Artificial intelligence has moved quickly from an interesting possibility to operating near-requirement across wholesale distribution. Yet for all the attention AI receives, most distributors are still trying to answer a more basic question: Are we actually ready to use it, and use it well? In this NAW MDM whitepaper, written in collaboration with Epicor, we examine what AI readiness really looks like and how organizations can move from experimentation to scalable business results.
Lead time accuracy has become one of the most critical and overlooked challenges facing distributors today. While organizations have heavily invested in demand forecasting, supply-side uncertainty driven by tariffs, market volatility and ongoing disruption has made it increasingly difficult to predict when inventory will actually arrive. In this NAW MDM whitepaper, written in collaboration with GAINS, we explore how modern lead time prediction is transforming purchasing into a more precise, data-driven capability.
Nearly every distributor is investing in AI. The question has shifted from “What can AI do?” to “Where should we double down?” In this whitepaper, the NAW MDM research team unpacks findings from one of the largest surveys on AI adoption ever conducted in distribution. This research explores what over 400 senior leaders in distribution are actually doing with AI, including where they’re investing, what returns they’re seeing, and how fast they expect to scale.
Credit approval and payment workflows remain a persistent source of friction for many distributors, even as other parts of the business modernize. In this MDM whitepaper, written in collaboration with BackdPayments, we examine how modernizing B2B credit and payments has become a key competitive advantage. With rising buyer expectations and economic pressure, solutions like BackdPayments enable instant financing, flexible payment options and faster cash flow—without added credit risk—helping distributors reduce friction, accelerate revenue and strengthen customer relationships.
Pricing is no longer a periodic exercise for distributors—it is a continuous challenge shaped by margin pressure, market volatility, and increasing customer transparency. In this MDM whitepaper, written in collaboration with Pricefx, we examine how AI pricing agents are redefining pricing by continuously monitoring and analyzing transactional and market data, surfacing risks, and recommending precise pricing actions within defined guardrails.
Tech debt is more than an IT challenge. It is a growing business risk that increases complexity, limits scalability and slows innovation. In this MDM whitepaper, written in collaboration with OroCommerce, we examine the true costs of fragmented B2B commerce systems and how unifying your technology stack can reduce risk, improve customer experience and support scalable, long-term growth
“Meeting the Modern Buyer: How Distributors Can Leverage eCommerce to Exceed Evolving Customer Expectations” explores how today’s B2B buyers evaluate suppliers, what drives trust and loyalty and why seamless digital experiences now shape purchasing decisions. This whitepaper breaks down shifting buyer behaviors and outlines how distributors can use eCommerce, data, and modern tools to deliver the speed, clarity, and consistency customers expect.
Amazon Business has become a powerful force in B2B commerce — reshaping buyer expectations for speed, transparency, and convenience. For distributors, this disruption presents both a competitive threat and a strategic opportunity. In this new whitepaper from Modern Distribution Management (MDM), sponsored by McFadyen Digital, discover how Amazon’s continued expansion is transforming the wholesale distribution landscape — and what leading distributors are doing to stay indispensable in an increasingly digital marketplace.
The path to perfect efficiency requires something more transformational: challenging the underlying assumptions that form distribution business models.
In this paper, we aim to identify some of the assumptions most ripe for challenging in the face of today’s environment, and offer a starting point for progressive, ambitious, future-thinking leaders ready to start building next generation distribution businesses.
Why leaders of distribution are shifting into the next digital lane as a growth strategy.
Cash isn’t just king for distributors — it’s the army that both protects the business and empowers growth and expansion. In this exclusive report, financial executives behind four large and sophisticated NAW members take us inside their AR departments to see how and why they’re accelerating with automation this year.
Customer experience is still the name of game, whether distributors are contending with ERPs, self-serve eCommerce tools or AI implementation.
This whitepaper provides lessons from large players on balancing your relevance in the market with your own ROI strategy before making tech investments.
This research study presents four strategic scenarios for wholesale distribution’s future, revealing that distributors with dedicated future-sensing processes are 4x more likely to be top revenue generators.
Based on research with 85+ industry leaders, the report explores how critical uncertainties around innovation investment and global stability could reshape the industry by 2035—from regulated AI adoption in stable markets to high-tech disruption and regional fragmentation.
This strategic foresight tool helps distribution leaders test assumptions, navigate uncertainty, and build resilient strategies that thrive across multiple possible futures, addressing the reality that only 11% of executives have high confidence in their current strategic plans.
Based on in-depth interviews with over 25 distribution leaders, a survey of 100 respondents, and in-depth market research, we identified five imperatives to thrive and create more value in this high-potential but increasingly competitive market.
Still Relying on Reactive Sales?
Distributors today need to do more than wait for the phone to ring if they want to keep business growing. And despite ranking proactive sales 7.35/10 in importance, only 22% actively engage in outbound efforts.
Prokeep partnered with Channel Marketing Group to create these exclusive survey insights from distributors nationwide and uncovered a surprising gap between strategy and execution.
Are you in the 78% falling behind, or ready to take the lead?
This free report presents key findings such as:
● Why most distributors struggle to turn strategy into action
● How top performers are driving demand and growing accounts
● What it takes to build a winning outbound sales motion today
Download the report and discover how to turn proactive sales into revenue-driving results.
Artificial Intelligence is transforming almost every industry; yet for all the enthusiasm, many distributors still lack clear guidance on implementing it practically.
In response, we set out to create a structured resource to explore practical AI use cases directly relevant to distributors.
This multi-month research effort includes surveys, interviews, extensive publication scanning, and deep synthesis to ultimately surface over 50 use cases of AI for distribution.
Whether via ERP improvements, AI infusion, eCommerce tools or all the above, improving customer experience is today’s top priority for nearly all wholesale distributors.
This new guide from MDM provides real-world examples from companies that recently innovated on this front and the ROI strategy and self-evaluation they underwent before making tech investments.
This playbook is a comprehensive analysis guide and thought leadership resource on mergers and acquisitions in industrial, commercial and building supplies wholesale distribution sectors.
Review a current- and future-state look at dealmaking among the distribution sectors MDM regularly covers from an editorial perspective, helping you make sense of what’s happened recently and what to expect in the years to come.
MDM’s marquee 2024 event delivered a wealth of change management levers and case study examples from leading distributors.
Here, find a collection of our top takeaways, including conversations with leaders from Stellar Industrial Supply, ABC Supply, and Wesco.
Discover how distributors are using AI technologies to drive efficiency, enhance decision-making and create competitive advantage.
What’s Inside?
Amidst the upheaval of recent years, businesses worldwide have been propelled into a new era of decision-making. Now, as the dust settles, it’s time to not only catch our breath but to seize the reins to achieve new levels of digital agility and innovation.
This whitepaper will uncover the stories of two pioneering distribution businesses, illuminating the strategies they employed to overcome resistance and foster a collective embrace of digital change. In this narrative lies the blueprint for success—a roadmap forged by those who have dared to innovate and emerge triumphant in the digital age.
Discover how leading distributors are inventing and transforming business models to delight customers, disrupt competitors, and drive new revenue. Our comprehensive report, “Business Model Innovation: Delighting Customers and Disrupting Competitors to Drive New Revenue,” is packed with actionable insights and real-world examples from industry leaders.
What’s Inside?
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn about the current – and future – state of business models in distribution.
Join the ranks of industry leaders who are redefining inventory management for success in today’s dynamic marketplace. Our exclusive guide delves into the innovative approaches adopted by a top distributor, unveiling a blueprint for navigating market fluctuations and rising complexities with confidence.
Learn from the Best: Explore how a leading distributor has shattered traditional inventory norms, paving the way for a new era of agile supply chain planning.
Transformative Insights Await: Discover three key focal points that can revolutionize your inventory management strategy, propelling your business from reactive to proactive and positioning you for unparalleled performance.
Embrace Change, Embrace Success: Equip yourself with the tools to embrace volatility, turning challenges into opportunities and achieving new heights of efficiency and profitability.
As distribution leaders constantly seek educational resources on business transformation, technology optimization and talent management, MDM’s SHIFT conference has answered the call. The annual executive summit invites distributor decision-makers to attend and absorb three days of thought leadership across numerous topics that our audience has indicated are top-of-mind for those driving the industry forward.
Here, we’ve compressed four of the sessions from our 2023 SHIFT event into an MDM Playbook, extracting key takeaways from the content they offered. They include transformation case studies on industrial supplies outperformers Motion and Global Industrial Company; insights from Gartner on using technology as a burden-lifter on sales staff; and lessons from a panel discussion about workplace culture components that foster an environment where talent want to work and stay.
Read on to view those pieces from our marquee in-person event, and mark your calendars for MDM’s 2024 SHIFT conference, to be held Sept. 11-13 in downtown Denver.
Work with a banking partner that knows your business. Get detailed information on investment banks with expertise in the wholesale distribution industry.
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