Featured Blog Archives

6 Questions Distributors Can Ask to Improve Business Outcomes

How can companies enhance their bottom lines by employing better digital strategies? MDM chatted with Stellar Industrial Supply’s John Wiborg and Mass Ingenuity’s Aaron Howard during a recent webcast to answer this and similar questions facing distributors.

April 22, 2022

MDM Blog

Fastenal Expo: MDM’s All-Access Pass to the Innovative Distributor

MDM Executive Editor Mike Hockett recaps what he saw and learned at Fastenal Expo 2022, the distributor's first in-person company showcase in three years.

April 21, 2022

Leadership

Redefining Leadership in Distribution

Distribution leaders have played a mostly reactive role as conduits for products and services — but more are now taking on proactive approaches as facilitators and value creators. In a new MDM podcast, Tom Gale and Dirk Beveridge talk about how evolving leadership dynamics are changing the industry.

April 19, 2022

Operations

Fastenal Wants Digital to Comprise 55% of its Sales by End of 2022

Fastenal's 1Q growth considerably outpaced that of a year earlier and the last "pre-COVID" quarter of 1Q 2020. Digital is the biggest driver. We examine the numbers here.

April 15, 2022

MDM Blog

Observations from a Reformatted ISA Convention

ISA22 was held in Houston this week, which presented a considerably different event than pre-pandemic ISA conventions. Here, MDM's Mike Hockett provides a recap of the show and insights on what those changes looked like.

April 14, 2022

Operations

Perspectives on Canadian Jan-San Distribution Channels

Tom Fournier, president of Shade’s Mills Group, a sales strategy consultancy based in Cambridge, Ontario, shares insights from a career managing sales channels in Canada and the U.S. with an international jan-san products manufacturer.

April 12, 2022

Sales & Marketing

Manage the Risk of Your Sales Model Now

The pandemic is a giant tipping point that has accelerated the rate of change. The cost of not adapting your current sales model could be a slow death.

April 12, 2022

MDM Blog

What I’m Looking Forward to at ISA22

MDM Executive Editor Mike Hockett shares what he's anticipating at the Industrial Supply Association's ISA22 Convention, which runs April 11-13 in Houston. It's ISA's first in-person convention since 2019.

April 10, 2022

MDM Blog

MDM’s Top Stories from 2022’s 1Q

We look back at the blogs, articles and news items that attracted the most attention during the first quarter of 2022.

April 7, 2022

Mergers & Acquisitions

Parts Town Grows Significantly Beyond Foodservice With Latest Bolt-On

The rapidly-growing distributor suddenly has a strong foothold in OEM home products after acquiring Emcompass Supply Chain Solutions.

April 7, 2022

Mergers & Acquisitions

The BradyIFS Acquisition Train Just Keeps on Rolling

The foodservice, JanSan and packaging supplies distributor's addition of Associated Paper was its ninth bolt-on since the merger of Brady and Individual FoodService in late 2020.

April 7, 2022

Operations

MSC Industrial CEO Discusses Pricing, Vending, Labor After Big March

Preliminary figures show March was MSC's best sales month ever. Here's a recap of CEO Erik Gershwind's comments from a March 30 earnings call.

April 5, 2022

Featured Blog

Greetings From MDM’s New Executive Editor

Get an introduction to MDM's new Executive Editor, Mike Hockett, a name some readers in the industry may already be familiar with.

April 4, 2022

Mergers & Acquisitions

March 2022 M&A Roundup: Pace Plateaus, but More Billion-Dollar Deals Highlight Month

M&A activity in the distribution and manufacturing sectors has somewhat slowed since spiking in the fourth quarter of 2021. But while the deals may be fewer in number, multiple companies still reached billion-dollar agreements as 2022’s initial quarter wrapped up.

April 1, 2022

Sales & Marketing

What Does Your ‘Sales Stack’ Look Like?

The tools your sales team needs to be successful look very different than just a few years ago. Technology is an increasingly important part of the equation to sell better in turbulent markets, but it’s part of a bigger picture.

March 31, 2022

Sales & Marketing

Shifting Channel Dynamics in 2022

In this week's MDM podcast, Walter SVP Chester Collier shares four decades of international sales management and business development experience across industrial distribution channels. We discuss the current state of channel dynamics and how sales management has — and has not — evolved in the face of rapid change the past few years.

March 29, 2022

Strategy

Bridge the Talent Gap by Fighting the ‘Distribution Isn’t Sexy’ Myth

Spreading the notion that distribution isn't desirable makes it harder for companies to enact strategic changes and attract workers. It's also just not true. Here's how companies can promote their industry and win the talent war.

March 25, 2022

Research

Why the Global Shipping Crisis Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon

Supply chain issues continue to plague the industry, while persistent inflation and conflict abroad could create additional market chaos. Here's what it means for distributors.

March 24, 2022

Sales & Marketing

Sales Transformation 101 with Mike Marks

The field salesforce is the heart and soul of distributor go-to-market strategies. For great reasons. It’s also the biggest hidden bite to profitability today. Here’s a primer on the challenges and 3 keys to successful sales transformation that every distributor can profit from.

March 22, 2022

Operations

How to Analyze Stockouts and Improve Customer Service

Few things damage customer experience more than stockouts. Companies can’t prevent all stocking problems, but here are some best practices to minimize the impacts.

March 18, 2022

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