You may have noticed a lighter volume of MDM Premium content in September, but it’s only because our team was inundated with preparing for, and hosting, our second annual SHIFT Conference, which ended up being a fantastic thought leadership event Sept. 18-20 in downtown Denver. I’ve heard so much great feedback about SHIFT in the weeks since, and we’re already brainstorming topics, speakers and content ideas for next year’s event. If you weren’t able to attend SHIFT this year, rest assured that we will provide plenty of Premium insights from the event’s sessions in the weeks ahead. (Read more in MDM’s September 2023 edition of Premium Monthly.)

September’s content included an interesting contributed piece from Intuilize Founder and CEO Nelson Valderrama, who provided a future example of what a leading distributor might look like in 2030, reflecting the recent physical, technological and cultural changes shaping today’s environment. His “Jetson vs. Flintstone” anecdote helps illustrate what may define leaders vs. laggards over the next 5-7 years. 

Mid-September featured my monthly breakdown of the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest wholesale trade data, which showed a considerable month-to-month downshift in distributors’ 2023 and 2024 revenue expectations. After pushing out further than most everyone expected at this time a year ago, the figures suggest that the long-predicted industrial slowdown has finally arrived.

A Sept. 19 piece provided a Q&A I conducted with Elise Hardy, Regional Vice President at First Financial Equipment Leasing, to get her thoughts about the cash flow issues distributors face when it comes to capital equipment (forklifts, robots, material handling and conveying equipment, etc.) and what their financing options are. She advises on what distributors should know as they weigh leasing vs. purchasing such equipment.

We ended the month with my Sept. 28 piece that took a deep dive into what plumbing, HVACR, PVF and industrial supplies distribution giant Ferguson shared in its Sept. 25 earnings call with industry analysts. Having completed its fiscal 2023 on Aug. 31 with $30 billion in annual revenues, Ferguson represents a bellwether in many of the industrial, commercial and building supply markets MDM covers. The company’s leaders touched on current and near-term business conditions, Ferguson’s aggressive acquisition strategy, and the disinflationary pricing environment.

As for October Premium content, we’ll extract findings from the 3Q23 Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution Survey of approximately 500 respondents, mostly distribution executives. MDM will have a very busy October attending industry events that include conferences for PTDA, NetPlus Alliance, ISA, AD, B2B Online. We’ll be doing plenty of networking while we’re out and about, so stop by and say hello!

MDM Premium subscribers can download and read MDM’s September 2023 issue of Premium Monthly here.

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