Tariffs, Amazon and talent. These three areas are among the top concerns for 2019 as reported so far in our annual Distribution Industry Outlook survey. It’s still open, so if you haven’t already taken it, please contribute your thoughts on 2019; participants will receive the in-depth results that provide more detailed insight. 

The survey indicates that our audience remains optimistic about growth prospects in 2019, with more than 20 percent of respondents expecting sales growth exceeding 10 percent and more than half expecting between 5 and 10 percent growth. I’ll review the survey highlights in our webcast on January 17; please register now to attend.

As you map out what success looks like for your company in 2019, I urge you to examine where talent development falls on your priority list. How much do you plan to invest and what actions will you take to ensure you have the best possible team to manage what will likely be a moderating economy and increasing levels of competitive disruptions? 

Your competitors are investing in two ways: developing internal talent and adding people with new skills to compete effectively. We’ve covered aspects of this across emerging technology capabilities, and we plan to increase our coverage of talent development in the year ahead.

For MDM, 2018 was a year of expansion in our team and in the value we deliver for our customers. Our mission is to provide you with the most comprehensive market intelligence, trend analysis and programming possible to help you and your team succeed. Thousands of leading distributors use our growing portfolio of MDM resources to challenge and train their management teams.

We are increasing our coverage and analysis of wholesale distribution trends in 2019, as well as our research and education, including four conferences. The first is our third annual Sales GPS conference, Feb. 20-22. Save the dates for the MDM Digital Distributor Summit, Apr. 29-May 1, and our second annual MDM Analytics Summit, Jun. 18-20. Stay tuned for more detail on these events in the second and third quarters, as well as an additional conference later in the year. 

Thank you for your continued attention and support. Your feedback is an important part of strengthening the vibrant and growing MDM community. Please let me know how we can improve by contacting me at tom@mdm.com. 

I wish you a fantastic year of continued growth in your business. Happy New Year!