Featured Blog Archives

MDM’s 2Q26 MarketPulse Report is Here, Showing Market-Specific Revenue Performance, Pricing & Expectations

MDM’s 2Q26 MarketPulse Report consists of the quarterly results, analysis and commentary from the latest Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution Survey — conducted early July — that explored revenue performance, pricing and business expectations for the current quarter and rest-of-year. It includes a wealth of market-specific data and commentary from survey respondents.

July 28, 2026

Research

NAW Research: Distributor-Supplier Relationships Hold Steady

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July 27, 2026

Operations

Lean Six Sigma, Pt. 4: From Continuous Improvement to Continuous Intelligence

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July 22, 2026

Legal & Regulatory Issues

NAW Awaits Ruling After Oregon EPR Trial

NAW presented its case challenging Oregon’s packaging EPR law during a July 13-17 federal trial in Portland, and a ruling is expected by the end of August. See the association's statement on the matter.

July 21, 2026

Market Analysis

Amazon Business Surpasses $60B in Annualized Gross Sales. Here’s What to Know

The B2B marketplace added $25 billion to its annual GMV since its previous update three years ago, while expanding its customer base and building out AI, procurement and delivery capabilities. Here's the key details, context and competitive analysis.

July 21, 2026

Strategy

The Top 5 Components of a Distributor Business Plan

If your company lacks a plan or yours is gathering dust, follow these guidelines.

July 20, 2026

Mergers & Acquisitions

See NAW’s 2Q26 M&A Report

See our updated monthly deal counts; a year-to-date breakdown of M&A activity by product category; the latest EBITDA trading multiples for 27 publicly traded industrial distributors; our latest M&A-led Premium article; and our detailed recap of dealmaking activity during April-June, which saw decelerated but still healthy activity.

July 20, 2026

Economic Trends

Now Available: NAW’s 3Q26 Forecast Report

This comprehensive NAW 3Q26 Forecast Report is a guide to the U.S. wholesale distribution economy, providing a historical, current and future snapshot of numerous key economic indicators in one convenient place along with our exclusive sector-specific forecasts for 19 different product categories.

July 17, 2026

Economic Trends

MDM Forecast: July Update

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July 15, 2026

Market Analysis

Analysis: Fastenal’s Strong Sales & Margin Performance Continue Despite Pricing Moderation

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July 14, 2026

Flow Control

Ferguson Makes $1.6B Flow Control Bet with FloWorks Deal

Ferguson’s largest acquisition in years would add approximately $1 billion in annual revenue, more than 60 locations and extensive valve automation, repair and technical capabilities — significantly expanding its position in industrial flow control markets.

July 13, 2026

Digital Commerce

Grainger’s 30-Year Digital Head Start Is Still Compounding

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July 9, 2026

Strategy

QXO Details Go-Forward Playbook Centered on Scale, Transformation & Tech

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July 9, 2026

Economic Trends

May U.S. Wholesale Sales Accelerate, Far Outpacing Inventories

Petroleum products continued to lift nondurable goods sales, while durables saw widespread acceleration as inventory-to-sales ratios continue to slide, indicating demand is outpacing stockpiles. Here, get a full breakdown of product vertical-specific figures for monthly and year-over-year sales and inventories from the latest government data.

July 8, 2026

Infor: Distribution is Where AI Moves from Promise to Practice

At the company's annual TUG conference for distribution customers, CEO Kevin Samuelson and AI Innovation leader Rick Rider outlined how the company is positioning AI for distributors — not as a standalone product, but as an ongoing service built around industry context, co-innovation, process intelligence and governed automation. Here are our key takeaways.

July 7, 2026

Top Distributor Sectors

MDM’s 2026 Top Distributors Lists are Live & Available to Download

Our highly anticipated annual feature is here for you to peruse via web listings and our downloadable report. Explore our 20 different lists to see distribution’s biggest movers and shakers.

July 6, 2026

MDM Blog

MDM’s Stellar Industrial Supply Case Study Report Now Available

Our latest MDM Case Study examines how Stellar Industrial Supply built a differentiated growth model around documented customer savings, service-first selling and digital execution — turning measurable value creation into a durable platform for customer loyalty, expansion and operational excellence. It's available now for Premium subscribers and in the MDM Store.

July 6, 2026

Operations

Lean Six Sigma AI, Pt. 3: Why Pricing is the New Frontier

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July 5, 2026

MDM Blog

MDM’s June Premium Monthly Recap

June's Premium content covered the keys to Grainger's business model success; AI's role in Lean Six Sigma; what 3M's "Ask 3M" AI customer tool means for distributors; City Electric Supply's new services rollout; the growing pricing power gap between large and small distributors; and our monthly MDM Forecast and M&A Roundup. Get the condensed rundown here.