On our 100th episode of Wholesale Change, hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein were joined by Brian Hopkins, DSG Chief Operations Officer, to mark the show’s milestone — 100 conversations with influential wholesale change agents.  

They also welcomed guests of the show:  

• Ron Paulson, longtime strategic advisor and Grainger veteran 
• Eric Wessinger, President and CEO of Richards Supply 
• Dirk Beveridge, executive producer of We Supply America 

These leaders joined the DSG team to discuss how the industry has evolved since the first episode and share insights on where we’re headed. 

Ian Heller: Brian, why don’t you tell us about the change agents that have been part of Wholesale Change over the 100 episodes?  

Brian Hopkins: I wanted to say first of all that if you want to define change agents, it’s you and Jonathan, right? You created this amazing network, and I know you hate being complimented, so I’ll stop. But I pulled some stats because I’m an operations and customer experience guy, so I have to look at the numbers. More than 10,000 people have attended these shows over the 100 episodes, from 54 different countries and 1,432 different companies.  

Heller: I tell people the one person more Ted Lasso than Ted Lasso is Ron Paulson. Would you like to introduce yourself? 

Ron Paulson: I was at Grainger for 32 years. On a beautiful, hot summer day in 1988, they said “Welcome to Branch 146, you’ll be in the warehouse.” 

I said: “Hey, what are you talking about? I’ve got a college degree now.”  

To which they replied: “That’s awesome. Welcome to Grainger. You’re in the warehouse.” 

So, I’m in the back of the warehouse unloading a 53-foot semi, it’s a hundred degrees and I’m thinking to myself, what did I do? My wife’s grandmother, rest her soul said: “If you work hard, this is the kind of company that’s going to take you places.”  

I’ve headed up over 20 different roles in my 32 years at Grainger, been the president of our sourcing group, which morphed into Zoro, which then led to me getting into business development. I was the vice president for the regional Midwest region where I got the humble opportunity to work with Brian Hopkins. We turned that thing around from worst to first. They sucked me back into corporate and they said I’ve done enough out there, come back in here. I started up our services and business development and was part of M&A and services. The last part of my career was the most humbling when I worked with the Grainger Foundation and spent a lot of time with Mr. Grainger himself. Being able to work with him to support so many 501(c)(3) in need set me up for an incredible end of my career. 

Heller: Next is Dirk Beveridge. You must be living under a rock if you haven’t heard of Dirk and follow his work. Dirk has been the ambassador for the industry, the person who has raised its profile and made people proud to work for distributors. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about the journey you’ve been on, where you’ve come from and where you’re going.  

Dirk Beveridge: Ron, I’m going to piggyback with what you just said. I’m reading a book right now which is changing my mindset about the future. The book’s called “Outlive,” and it’s all about the difference between longevity and health span. A hundred episodes longevity is amazing. But Ron, to your point, the wisdom that Ian and Jonathan are bringing is really about the health span of these businesses, not just helping the businesses sustain themselves, but to be healthy going into the future. Sharing all this wisdom, you guys are absolutely moving the needle in a big, big way. I’m honored to know you all and be on this hundredth episode with you.   

Heller: Eric, you’ve listened to a lot of episodes and the penalty for that is you have to be on one. Tell us about your background, where you’ve come from, what you’re doing these days and your company, Richard Supply?  

Eric Wessinger: I bring a little different perspective to this. Richards Supply Company is an inventory solutions and supply company. We’re based out of Waco, Texas, with two other locations in Fort Worth and Temple. We service the manufacturing and commercial construction industries throughout central and north Texas. We’ve been family owned and operated since 1937, so we’ve seen quite a bit of change over our lifespan as a company. My family took over and purchased the company in the mid-eighties.  

I worked in the warehouse, cleaning and picking like many people that grew up in this industry. My dad made an acquisition to expand our company into the Dallas-Fort Worth market and asked me to help with that transition. That was my professional introduction to Richards and the industrial supply industry as a whole. I progressively got more involved from a corporate standpoint, learning the business as I went in all different capacities from sales to operations. I moved into the CEO role right at the end of 2019, just as the pandemic was really heating up. 

We’ve got a great team at Richards and a great outlook for where we want to go. So as a young executive, learning and cutting my teeth, I wanted to say thank you for your programming and insight. What you guys do is beneficial and makes a difference.  

Heller: I use the term “wholesale change agent” in my opening every week. Jonathan, how do you define the term and what is the percentage of people who are what we consider wholesale change agents?  

Jonathan Bein: A wholesale change agent is somebody who’s looking at the business from a data-driven or analytic standpoint and is willing to actually make change in their business. The people who say, well, that’s the way we always did it, they are not a wholesale change agent. The wholesale change agent is willing to make shifts in the business to reflect what’s happening in the end market, what’s happening with the expectations of end customers to create efficiencies or create effectiveness. Like the Marines, the few, the proud, I think it’s probably less than half a percent of the companies that are really looking to make changes with a different approach.  

Eric, your timing of when you became the man in that seat is perfect. You were forced to be a wholesale change agent.  

Wessinger: Yes, absolutely. There was no more, this is how we’ve always done it. During those times, everything was different. It was a nice catalyst, for me and for our business. 

Heller: How do you keep that innovation alive, Eric, when there’s no Black Swan event going on?   

Wessinger: For us, it starts with just encouraging creativity within my team and everyone at Richards. We like change. We try to start out every conversation with how could we do this differently or is there a better way to do this? We love solving problems. Everyone on our leadership team has to enjoy solving problems. That is a necessary skillset for the way we run the business. I think it’s just being able to foster that and to encourage it. And when people bring different ideas and different perspectives, we try to leverage it and look at it from every different angle. At the end of the day, we ask, how can we make it easier for our customers to do business with us? Does this bring value to our customers? If the answer is yes, then we try it and see if it works. And most of the time it does, but sometimes it doesn’t. We learn from those experiences, too.   

Heller: Dirk Beveridge has a massive RV, the We Supply America RV, and has driven around the county visiting distributors. There was something inside of him that inspired that. How many companies have you visited in your three seasons of We Supply America tour? How would you define a wholesale change agent from what you have seen?  

Beveridge: I’ve visited over 90 different distributors, about eight manufacturers, and I believe two manufacturer reps. To answer your question, I believe the best and most innovative distributors are in the business of improving their customers’ net income. They can only do that in three ways. They can bring solutions to help reduce costs, increase sales or improve productivity.  

I define innovation as leading customers to a better future for which they’re willing and capable of. That’s where we need the problem-solving skills that Eric talks about. To go in and truly have the lens of the customer in mind to uncover opportunities to help drive that net income. Typically, through what I call a profitability triangle. This solution-oriented mindset, it continues to grow. Many of us on this call have been talking about it for decades. Quite frankly, those that are going to remain relevant, profitable, and sustainable, have no option because we are in a business that tends to be commoditized if we don’t proactively create the type of vision that Eric described.  

Bein: I love that dollar signs are involved in what you just said. You’re actually having a financial effect, whether it’s revenue, profit or cost reduction at the end customer. 

Beveridge: The best and most innovative have some form of a customer business review that, if it’s done quarterly or annually, we sit down and we say, where is the value that we delivered? And we’re going to use your numbers, not my numbers, to define the overall value we deliver to our customers. Each time we talk, each time you call into our customer service. What value do you place each time that we are on time?  

Paulson: Dirk’s spot on. I would add that the No. 1 thing is listening to what your customers are telling you. They’re going to tell you where you need to go. I’m sure Eric and Dirk hear that every day. Even in my experience at Grainger. I’ve been in a lot of different roles and every time it starts with the customer at the center. What do you need me to do to help you? Do you need different products? Do you need different services? What is that feedback and are you actually listening to what they’re saying?   

It’s harder in large organizations to have an entrepreneur mindset and be innovative. You have all these permissions to get when it all comes down to the relationships, the feedback and the customer experience. You have to have the right culture and environment that says, let’s try something new.  

Beveridge: I’ve crossed the country talking to individuals, asking them what sets these mid-size independent, family-owned, employee-owned distribution businesses apart from the other businesses that you’ve worked with. How many times have I heard them say, we’re not a number here. Now, that can just easily roll off the tongue. But think about it in relation to what Ron just said. In a larger organization, you’re perceived to be a number, a cog in a wheel, and you’re expected to just do what you’ve been asked to do. You’re expected to follow the process.  

But when you are viewed as an individual with curiosity, when you’re viewed as an individual with creativity, when we see the dignity in you as an individual and that you truly want to do the best for the customer and for the company, that opens it up. It unleashes that innovative spirit we’re all talking about here. I’ve heard so many people tell me it’s a lot easier in these mid-size independent, family-owned, employee-owned distribution businesses.   

Heller: All of us started in the warehouse loading trucks. Most unloaded trucks and put away stock and swept the floors and cleaned up the cardboard. You have to be willing to take off your suit and tie and put aside your degrees to go to the warehouse.  

Is that one of the reasons you have these great cultures in distributors? Because you’re willing to do that? There are people who join the headquarters as an accountant or treasurer but you have a huge part of your workforce that’s actually done the work. That one of the reasons the culture is so great is because there’s a lot of this experience in customer-facing positions, whether it’s working the account or answering phones or picking stock — it just imbues the culture with this relevance and humility. 

Do you think there’s a self-selection process, does this industry attract people like that? 

Beveridge: You got me thinking, Ian. The businesses that I’ve been to, those in the front office are comfortable in the warehouse. They’re comfortable being there on the second shift. They’re comfortable doing the work. 

Wessinger: Yes. The warehouse is the heartbeat of our business. If the warehouse isn’t working properly and at its most efficient, then the blood doesn’t flow through the rest of the body the way it needs to operate. It’s really important for us at Richards that everybody gets a taste of what it’s like back there.  Many times, those are the most unsung members of the team. 

Hopkins: I was lucky enough to work under Ron Paulson. I started my career, worked my way to the counter and started running my own branches. One of the things RP always did, he tied the work in the warehouse to the impact on the customer.   

One of the stories I’ve always remember throughout my entire career, is you’re not just picking a motor, you’re picking a motor that’s going into a NICU unit in a hospital. Now suddenly, it’s not just a piece of product you’re moving. It’s making a huge difference. The reason I say that is because I have somebody that I can believe in. I have a leader that makes that connection because he’s experienced the same things I have. And that’s what that kind of culture bears; when you have people who are willing to get dirty and do the work. Then, they get into leadership roles, they understand the work that’s happening at that level and they lead differently.   

Paulson: I started in the warehouse; it was 100 degrees on that trailer. But I’ll tell you what, after a couple weeks of taking every product off that trailer, putting it on a cart and on the shelf with the symbol unit, I knew where it was. I began to understand and really embrace it. When I moved to the counter, I understood. When somebody was looking for a half horsepower, 56c frame motor, I knew exactly where it was. Now that’s a great customer experience.   

It isn’t just a motor. It isn’t just a light bulb. It isn’t just a respirator. It’s saving lives. It’s making the world run.