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What will separate the good from the great in 2015?

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  • The Critical Role of Employee Training
  • 7 Key Investments to Grow Online Revenue
  • Distribution 3.0 - The Next Cycle

Economic growth in the U.S. will continue in 2015, say the nations purchasing and supply management executives in their December 2014 Semiannual Economic Forecast. Expectations are for a continuation of the economic recovery that began in mid-2009, as indicated in the monthly Institute for Supply Managements Report on Business.

This article includes:

  • An overview of key indicators in the manufacturing sector
  • An overview of key indicators in the non-manufacturing sector
  • Outlook for 2015

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  • MDM Interview: Need for Innovation in Disruptive Times
  • Manufacturings Millennial Dilemma
  • MDM Interview: Creating a Culture of Innovation

Modern Distribution Management's monthly Industrial Inflation Index measures a cross-section of industrial supplies.

This index includes:

  • Abrasives Products
  • Cutting Tools
  • Power Transmission Equipment
  • Fasteners
  • Valves, etc.
  • Power Tools
  • Material Handling Equipment
  • Belting
  • Hand Tools
  • Misc. Metal

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  • MDM Interview: Creating a Culture of Innovation
  • Cost-Effective Channel Alignment
  • Strategic Options for Shipping Efficiency

This is the PDF of this issue of Modern Distribution Management.

Table of Contents:

  • Top 10 Trends to Watch in 2015
  • Commentary: Back to the Future Again
  • Forecast: Continued Growth in 2015
  • Monthly Wholesale Trade Data: October 2014
  • MDM Industrial Inflation Index: November 2014
  • News Digest

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New rules regarding labeling and hazard communications for chemicals will go into effect over the next year, but many questions remain on what the rules mean for distributors. This article examines the new requirements and provides tips for ensuring compliance.

This article includes:

  • Problems associated with new rules
  • The new standardized pictogram for labels
  • Tips to overcoming key challenges

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  • The Critical Role of Employee Training
  • Disasters Can and Will Happen
  • How Leaders Can Drive Company Culture

Outlook has a mixed message: Full speed ahead, but watch your back.

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  • The Critical Role of Employee Training
  • 7 Key Investments to Grow Online Revenue
  • Distribution 3.0 - The Next Cycle

Recruiting new talent into the manufacturing industry isnt a new challenge, but a new study from ThomasNet highlights that part of the challenge is internal: Companies arent recruiting millennials as actively as they think they are and they have misconceptions that prevent them from doing so. This article examines what that means for manufacturing.

This article includes:

  • Problems associated with recruiting
  • How to get millennials interested in the industry
  • Where to find prospective employees

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  • Making Money With Smaller Customers
  • College Recruiting Best Practices
  • Robots and Drones in Distribution

Earlier this year, Curbell Plastics, Orchard Park, NY, named Gerry Helbig as its new president. Helbig recently spoke with MDM Editor Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier about how the plastics industry has changed, how sustainability and environmentalism is shifting demands and the challenges of managing talent and change in a changing industry.

This article includes:

  • How Curbell Plastics is overcoming challenges
  • Recent changes in the plastics industry
  • Sustainable products and policies

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  • Commentary: Keeping Up with Customer Expectations
  • How Leaders Can Drive Company Culture
  • Training, Technology Take Front Seat in Employee Retention Strategies

This is the PDF of this issue of Modern Distribution Management.

Table of Contents:

  • Deadline for Chemical Label Changes Looms
  • Commentary: Emerging Issues in 2015
  • Manufacturing's Millennial Dilemma
  • MDM Interview: Creating a Sustainable Plastics Industry
  • News Digest

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Adapting to the new business demands of a new generation of employees and customers requires a change in mindset, according to Dirk Beveridge, author of Innovate!: How Successful Distributors Lead Change in Disruptive Times.

This article includes:

  • The need for a culture of innovation
  • Engaging millennials in the industry
  • Bringing social media to distribution

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  • 7 Key Investments to Grow Online Revenue
  • How Leaders Can Drive Company Culture
  • Operations as a 'Lever for Innovation'

Sonepar’s acquisition of Industrial Distribution Group is, in many ways, an end mark on a 20-year timeline of industry trends, challenges and shifts, all rolled into one deal. Where shall we begin? The best place is back to the future.

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  • Disruptive Technologies: Behind the Drivers of Driverless Delivery
  • Trends Snapshot: Electrical Distribution
  • Global Competition on a Local Level

This is the PDF of this issue of Modern Distribution Management.

Table of Contents:

  • MDM Interview: Creating a Culture of Innovation
  • Commentary: IDG's Journey to Sonepar
  • The Critical Role of Continued Training in Distribution
  • Monthly Wholesale Trade Data: September 2014
  • MDM Industrial Inflation Index: October 2014
  • News Digest

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A distributor that doesn’t provide training opportunities for its work force will get left behind in today’s competitive market. But training resources abound for wholesale distributors, including online, on-demand courses, giving companies of any size the chance to continuously educate their employees.

This article includes:

  • The need for training within the industry
  • Resources available for distributors
  • Training areas where distributors are laging

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Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:

  • Making Money With Smaller Customers
  • College Recruiting Best Practices
  • Robots and Drones in Distribution

Modern Distribution Management's monthly Industrial Inflation Index measures a cross-section of industrial supplies.

This index includes:

  • Abrasives Products
  • Cutting Tools
  • Power Transmission Equipment
  • Fasteners
  • Valves, etc.
  • Power Tools
  • Material Handling Equipment
  • Belting
  • Hand Tools
  • Misc. Metal

Subscribers should log-in below to read this article.

Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:

  • MDM 3Q14 Pricing Trends Report
  • MDM/Baird Survey: Sales Growth Hits Two-Year High
  • The State of Analytics in Distribution

While small customers present significant challenges for many distributors, implementing changes to how they are served can eliminate the profit drag created by them. This article examines the challenges and provides practical steps for mitigating the profit challenge of small customers.

This article includes:

  • Why small customers are often viewed as a challenge
  • The myth of "growth potential"
  • How to overcome the profit drag

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  • Balancing Margin & Cost
  • Cost-Effective Channel Management
  • The Changing Role of the Distributor

Today’s business world is filled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Distributors that don’t change may find themselves unable to compete in the new environment, according to Dirk Beveridge, author of Innovate!: How Successful Distributors Lead Change in Disruptive Times.

This article includes:

  • Why innovation is more important now than ever before
  • Why innovation can be a challenge
  • The goals behind innovation

Subscribers should log-in below to read this article.

Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:

  • 7 Key Investments to Grow Online Revenue
  • How Leaders Can Drive Company Culture
  • Operations as a 'Lever for Innovation'

This is the PDF of this issue of Modern Distribution Management.

Table of Contents:

  • Making Money with Small Customers: Defeating the Profit Drag
  • Commentary: Tribute to Stu Mechlin
  • MDM Interview: Need for Innovation in Disruptive Times
  • M&A Market Poised to Flourish
  • News Digest

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If your customers aren’t asking you for more of something – whether it’s products or services – you are in a distinct minority. In the latest MDM/Baird Distribution Survey, nearly 90 percent of respondents are figuring out how to meet new customer demands. Should you invest in technology or people? Or both? Where do you cut to free up resources to meet the new expectations? Because ultimately it comes down to that question of resources.

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  • 3Q2014 MDM/Baird Distribution Survey
  • Third Quarter 2014 Pricing Trends Report
  • 3Q2014 Financial Metrics & Trading Multiples

Robert W. Baird & Co., in partnership with Modern Distribution Management, conducted a survey of about 500 distributors and manufacturers to gauge business trends and the outlook for the distribution industry in diverse sectors. This article provides a summary of third-quarter results and distributor and manufacturer expectations for 2015.

This article includes:

  • Revenue, inventory and pricing expectations
  • Sector breakdown
  • Analysis of trends affecting sales and operating performance

Subscribers should log-in below to read this article.

Not a subscriber? Subscribe below or learn more. Subscribers also have access to the following related articles:

  • MDM Industrial Inflation Index
  • Third Quarter 2014 Pricing Trends Report
  • 3Q2014 Financial Metrics & Trading Multiples

Corporate customers now seek an online experience similar to the business-to-consumer model, and distributors must adapt their e-commerce approach accordingly if they hope to increase conversion rates and customer retention. Michael Nagrant, principal consultant, Codifyd Inc., details why this is important and how it can be achieved in the recent MDM Webcast, 7 Key Investments Distributors Should Make to Grow Online Revenue. This article is an exclusive summary of the webcast, which is available on-demand and on DVD at mdm.com/7Investments.

Nagrant discusses:

  • Why static sites aren't enough
  • The importance of product categorization
  • Where distributors should focus their investments

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  • 2014 State of E-Commerce in Distribution
  • Making Money With Smaller Customers
  • Operations as a ‘Lever for Innovation’

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