You’ve seen our promotions for it, but here, MDM Editors Mike Hockett and Vesna Brajkovic break down the extensive value that this year’s SHIFT conference provides; recap their biggest takeaways from the 2023 version; highlight our 2024 agenda items; and discuss why you should be there.

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 2020 landmark acquisition of Anixter. He also sheds light on Wesco’s AI use and other recent investments.

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, with clearly-defined, team-based selling and service roles.

With our September SHIFT event rapidly approaching, McKinsey & Company Senior Partner Kevin Sachs stops by to preview the keynote he will co-present with fellow McKinsey Partner Victoria Bough. We also re-visit last year’s keynote takeaways and what the firm sees as the top underlying factors driving wholesale distribution in the year ahead.

Many distributors have spent the past several years re-structuring, re-sizing and re-tooling their sales teams.

Here, Dorn Group’s James Dorn and John Gunderson discuss how to optimize these refreshed sales teams and align them in a single direction toward high-level revenue performance.

New PVF distribution group Venturi Supply was formed in 2023 through the combination of six independent companies. CEO Michael DiMino stops by to discuss how the company has maintained those firms’ independence while also fostering cohesiveness across the combined organization, and what the path forward looks like.

Ted Cowie retired at the end of May after four decades leading distribution and manufacturing sales teams, including at Motion, Safety Today and Barnes. He and Tom Gale examine how sales strategies evolved during his career, particularly during his 10+ years at Motion, and reflect on the relationships that made his time in the industry successful.

In advance of MDM’s July 10 Virtual Sales Summit, Tom Gale, Tony Pericle and Nick Pericle dive into what high-performance distribution sales models look like in 2024 and the deeper challenges that sales reps face in the marketplace today. Their discussion covers changing roles and customer expectations and the ways in which technology, including AI, can help reps elevate their game.

Like for any distributor making frequent acquisitions and headcount additions, it takes a high degree of communication, strategic planning and integration coordination to ensure the train stays on the tracks. That’s just what Vermont-based Green Mountain Electric Supply has done, with about a dozen bolt-on deals made since 2021. Two of its executives stop by to share how the distributor has made it work and share the company’s story.

Artificial intelligence in distribution carries a combination of hype, hope, promise and peril. Long-time technology analyst Justin King, the Global Director and Analyst of the B2B eCommerce Association, helps cut through the noise to get more precise on the short- and long-term impact of how AI is being deployed in distribution. Hear real-world AI use cases from the industry and where he sees the technology going. 

AIS Industrial & Construction Supply is a single-location distributor, but its innovation in sales, marketing and eCommerce has outdone that of many larger industry counterparts. President & CEO Dale Hahs joins to discuss what AIS has been up to lately, what he’s seen change in his 40 years with the company, and what he’d do differently in a career restart.

MRO supplies distributor Vallen has undergone major changes over the past few years, including its $350 million acquisition of Wesco Integrated Supply that closed April 1. But that deal is just the latest move. A former Sonepar subsidiary, Vallen became independent in 2022, has joined AD and NAW and was named ISA’s 2023 Innovator of the Year. CEO Chuck Delph stops by to discuss the company’s aggressive moves and the strategy behind them.

MDM brought a staff contingent to the Industrial Supply Association’s annual spring convention, ISA24, held April 15-17 in Charlotte. This compilation podcast features eight mini interviews Executive Editor Mike Hockett conducted at ISA24, gathering perspectives from ISA’s CEO, two distribution CEOs, three service providers and two college students. These attendees share their thoughts on the show, the business climate outlook, the biggest challenges facing the industrial supply channel, and more.

Wajax Corp. has significantly expanded its Industrial Parts unit during the Iggy Domagalski’s first two years as CEO, and he stopped by to discuss key drivers for that business. We also touch on Wajax’s ongoing ERP rollout and technology initiatives, the company’s PPE enhancements, and the tailwinds and headwinds for fellow Canadian industrial distributors.

Distribution hasn’t seen a deal the magnitude of Home Depot’s pending $18.25 billion acquisition of SRS Distribution in quite some time — maybe ever. Mike Hockett and Craig Webb break down the key details of the combination, why it makes sense for Home Depot and why this was likely the long-term play for SRS all along.

Customers continue to work down inventory levels into 2024. James Dorn and John Gunderson outline action items for optimizing inventory levels – in partnership with suppliers – to stay nimble and gain share as competitors stumble on A and B items.

Industrial supplies distributor Mars Supply is celebrating 100 years in business throughout 2024, and it didn’t achieve that milestone by happenstance. The company’s President, Bob Mars, has been there for 47 of those years, giving him a wealth of perspective on what’s changed in the industry, and what hasn’t. We discuss Mars Supply’s history and what it’s up to today, how the company has eliminated hidden costs and why customers choose it over larger competitors.

All three parts of John Gunderson’s November series on Fastenal’s “big pivot” — which examined the distributor’s decade-long transformation from a distributor dependent upon nationwide branches to one that emphasizes embedded customer service — ended up in MDM’s 10 most-read free blogs of 2023. That makes it well worth further discussion. So, we invited Gunderson onto the Podcast for an even deeper dive on Fastenal and what’s led to its current state of success.

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors’ 2024 Executive Summit was its best-attended such event in years, and NAW’s content lineup was ready for it. This compilation podcast features mini interviews with four distributors, one consultant and two NAW executives on what their biggest takeaway was from the summit and their top initiatives for this year.

In the past two years, industrial rubber and fluid power products distributor Singer Industrial has sold off a business unit, rebranded and made over a dozen acquistiions alongside greenfield expansion. CEO Craig Osborne tells us how his company managed so many moving pieces. We also touch on distribution’s labor situation, technology and AI, and what’s on the horizon for Singer.