Having discussed the shift from a gen-one to gen-two distributor, Mike Marks and Tom Gale explore the industry's larger business model transformation, and where competitive advantage is being won and lost.
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
Revenues generated through Amazon Business have grown by 40% and its global customer base by 20% over the past two years.
Deal activity outpaces most expectations, but valuations and market dynamics have shifted dramatically from the previous two years of a hot seller’s market environment. Here are some key themes emerging for the year ahead for buyers and sellers alike.
Like the industry it serves, NAW is undergoing a powerful transformation as an organization. Here, Tom Gale and Mike Marks debrief from an energizing program of content, networking and ideas-sharing.
What’s out? Doomscrolling. What’s in? Distribution industry executives making more data-informed decisions supported by stronger technology and analytics. In our first Quicktake podcast conversation of the year, IRCG’s Mike Marks and MDM’s Tom Gale look at the opportunities for distributors to take what the business cycle and competitors will provide in the year ahead.
Tom Gale takes an appreciative look forward to 2023, highlighting some exciting things we have in store for the year ahead.
In a discussion on threats, themes and strategic planning for 2023, James Dorn of the Dorn Group and MDM’s Tom Gale discuss thinking beyond rebates, the rise of customer self-serve, the power of segment focus and pain relief, and a call to rewrite the operating manual for distributor-supplier relationships and value creation.
Decades before digital transformation became an imperative, Jay Platt, CEO of BlueVolt and former CEO of Platt Electric, was on a mission to improve how his customers, team members and vendors could access information, whether for training, customer support or building a stronger company culture. He’s still at it.
MDM’s team has been on the fall conference tour. Here, Tom Gale and IRCG’s Mike Marks compare notes from conversations at Affiliated Distributors, NetPlus and ISSA's recent summits, as well as MDM’s SHIFT event. They also cover the latest Baird-MDM quarterly MarketPulse survey, with most distributors reporting double-digit growth amid few signs of a slowdown.
Mike Marks and Tom Gale examine a California lawsuit against Amazon, the broader trade practices at play for distributors and the broader issues for how distributors can differentiate with stronger value propositions.
There's an old saying that GPS has gotten more people into trouble than out of trouble. They lose sight of the bigger picture. The same can be said for investments in technology and other big change projects
MDM's Tom Gale discusses the acceleration of change in wholesale distribution brought on by the pandemic and how our upcoming SHIFT event will give attendees the tools needed to succeed in the new normal.
MDM CEO Tom Gale recounts what he learned at Global Industrial's recent expo in New Orleans, which included an exclusive interview with CEO Barry Litwin.
MDM to host unified industry summit Sept. 25-27 in Broomfield, Colorado to help distributors navigate business model transformation across sales structure, digital and data analytics.
In this week’s MDM Podcast, Gartner’s Maria Boulden, Mike Marks of Indian River Consulting Group and Tom Gale tackle all things sales transformation: Massive shifts in customer buying behavior, digital-first go-to-market strategy, supplier partnerships and the new sales skills needed to compete, including situational awareness, data literacy and digital dexterity.
Distribution leaders have played a mostly reactive role as conduits for products and services — but more are now taking on proactive approaches as facilitators and value creators. In a new MDM podcast, Tom Gale and Dirk Beveridge talk about how evolving leadership dynamics are changing the industry.
Tom Fournier, president of Shade’s Mills Group, a sales strategy consultancy based in Cambridge, Ontario, shares insights from a career managing sales channels in Canada and the U.S. with an international jan-san products manufacturer.
The pandemic is a giant tipping point that has accelerated the rate of change. The cost of not adapting your current sales model could be a slow death.
The outlook for 2022 remains bright, but government efforts to restrain inflation, global instability and continued supply chain challenges seem to shift the variables almost daily.
MDM welcomes content leader with deep industry experience as it strengthens industry coverage in 2022.
