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warehouse ai
AI in Distribution

IFS Agrees to Acquire Warehouse Software Provider Softeon

IFS said the acquisition extends its industrial AI platform into warehouse operations, connecting manufacturing, warehouse execution, and supply chain processes within a single system.
  • Distribution Strategy Group
  • December 18, 2025
Distribution Technology

How Future-Ready Distributors Manage Margins, Digital and AI

Legacy systems are at their breaking point. Distributors need AI-driven, cloud-based enterprise systems to expand margins and build resilient, scalable businesses.
  • Francisco Verdesoto
  • December 17, 2025
Distribution Technology

The $10 Trillion Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight

Off-the-shelf technology often falls short of the needs of mid-sized distributors. Custom-built systems are expensive and inflexible.
  • Gayle deDie
  • December 17, 2025

Upcoming Programs

  • Upcoming Program

AI News and Gurus: The Show for Intelligent Distributors

Join us on Jan 06, 2026 9PT/12ET for our newest session of AI News and Gurus: The Show for Intelligent Distributors.
Register Now
  • Upcoming Program

State of AI In Distribution

Join us on Jan 7, 2026 at 9PT/12ET for a data-driven look at the current state of AI in distribution.
Register Now
  • Upcoming Program

WC: Matthew James, President and CEO, Purity Life Health Products LP

Join us to learn how leadership, strategy, and operational change transformed a small distributor into a leading full-service distributor.
Register Now
AI in Distribution

Watsco Details AI Strategy Built on Digital Scale

Watsco is applying AI across its analytics, ecommerce, and customer service tools.
  • Distribution Strategy Group
  • December 16, 2025
Distribution Sales Strategy

Sales Onboarding That Works: How Distributors Can Ramp New Reps Faster and Better Introduction

 In distribution, onboarding’s not as simple as handing over a laptop and a pricing strategy.
  • Mike Kunkle
  • December 15, 2025
AI in Distribution

AI Power Demand Surges as Sustainability Lags, Creating Cost and Infrastructure Risks for Distributors

As AI investment continues at record pace, its environmental footprint is becoming impossible to ignore.
  • Distribution Strategy Group
  • December 15, 2025

Recent Reports

State of eCommerce

Navigating Distribution’s New Landscape in 2025

Strategic Approaches for Sustainable Growth

Best Practices to Compete in a Changing Market

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
Wholesale Change: How Gustave Larson Helps Their Customers Succeed (June 23, 2021)
Wholesale Change Show

Wholesale Change: How Gustave Larson Helps Their Customers Succeed (June 23, 2021)

Andrew Larson talks about how Gustave Larson has evolved its sales force to make it as easy as possible for customers to interact with
  • Ian Heller
  • June 23, 2021
Distributors Need New Sales Toolkits Post-Pandemic
Digital Strategy

Distributors Need New Sales Toolkits Post-Pandemic

COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out across the nation, and it feels like we are “returning to normal.”    But some of the changes brought on by the
  • Benj Cohen
  • June 18, 2021
Will Amazon Survive the Wrath of Lina Khan?
Distribution Industry Analysis

Will Amazon Survive the Wrath of Khan?

Amazon critic Lina Khan, who has upended antitrust thinking, is the new FTC Chair.
  • Ian Heller
  • June 16, 2021
How to Select, Sell and Deliver the Right Value-Added Services for Your Business
Distribution Marketing

How to Select, Sell and Deliver the Right Value-Added Services for Your Business

It is increasingly important for distributors to add value and differentiate themselves from the competition. Peter Neuberger, CEO of United Performance Metals, shared with
  • Ian Heller
  • June 15, 2021
2021 State of Technology in Distribution: Automating the Customer Journey
Digital Strategy

2021 State of Technology in Distribution: Automating the Customer Journey

Distribution Strategy Group conducted a survey and other primary research about how distributors anticipate ongoing, rapidly changing technologies will affect them, and how and
  • Robert Kelley
  • June 11, 2021
Wholesale Change: How Private Equity Leaders Evaluate Distributors (June 9, 2021)
Wholesale Change Show

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
  • Ian Heller
  • June 9, 2021
It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Industry Anymore
Digital Strategy

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
  • Ian Heller
  • June 4, 2021
hand interacting with digital interface
Digital Strategy

Webinar: State of Technology in Distribution

In this webinar our hosts discuss how and where distributors are automating the customer journey, from searching for the right product to the purchase
  • Robert Kelley
  • June 3, 2021
How Satisfied Are Distributors with Their Core Technology Stack
Digital Strategy

How Satisfied Are Distributors with Their Core Technology Stack?

In our recent State of Technology in Distribution survey, we evaluated the core technologies, platforms and products used by distributors to manage their business
  • Jonathan Bein
  • May 27, 2021
Wholesale Change: Distributors’ Quarterly Checkup: Notable Results, Surprises & Market Moves (May 26, 2021)
Wholesale Change Show

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,
  • Ian Heller
  • May 26, 2021
The Most Common Mistake Leaders Make in a New Job
Distribution Industry Analysis

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
  • Ian Heller
  • May 19, 2021
Differentiation by Design: Moving the Distribution Industry into 21st Century Goes Beyond Digital
Distribution Sales Strategy

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
  • Ian Heller
  • May 17, 2021
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
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