has played a part in making the ecommerce site easier.
  • Don Davis
  • September 10, 2025
Operations

Win the Returns Game: Turning Your Biggest Headache into Competitive Advantage 

Distributors gaining ground aren’t just processing returns, they’re using intelligent systems to prevent returns.
  • Brian Hopkins
  • September 9, 2025

Upcoming Programs

  • 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
  • Upcoming Program

How AI Agents Will Change Distribution

Join us on Oct 8, 2025, 9 PT/12 ET as we gain insight into how artificial intelligence agents are set to reshape the way
Register Now
  • Upcoming Program

State of eCommerce

Join us on Oct 22, 2025 at 9PT/12ET for the latest findings from our comprehensive research on the state of eCommerce in distribution.
Register Now
  • Upcoming Program

How Distributors are Driving Productivity with Process Automation

Join us on Oct 29, 2025 at 9PT/12ET as top distribution leaders share actionable ideas on productivity through automation.
Register Now
Distribution Sales Strategy

The Real Reasons Distributor Sales Training Doesn’t Stick and What to Do About It

Sales training doesn’t fail because reps are lazy or incapable.
  • Mike Kunkle
  • September 8, 2025
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

Recent Reports

Best Practices to Compete in a Changing Market

Report: State of Distributor Pricing and Costing

The State of Customer Experience in Distribution

Transforming Wholesale Distribution with AI

Creating Value-Add in a Commoditized Industry
Wholesale Change Show

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
  • Ian Heller
  • May 12, 2021
5 Reasons Marketing Automation Fails (and How to Give It a Real Chance)
Digital Strategy

5 Reasons Marketing Automation Fails (and How to Give It a Real Chance)

When the ROI of marketing automation isn’t what you expect, don’t retreat to a basic email package. Before you go, get honest about whether
  • Debbie Paul
  • May 10, 2021
lightbulb
Digital Strategy

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
  • Ian Heller
  • May 5, 2021
The Case for Marketing Automation
Digital Strategy

The Case for Marketing Automation in B2B

The scales have shifted. Buyers have evolved in the ways that they prefer to purchase. Technology, digital channels and non-stop connectivity continue to empower
  • Debbie Paul
  • May 3, 2021
The Distributor’s Fee-Based Services Imperative
Wholesale Change Show

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
  • Ian Heller
  • April 28, 2021
sales person and worker shaking hands
Distribution Marketing

Webinar: State of Sales in Distribution: Part 2

In the second part of this two-part webinar series, Debbie Paul and Ian Heller discuss how to build a sales force that will differentiate
  • Debbie Paul
  • April 21, 2021
A Way Around Amazon: Portfolio Management for Distributors
Distribution Sales Strategy

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.
  • Ian Heller
  • April 14, 2021
Why Distributors’ Customer Churn Management Efforts Aren’t Working
Distribution Marketing

Why Distributors’ Customer Churn Management Efforts Aren’t Working

Few distributors try to predict customer churn. Those that do, get it wrong because of how they define churn. The problem lies in how
  • Benj Cohen
  • April 7, 2021
A growing group of people with one clear leader in front
Distribution Industry Analysis

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,
  • Ian Heller
  • April 2, 2021
Person passing the baton
Wholesale Change Show

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.
  • Ian Heller
  • April 1, 2021
Why B2B Marketplaces Are Booming Today
Digital Strategy

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.
  • Ian Heller
  • March 26, 2021
Business person shaking hands with a field worker
Digital Strategy

2021 State of Sales in Distribution: How Consultative Sales Will Differentiate Distributors in the Post-Pandemic Normal

In this free whitepaper, we outline how distributors can build a more consultative and adaptive sales force to differentiate in 2021 and beyond.
  • Debbie Paul
  • March 24, 2021
sales person shaking worker's hand
Distribution Marketing

Webinar: State of Sales in Distribution: Part 1

In this webinar we take a look at the results of the 2021 State of Sales in Distribution survey.
  • Debbie Paul
  • March 24, 2021
3 Distribution Maxims That Are Wrong
Digital Strategy

3 Distribution Maxims That Are Wrong

Measuring profitability by enterprise gross margin is a sledgehammer approach to a problem requiring nuance and precision.
  • Ian Heller
  • March 22, 2021
The Lawson Products Path to Differentiation, feat. Michael DeCata, CEO of Lawson Products
Wholesale Change Show

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
  • Ian Heller
  • March 17, 2021
How Technology Enables Sales Reps (Instead of Replacing Them)
Digital Strategy

How Technology Enables Sales Reps (Instead of Replacing Them)

With the right technology, sales teams can produce better results — for the customers, the sales reps and your bottom line.
  • Benj Cohen
  • March 10, 2021
How IMARK Group Is Helping Distributors Compete Amid Disruption
Digital Strategy

How IMARK Group Is Helping Distributors Compete Amid Disruption

Co-ops and marketing groups like IMARK Group play a big role in helping independent distributors compete in today’s fast-changing market.
  • Jonathan Bein
  • March 8, 2021
Quarterly Checkup: Beyond the Numbers with Office Depot, Watsco, Motion, The Home Depot and Henry Schein
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: Beyond the Numbers with Office Depot, Watsco, Motion, The Home Depot and Henry Schein (March 3, 2021)

Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein go beyond the numbers for Office Depot (ODP), Watsco, Henry Schein, The Home Depot and Genuine Parts Co/Motion Industries
  • Ian Heller
  • March 3, 2021
Office Depot
B2B eCommerce

Office Depot Hires Former Amazon Business GM – and That’s Just the Start

In a series of moves, including bringing on the executive who launched Amazon Business, ODP is joining the marketplace war. With a flurry of
  • Ian Heller
  • March 1, 2021
How to Overcome Resistance to Strategic Pricing
Distribution Marketing

How to Overcome Resistance to Strategic Pricing

Learn the secrets to successful strategic pricing implementation and get the results you need with buy-in from your entire team.
  • Ian Heller
  • February 24, 2021
2021 State of eCommerce in Distribution, Part 2: Distributors’ Playbook for eCommerce Success
B2B eCommerce

2021 State of eCommerce in Distribution, Part 2: Distributors’ Playbook for eCommerce Success

Distribution Strategy Group, formerly Real Results Marketing, conducted its ninth-annual State of eCommerce in Distribution survey from October-December 2020, updating the leading benchmark in
  • Dean Mueller
  • February 24, 2021
shopping cart overflowing with boxes
B2B eCommerce

Webinar: State of eCommerce in Distribution: Part 2

In this webinar, Part 2 in a series, Distribution Strategy Group’s experts provide a playbook on what to do in response to our survey
  • Dean Mueller
  • February 24, 2021
The role of associations in the distribution industry has evolved over the past decade as they work to add value for their members in a changing market marked by generational shift and consolidation. Ed Gerber, CEO of the Industrial Supply Association and distribution industry veteran, joins Distribution Strategy Group’s Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein for a look at how ISA is evolving to meet members’ needs in an unprecedented time.
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: The Role of Associations Amid Uncertainty (February 17, 2021)

In this episode, Ed Gerber, CEO of the Industrial Supply Association and distribution industry veteran, joined Distribution Strategy Group’s Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein
  • Ian Heller
  • February 18, 2021
B2B Customer Surveys: How to Get Actionable Feedback from Customers
Distribution Marketing

B2B Customer Surveys: How to Get Actionable Feedback from Customers

Distributors who regularly solicit their customers’ input via customer surveys gain important insights for decision-making.
  • Debbie Paul
  • February 17, 2021
When It Comes to Product Recommendations, B2B vs. B2C Matters
B2B eCommerce

When It Comes to Product Recommendations, B2B vs. B2C Matters

Many distributors are using product recommendation engines on their ecommerce websites originally designed for B2C. This isn’t sufficient for a distributor’s business model.
  • Benj Cohen
  • February 11, 2021
How Johnstone Supply Built Company Culture Over Zoom: A Conversation with President and CEO John Tisera
Distribution Industry Analysis

How Johnstone Supply Built Company Culture Over Zoom: A Conversation with President and CEO John Tisera

Johnstone Supply saw its largest sales month in company history in June 2020 after responding to the pandemic with innovations at a local level
  • Ian Heller
  • February 8, 2021
Distributors’ Quarterly Checkup: Notable Results, Surprises and Market Moves from 2020
Wholesale Change Show

Distributors’ Quarterly Checkup: Notable Results, Surprises and Market Moves from 2020 (February 3, 2021)

The Wholesale Change hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein dug into public distributors’ earnings reports from Amazon, Grainger, Applied Industrial and Avnet.
  • Ian Heller
  • February 4, 2021
The War Between Sales and Marketing is Marketing’s Fault
Distribution Marketing

The War Between Sales and Marketing is Marketing’s Fault

Marketers need to learn that when sales and marketing fight, sales wins. Even when they’re wrong.
  • Ian Heller
  • February 2, 2021
Distributors: You’re Doing Marketing Wrong – and It’s Going to Cost You
Distribution Marketing

Distributors: You’re Doing Marketing Wrong – and It’s Going to Cost You

Distributors need to recognize the role marketing professionals can play in meeting customer expectations. If they don’t, they’ll quickly become irrelevant.
  • Jonathan Bein
  • January 26, 2021
2021 State of eCommerce in Distribution
B2B eCommerce

2021 State of eCommerce in Distribution, Part 1: A Rapid Rise in Adoption and Maturity

The adoption rate of ecommerce in distribution soared in 2020 with a weighted 26.3% increase from 2019 to 2020.
  • Dean Mueller
  • January 26, 2021
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