COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Archives

M&A Activity Poised for Post-Coronavirus Rebound

What does the new normal look like in a socially distanced business environment? MDM examines what’s on the horizon for both strategic and financial deals, as well as for prospective buyers and sellers, in a world still dealing with the COVID-19 coronavirus.

July 10, 2020

Operations

June M&A Roundup: Deals Resume After COVID-Related Drought

Mergers and acquisitions among distributors and manufacturers picked up last month after an especially slow April and May, due to concerns over the coronavirus.

July 8, 2020

Operations

Bulbs.com Leans on Bevy of Bright Ideas During COVID-19

During the past few months, lighting distributor Bulbs.com pivoted to a new customer segment yet also leaned on such core beliefs as strong marketing and data to sustain its business during the pandemic. CEO Mike Connors shared some of the companys COVID-19 playbook.

June 17, 2020

Operations

4 Ways Distributors are Staying on Top of COVID-19 Business Changes

In a recent MDM webcast, Navigating the New Now as a Distributor, Epicors Emma Vas and Mark Jensen discussed key trends that are emerging to help distribution companies thrive. Distributors are finding ways to boost revenue, negotiate supplier relationships, optimize inventory and streamline social distancing.

June 16, 2020

Operations

Amazon Works with Thousands of New Distributors to Deliver Over 100M Items to Health Care, Government

More than 13,000 health care and 7,000 government organizations have purchased PPE and other supplies through COVID-19 Supplies site on Amazon Business.

June 12, 2020

Strategy

Be Intentional about Preserving Positive Changes Brought on by COVID-19

Take note of new business practices youd like to preserve as the country opens back up.

June 10, 2020

COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Global Industrial’s R3 Program Preps Customers for Post-COVID-19 Work

Beginning in late April, Global Industrial started to pack an R3 Program Guide in with all shipped orders.

June 10, 2020

Research & Analytics

Is Hope on the Horizon for U.S. Economy, Wholesale Distribution?

Recent economic reports show upward momentum for the overall U.S. economy and the wholesale distribution industry in particular, but not all data points paint a rosy picture, indicating recovery will be a slog.

June 9, 2020

COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

IRCG’s Weekly Pandemic Revenue Index Notches First Increase

The 0.3% improvement follows 10 weeks of declines and nine weeks of double-digit declines.

June 5, 2020

Sales & Marketing

Agile Price Management in the COVID-19 Era

Some distributors are updating their price segmentation schemes to ensure they reflect these evolving conditions by overlaying a COVID-19 demand category attribute to complement traditional segmentation schemes.

June 5, 2020

Association/Buying Group News

American Supply Association Advocates for Pandemic-Related Liability Relief Legislation

ASA is part of a coalition asking Congress to act quickly to enact temporary COVID-19 liability protections.

June 4, 2020

Strategy

Did COVID-19 Turn Your Business into an Acquisition Target?

While the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed M&A to a crawl in distribution and most sectors, companies that chose to hunker down rather than innovate during the pandemic could be targeted by savvy strategic and financial buyers once activity resumes.

June 3, 2020

Sales & Marketing

Navigate the ‘New Normal’ By Innovating Your Sales Model

Distribution leaders that emphasize innovation during this time of uncertainty will be at an advantage when the so-called new normal whatever that looks like has settled in. One area where companies can innovate is by transforming their sales models. The latest MDM Live explains why.

June 2, 2020

Research & Analytics

Sales Transformation in the Wake of COVID-19: MDM’s Top blogs of May

International coronavirus stay-at-home orders have accelerated the imperative for distributors to improve virtual sales tactics. MDMs most-read blogs of May continued to focus on COVID-19 and its long-term effects for the distribution industry, particularly the sales process.

June 1, 2020

COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

IRCG’s Weekly Pandemic Revenue Index Shows Signs of Improvement

The 11.4% decline represents the smallest decline since mid-March.

May 29, 2020

Sales & Marketing

Be Proactive About Coronavirus Price Fluctuations with a Tracking System

When volume compresses, your contract pricing will be under pressure from your end customers. At the same time, you will have to react to many price changes from your manufacturer partners. MDMs John Gunderson says, if you dont have a tracking system built for your CSP/contract prices, it is time to get one in place.

May 27, 2020

Strategy

Build Your Business in Any Climate

Today’s environment may be full of factors outside of our control, but distributors also have an opportunity to re-examine long entrenched practices and explore new, more efficient ways of doing business.

May 26, 2020

COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

IRCG Weekly Pandemic Revenue Index Shows a 14.9% Decline

The index shows eight weeks of double-digit average declines and five consecutive weeks with declines in the mid-teens.

May 21, 2020

Technology

Texas A&M Distribution Students Visualize Industry’s Digital Future

In a recent virtual conversation with a few hundred Texas A&M Industrial Distribution students, the next generation had a lot to say about what changes they see in B2B distribution after the full impact of COVID-19 becomes clear. The future of distribution is moving faster than any of us thought possible, and its looking brighter with the talent coming online.