In 2025, distribution navigated escalating tariff pressures and economic uncertainty, the rapid acceleration of AI adoption and the ongoing evolution of customer expectations. Throughout this dynamic year, MDM’s content served as a compass for distribution leaders seeking practical strategies to not just survive, but thrive.

We’ve curated a list of the most-read free articles published on MDM in 2025, which gives a glimpse into the topics that helped shape business strategy on sales, drive conversation on innovation or help benchmark against peers this year.

Whether you’re rethinking your rebate strategy, exploring how AI can transform your sales team, or developing a playbook for tariff volatility, these pieces offer actionable insights from industry experts and practitioners who’ve been in the trenches.

If you missed any of these topics throughout the year — or want to revisit the insights that shaped 2025 — consider this your essential reading list as we head into 2026.

MDM’s Top Free Articles in 2025

1. A Rebate Without a Cause: Rethinking Distributor Strategies (published Feb. 19, 2025) — Kevin Betts, an expert in rebates at Enable, examines how a well-intentioned rebate strategy can gradually result in a sales pricing dilemma and how a more purpose-driven approach could have avoided this issue.
2. A Day in the Life of an Outside Sales Rep — With AI (published June 18, 2025) — Benj Cohen offers a walkthrough of how an outside sales rep can use AI throughout their day as an intelligence and opportunity assessment tool to optimize sales effectiveness.
3. Second Generation Distributor Creates AI Sales Rep Startup (published Aug. 18, 2025) — A second-generation distributor launches Avent, a startup that automates quotes and order entry, transforming how inside sales operations work in the distribution industry.
4. Here’s Which Distributors Were Named 2025 Top Workplaces (published Aug. 13, 2025) — One of MDM’s most popular types of articles is when we analyze popular business rankings and call out which distributors made those lists. In this blog, MDM shares the 58 distributors that were recognized for their outstanding workplace cultures and employee satisfaction in 2025.
5. 3 Practical Ways Distributors Can Successfully Manage Tariffs (published April 28, 2025) — Michelle Duffy of Pricefx outlines practical strategies for distributors to manage tariff pass-throughs, including proactive planning for volatility, strategic pricing agility, and maintaining operational flexibility to protect profitability and customer relationships.
6. How to Kill the Zombies in Your Distribution Business (published Jan. 28, 2025) — This blog shares strategies for identifying and eliminating process inefficiencies and outdated practices that drain resources and hinder growth in distribution operations.
7. Using AI as a Supply Chain Agent of Change (published Sept. 26, 2025) — Avnet’s CIO discusses how artificial intelligence is transforming supply chain operations and creating new opportunities for efficiency and innovation in distribution.
8. Meet MDM’s 2025 Women in Distribution (published April 16, 2025) — After a four-year absence, MDM resurrected the Women in Distribution awards to honor a group of 20 women who have been pivotal to their company’s growth, innovation and leadership in a traditionally male-dominated industry. In this piece, we meet the nominees.
9. How Distributors Can Optimize Delivery Visibility (published Jan. 13, 2025) — An exploration of how transportation management systems and real-time tracking capabilities can improve customer service and operational efficiency in distribution logistics.
10. Beyond Products: The Rise of Value-Added Services (published June 17, 2025)— Redwood Advisors examines how distributors can differentiate themselves through value-add services like kitting, light assembly, installation, repair and training — creating sustainable competitive advantages with margins up to 40% while deepening customer relationships.
11. New Reports Detail Tariffs’ Major Impact on SMBs in Wholesale Trade (published July 8, 2025) — Research revealed that 72% of small wholesalers reported lower revenues due to tariffs, making wholesale trade the industry most impacted by U.S. tariff policies with $48.7 billion in import duties exposure. MDM shares the results.
12. 10 Ways Distributors Can Prepare for an Economic Downturn (published April 15, 2025) — Vendavo’s Mitch Lee outlines strategies for “recession-proofing” distribution businesses, emphasizing value-based pricing, customer rationalization, revenue leakage prevention, and building pricing agility to respond quickly to market disruption.
13. Prioritizing the Human Side of Selling: Meet Your Customers Where They Are (published May 14, 2025) — Despite technological advancements, the human element in sales remains critical. This piece explores how understanding customer needs, solving pain points, and building trust through regular communication and value-added services creates lasting partnerships in distribution.
14. QXO Earns Bullish Price Targets as Analysts Initiate Coverage (published June 13, 2025) — After acquiring Beacon for $11 billion, building materials distributor QXO received aggressive analyst coverage with price targets ranging from $27-$44 per share, driven by expectations of the company’s tech-forward operational improvements and ambitious goal to reach $50 billion in annual revenue within a decade.
15. Who Wins and Loses in the Tariffs New Normal? (published April 4, 2025) — As tariff volatility accelerates, distributors with rigorous rebate optimization systems and AI-driven pricing strategies stand to gain significant market share over competitors with sloppy business practices, creating a “virtuous acquisition cycle” where sophisticated operators can capitalize on the exits of less-prepared distributors.

Check out MDM’s Top Podcasts of 2025.