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.
Disruptive Technologies
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.
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.
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 aggressive, recent actions, ODP (the newly named parent company of Office Depot) seems intent on building a rival marketplace to Amazon Business. On Feb. 16, the company announced it had hired…
Digitally Native Vertical Brands: Lessons for B2B Channels
As of yet, the Digitally Native Vertical Brand is not common in B2B markets. But B2B channels can learn from the success of DNVBs.
3 Technologies That Deliver 10X Returns for Distributors
Based on our extensive work with distributors, we distill your list of technology choices to the investments that we believe can have the greatest impact on your business.
If Marketplaces are a Must, Should You Build Your Own?
Independent alternatives to third-party marketplaces like Amazon are emerging, and some distributors have found success selling through them. This has many wondering if they should build their own marketplaces.
AI vs BI in Sales: Why Distributors Should Choose Artificial Intelligence
Today, distributors can choose from an array of sales tools that all promise data-driven results. In theory, this should help distributors understand their customers and enhance their sales processes. In reality, however, many of these “smart” sales solutions end up causing more problems than they solve.
The Difference Between Alibaba and Amazon: How Alibaba’s B2B Platform Works for Distributors
John Caplan talks about how Alibaba’s customer-focused business model may be a better digital marketplace for U.S. distributors than Amazon Business.
2 Trends to Watch in B2B: Item Recognition and Voice Ordering
This post previews some of the key findings in the third report based on our research for the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors into how technology will transform the wholesale distribution industry.