I’ve mentioned multiple times over the past several years that industry events are one of my favorite parts of being MDM’s Executive Editor. I know of no better way to stay on top of the distribution sector’s trends and challenges and continue building a robust Rolodex of contacts through their plentiful networking opportunities.

It’s those networking sessions — whether in an expo, a reception, a lunch hour or just an open hour in an event’s agenda — that provide excellent value for attendees. Attendees continue to cite networking as a top reason they allocate budget for traveling to in-person events.

I was glad to see in-person distribution industry events resume coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic with such fervor. In the middle of the pandemic, I was concerned that these events would be drastically and permanently curtailed. From what I can tell, that has not happened. If anything, I think the continuously digital-first and remote-work-heavy new normal has increased the appetite for seeing colleagues from across the country gather in one location.

In 2022 and 2023, I created similar industry event preview blogs, but those specifically previewed events scheduled for the spring and fall, respectively. As I scoured the interwebs for event dates and locations, it was apparent that the winter and summer months — once seen as the quiet period in the events schedule — also have plenty of great events to include.

From MDM, we’re doing our part by providing a handful of educational events aimed at helping distributors navigate their journeys in sales, digital transformation, data analytics and talent. We’ve already opened up registration for our in-person SHIFT Conference, set for Sept. 11-13 in downtown Denver. SHIFT is accompanied throughout the year by four virtual MDM summits: Our AI for Distributors Summit is on Feb. 7; our Distribution People & Culture Summit is on April 10; our Distribution Sales Summit is on July 10; and our Distribution Profitability Summit is on Dec. 4. Those events are bolded below.

Here, find a rundown of 30+ industry events in the first half of 2024 that are on MDM’s radar across industrial, commercial and building supply product sectors. Of course, this isn’t a complete list. There are undoubtedly more events that I just haven’t been made aware of that are worthy of adding to this list. If you know of any, let me know at mike@mdm.com, as I’d like for this blog to serve as an industry resource. I’ll look to post a second-half preview sometime in May.

I hope to see you out there!

ASSOCIATION/CONFERENCE DATES – 2024