For some of us, podcasts have become the soundtracks of our daily tasks, filling commutes, workouts, walks and quiet evenings with expert insights, conversation and lessons learned.

There’s a plethora of (and, I’ll say it: overwhelming amount of) podcasts about business, news and leadership… but the MDM Podcast is one of the few curated specifically for wholesale distribution professionals.

The MDM Podcast gives those who work in distribution access to in-depth conversations with some of the most successful distribution executives, industry consultants and other prominent voices in the B2B distribution channel. Through these episodes, we start conversations on company strategies, spark ideas, analyze industry trends, share market outlooks and often address the ‘what’s keeping you up at night?’ element across distribution.

We published 29 episodes of the MDM Podcast in 2024, and we are lining up guests for the 2025 season. If you’d like to be a guest or know someone who would be a good one, please let us know at [email protected].

Below, find our 10 most popular MDM Podcasts published this year, based on a combination of listens and views of the blog we write to accompany each episode. Each episode below is linked to a write-up with key takeaways and highlights. The podcasts published earlier in the year had more time to garner listens and views than those published near the end of the year, but this is a snapshot of the most popular episodes of the year.

S10E8: A Home Deport-SRS Megadeal Breakdown — published April 3

Mike Hockett and Craig Webb break down the key details of the $18 billion combination, why it makes sense for The Home Depot and why this was likely the long-term play for SRS all along.

S10E11: Inside Vallen’s Aggressive Transformation — published May 1

Vallen’s $350 million acquisition of Wesco Integrated Supply is just the latest win for the MRO distributor. CEO Chuck Delph stops by to discuss all of the company’s recent activity and onward momentum.

In the MDM Store: MDM’s 2024 U.S. MRO Market Trends Report

S10E5: A Breakdown of Fastenal’s Decade-Long “Big Pivot” — published February 21

Following his three-part article series and MDM Case Study report, we had John Gunderson on the podcast for a deeper dive into Fastenal’s move from a company dependent on a nationwide branch network to one that emphasizes embedded customer service.

S11E3: The Keys to Wesco’s Digital Initiatives — published Aug. 7

Wesco’s “all things digital” leader Akash Khurana joins us to discuss what digital transformation has meant for the electrical distributor, which ramped up its initiatives on that front upon its landmark 2020 acquisition of Anixter.

S10E14: Green Mountain Electric Doesn’t Have an End Goal — published May 22

Two executives from the U.S. northeast distributor join to discuss the strategy behind its rapid recent growth and how it’s made it all work.

S11E2: The 5 Fatal Flaws of Sales Transformation — published July 31

Tom Gale and Mike Marks discuss the biggest challenges distributors face as they transition from a traditional outside-generalist sales process to a more adaptive, digital-forward go-to-market model.

S10E18: Finding Focused Direction for Your Sales Team — published June 26

With many distributors recently restructuring their sales teams, James Dorn and John Gunderson discuss how to optimize and align them toward high-level revenue performance.

S11E7: Wesco Case Study Debrief  — published Sept. 4

We chat with John Gunderson, who authored our three-part analysis series and subsequent case study report on Wesco’s recent and ongoing transformation as North America’s top electrical distributor.

In the MDM Store: Wesco Case Study

S10E4: Voices of NAW’s Executive Summit — published Feb. 7

NAW’s 2024 Executive Summit was its most well-attended such event in years, and its content delivered in spades. This episode features interviews with attendees on their top takeaways, initiatives & more. The 2025 NAW Executive Summit is coming up on Jan. 27-29 in Washington D.C.

S10E1: Cracking the New Leadership Code— published Jan. 10

Leadership has been a critical differentiator for how well a distribution firm has performed over the past three years of disruption. Leadership consultant, coach and author Alain Hunkins discusses the transition from old- to new-school leadership, employee-customer experience, and how to build an energized work culture.

You can find these episodes anywhere you listen to podcasts, and can check out our entire library of MDM Podcasts here. Find the 2023 Top MDM Podcast List here.

MDM’s Top Premium Content of 2024

MDM’s Top Free Articles of 2024