Tom Gale
Tom Gale has been an MDM researcher and industry analyst for 30+ years on independent distribution channel trends, consolidation, technology and competitive landscape. He is a frequent speaker and moderator on these topics at company, marketing group and association meetings in North America and Europe.
Posts By Tom Gale
This article is part of MDM's 2015 Distribution Trends Special Issue. It explains the need to change your business model or risk slipping into irrelevance.
The annual feature was researched and written by MDM editors based on interviews with dozens of wholesaler-distributors, as well as industry experts and manufacturers. MDM also conducted a survey of its readers to uncover the trends outlined in this issue.
The full special issue is available to download in PDF format to MDM Premium subscribers. Subscribe below for full access. Or log-in if you are already a subscriber.
Trends outlined in the 2015 report include:
- Good & Bad News for U.S. Economy
- Distributors Get Back to the Basics
- ‘Doubling Down’ on Distributor Relationships
- Distributors Embrace, Expand Online Customer Base
- Distributors Seeking ‘Lean’ Supply Chain
- Distributors Adapt to More Sophisticated Supply Chain
- Distributors Combine Traditional, New Means for Recruiting
- Distributors Change Tune on Generational Shift
- Trend Snapshots for 13 Sectors
The report also includes the following case studies and interviews:
- 2015 MDM Market Movers
- AJ Adhesives Takes Service to New Level
- Plumbers Supply’s “Win-Win-Win-Win”
- MDM Market Leader Profiles
- Culture Drives Success for ERIKS North America
- TTI’s Strategic Approach to Global Growth
In a recent MDM survey, we asked distributors how they plan to grow revenue in 2015. Just behind product line/category expansion was growing revenue from existing customers, or increasing wallet share.
Technology is great, but sometimes it can cut into a companys productivity.
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- Preparing for the Worst
- Industry 4.0: Technology-Driven Change
- 2015 State of E-Commerce in Distribution: E-Commerce on Path to Maturity
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Davis Anson joins us from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business.
Distributors must start viewing IT as strategic rather than just tactical.
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- E-Commerce on Path to Maturity
- Grainger Tackles the Data Challenge
- Digital Common Sense Versus Amazon
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Move beyond a defensive mindset for investing in digital.
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- Improve Market Access to Unlock Potential
- Think Globally, Service Locally
- Strategic Options for Shipping Efficiency
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One of the key levers in building market analytic models is the use of ratios, of which there are many types.
An old slogan is a universal truth for wholesale distribution.
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- Global Competition on a Local Level
- Mixed Signals on U.S. Economy
- Making Money with Small Customers: Balancing Margin & Cost
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New division has potential to change the competitive landscape for buying/marketing groups.
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- IDGs Journey to Sonepar
- MDM Interview: Lawson Products Revitalization
- Economic Trends Open Opportunity Windows
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“It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.” When it comes to market analytics, the philosophy behind this statement usually attributed to economist John Maynard Keynes must be applied.
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New division already taking six members from IDC.
2015 may be a tide turner, but with a higher level of complexity for distributors.
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- Is This the Next Normal?
- The Critical Role of Employee Training
- Top 10 Trends to Watch in 2015
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Increased competitive pressures rise out of strategic investments made during the recovery.
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- Top 10 Trends to Watch in 2015
- Global Economy Faces Uneven Growth
- MDM Interview: Need for Innovation in Disruptive Times
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Analytics has evolved rapidly in wholesale distribution channels, fueled in part by the explosion of technology innovation over the past several years, but also as a part of the industrys natural lifecycle. Companies that keep building their analytic capability are staying ahead of the wave.
Happy New Year and all the best for strong growth in 2015! There are a few exciting pieces of news from our perspective that Id like to share with you.
Ongoing industry turbulence driven by more than economic conditions.
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- Top 10 Trends to Watch in 2015
- MDM Interview: Creating a Culture of Innovation
- Manufacturings Millennial Dilemma
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What will separate the good from the great in 2015?
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- The Critical Role of Employee Training
- 7 Key Investments to Grow Online Revenue
- Distribution 3.0 – The Next Cycle
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Online retail giant vulnerable to mobile purchasing trends.
