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Webcasts

Today’s supply chains aren’t just complex, they’re constantly shifting. From demand swings to supplier risk and even tariff pressures, leaders are being asked to move faster, adapt with precision, and keep everyone aligned.

Join us on August 7, 2025 (1–2pm ET) for The Executive AI Playbook: Scaling Intelligent Supply Chains & Distribution Networks, hosted by Modern Distribution Management. This live panel discussion will explore how eXplainable AI (XAI) is helping executives turn uncertainty into action, without losing clarity or trust.

From forecasting demand to navigating supplier risk, join Robert DiTommaso of Winsupply and Rajesh Naik of Mined XAI as they share what’s worked, what’s changed, and how to get everyone, from the boardroom to the front line, on the same page.

We’ll close with a live Q&A to tackle your biggest questions on building a practical, executive-ready AI roadmap.

 

In today’s digitally driven supply chain, distributors are under pressure to deliver rich, accurate and differentiated product experiences — faster and across more channels than ever before. But most organizations struggle to get the basics of product data right, let alone scale it for AI-driven automation, personalization or enrichment. 

“Our product data isn’t ready” is one of the most common reasons cited for why distributors haven’t become deeply involved with AI applications or scaling certain customer offerings.
 
In this webcast, our expert panel will dive into the core challenges facing B2B distributors when it comes to organizing, governing and scaling product information. We’ll also explore the foundational elements required to make product data AI-ready, including how to: 

  • Create a well-structured product taxonomy
  • Centralize product data into a single source of truth
  • Build strong data governance frameworks to ensure consistency and control
  • Expand into new channels and speed up product launches

Join us to learn how to turn complex product data into a competitive advantage — powered by structure, strategy and AI. 

 

Join University of Colorado’s Brian Lewandowski, MDM’s Mike Hockett and Oracle NetSuite’s Ranga Bodla as they analyze economic conditions and the demand outlook for the rest of this year and beyond. The event will feature MDM’s latest industry revenue forecast and break down economic trends, emerging growth opportunities, what to watch out for and how distributors can capitalize on the current competitive landscape.

 

While over half of distribution leaders believe they are advancing their company’s data capabilities at least as fast as their peers, almost all agree that they haven’t achieved the level of data maturity they ultimately aspire to – and see the next 3 years as a critical window making significant strides towards being data-driven.

 

What challenges and opportunities do distribution executives see as they pursue their data ambitions? How will these be reflected in what gets prioritized, invested in, and implemented?

 

This new research, conducted with over 200 senior distribution executives reveals critical sector-wide insights about how leaders are progressing against their data goals, where gaps may exist, and how deep data capabilities can unlock new value and competitiveness.

With consensus expectations showing an industry slowdown in nearly all markets for most of 2024, distributors will be tasked to perform in business conditions that are far from ideal. In this one-hour program, we’ll explore sales strategies to outperform your competitors and gain market share in a down economic year.

Via insights from distributors and other experts, you’ll come away with insights that cover:

  • New market research on how the digital order gap is impacting your business
  • Cost-effective sales strategies
  • Keys to meeting new customer expectations
  • Using superior customer service as a weapon
  • Accelerating digital automation across quote-to-cash

MDM reported on news of more than 400 M&A transactions during 2023, and the vast majority included independent distributors — many that were family-owned. We expect 2024 to be another big year of distribution M&A, as economic uncertainty, the labor situation, the ongoing technology transition and generational retirements have many company owners likewise looking to sell. 

Selling a distributorship involves numerous decisions and questions to be asked, and our MDM webcast will provide a guide for those considering a sale, or currently in the process of one. Our free one-hour program will address:

  • Internal questions that should be asked before committing to selling
  • How to evaluate potential buyers for the best fit
  • How to obtain an accurate valuation of your business
  • How long you can expect the selling process to take and the milestones along its timeline
  • Potential roadblocks you may encounter
  • How to best protect your employees amid a sale
  • Where to find help in selling your business

Benchmark your sales and growth expectations for 2024 with MDM’s annual industry forecast, review of macroeconomic and distribution-specific trends, and the latest exclusive Baird-MDM MarketPulse survey insights. Join Baird Senior Research Analyst David Manthey, NetSuite VP Ranga Bodla and MDM CEO Tom Gale for the data and insights on how to best navigate the conflicting market signals shaping 2024.

You may have the best products and sales team, but if you frustrate customers with your digital processes and service delivery, they’ll shop elsewhere. Join this free webcast panel discussion to learn how these distributors have leveraged automation and core process improvement to create stronger customer relationships.

Key takeaways:

  • How to reduce churn with seamless digital service
  • The biggest constraints customers hate, and how to fix
  • Ways to free your team for higher-level service delivery
  • Best practice tips to improve labor productivity (and reduce stress)

Join us for this insightful webinar on the practical application of Artificial Intelligence as our panel of wholesale distribution executives across every stage of AI adoption share their experiences. From initial efforts building AI foundations to advanced practitioners pushing the boundaries of innovation, we’ll delve deep into the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence across all corners of your business – from inventory to product recommendations to customer support.

Whether you are in the initial stages of considering AI implementation or you’re looking to enhance your existing strategies, this webinar offers a comprehensive roadmap and hard-won lessons to ensure successful AI adoption.

Key Takeaways:

  • Tailored AI Strategies: Gain insights into crafting AI strategies that align with your distribution business’s unique needs and challenges, regardless of your current AI maturity level.
  • Practical Implementation Tips: Learn actionable steps and best practices for implementing AI technologies effectively, overcoming common hurdles, and maximizing ROI – from panelists just starting their transformational journey to advanced customer engagement implementations.
  • Innovation Inspiration: Discover advanced AI innovations shaping the future of wholesale distribution, providing you with inspiration for your business’s next big leap.

 

With budgets for next year already set, distributors are set to face a 2024 that is expected to feel an industrial slowdown, and these firms won’t be able to ride the inflation wave like they have recently. Given the pace of market and technology advancement, distributors are wise to plan for not just the year ahead, but for several of them. 

In this free webcast, we’ll examine:

  • What distributors’ key challenges will be over the next 2-3 years, which certainly involve talent, AI and supply chain management; 
  • The strategies that will position these firms for success against these challenges, and;
  • The technology tools available today that will keep them ahead of the curve

Join us for this forward-looking discussion that will help distributors win for years to come.

 

Artificial intelligence is more accessible than ever to distributors, but the early-stage hype cycle makes it difficult to separate the signal from the noise. Join us for this 60-minute webcast to hear the findings of MDM’s deep-dive AI research report, and hear from those on the front lines on the keys to AI success.

Our research informs a new framework to help distribution executives use AI to deliver value in practical, tangible ways – with answers to questions like:

  • Where do I start with AI in my business?
  • Which opportunities are most ripe for AI?
  • How can I foster the conditions for AI success?

Our research report and this program combine the insights of distributors and technology innovators to help you build a practical roadmap for AI implementation. 

B2B marketplace industry is expected to reach $3.6 trillion in sales by 2024, up from $680 billion in 2018 (DC 360, 2023). This highlights the growing importance of marketplaces in the distribution space and underscores the need for companies to embrace this model of third-party commerce in order to remain competitive and capture a share of this growing market.  

 

For existing B2B commerce operators, now is an exciting time to consider transforming your ecommerce experience into a marketplace ecosystem, rapidly expanding categories, aggregating inventory, and elevating your position within the industry.

 

So join our expert panel hosted by Tom Gale (MDM) and featuring Tom McFadyen (McFadyen Digital CEO * Author of Marketplace Best Practices), along with distribution industry marketplace leaders as they discuss the evolving landscape of marketplaces, highlighting key strategies for success in this dynamic sector. 

 

This webinar will cover:

  • The current state of online marketplaces within distribution 
  • How to know when and if launching an online marketplace is right for your organization
  • Marketplace, drop ship, or hybrid; factors to consider when formulating a marketplace strategy 
  • Actionable advice from marketplace leaders succeeding in the distribution space

 

Learning how to optimize your eCommerce strategy through interconnected sales channels and data-driven decision-making is essential to maximize your ROI. But there is an abundance of different aspects that must be considered to do so. Join Kristen Thom, VP of Product at White Cup, to delve into the different pieces of strategy to focus on when maximizing your eCommerce. 

 

This webcast will uncover valuable insights into analyzing customer behavior and overall sales trends and demonstrate how to establish correlations between eCommerce behavior and broader sales outcomes. Don’t miss this opportunity on Aug. 17 to uncover the hidden potential of your eCommerce business through data-driven insights and seamless channel integration.

After two straight bumper revenue years, the distribution sector is navigating a slower-but-solid 2023, while 2024 forecasts call for a slowdown. Join Baird’s David Manthey and MDM’s Tom Gale as they analyze economic conditions and the demand outlook for the rest of this year and beyond. The webcast will feature brand new data and insights from the 2Q23 Baird-MDM Industrial Distribution Survey.

 

This program breaks down the latest economic trends, emerging growth opportunities, what to watch out for and how distributors can capitalize on the current competitive landscape.

Distributors have quickly learned in recent years — sometimes the hard way — that keeping up with the pace of customers’ rapidly-evolving buying experience expectations is crucial to winning or maintaining business. The proliferation of AI and self-service tools have only made things more interesting, and complicated. This webcast will analyze MDM and Infor’s latest research benchmarks on distributors’ technology utilization in this area compared to a year ago, along with insights from distributor panelists about how they are navigating the CX journey.

Despite  challenged supply chains, a difficult labor environment and whispers of a looming industrial slowdown, wholesale distributors rode the inflation wave to a bumper revenue year in 2022. This led to considerable jumps in year-to-year revenues charted across MDM’s 2023 Top Distributors Lists.

 

Join this free webcast as Executive Editor Mike Hockett provides the first look at our rankings in various industries, slotted by their latest fiscal revenues within each industry. We’ll examine the key factors and moves that led certain distributors to see major movement on our lists, including a few companies that made first-time appearances.

 

Registered attendees will be sent the full published PDF feature of MDM’s 2023 Top Distributors, which shows our full rankings across 17 different distribution verticals.

As distributors navigate market instability, margin protection discipline is paramount. Join us for a webinar featuring Tony Pericle, the architect of distributor solutions that have generated over $1 billion in profit in the past two years. In this webinar, Tony will share practical examples of how distributors can maximize profitability, including best practices for pricing, cost management, and work-flow optimization. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a proven industry expert and discover how to build a resilient business that can weather any storm and emerge stronger than ever.

Even with great salespeople, distributors often serve the wrong customers in the wrong channels in the wrong ways. Most distributors have a significant opportunity to drive top and bottom-line growth by optimizing their go-to-market (GTM) strategy and approach, particularly their outside and inside sales forces. Many distributors have invested in an expensive sales force, but it’s not optimized — and that puts senior management at risk.

In this free 30-minute webcast, attendees will receive high-level insights on how to right-size and redesign their outside and inside sales forces to perfectly align them with customer needs and opportunities. These tips will help create happier customers, more productive sales staff and a bigger bottom line. 

Modern Distribution Management hosts this webinar in partnership with Redwood Advisors and address key questions, including:

  • What are the three key phases to optimize your sales go-to-market? 
  • What are some effective dimensions to segment your customers?
  • What is an effective approach to mapping customer segments to sales channels?

The past three years of rapidly-evolving buying habits have shown distributors the high value of leveraging and analyzing customer data. But while most distributors agree that putting data into practice is important, how many are actually doing so, and how are they using it?

 

In this free webcast, we’ll dive into the results of brand new MDM research that polled more than 110 distributors about how they are leveraging metrics and data analytics to support sales operations.

 

Find out how your data analytics usage stacks up with that of your industry peers, and how modern tools can help distributors do more with less while making sales smarter, faster and easier.

Providing an extraordinary and sustainable buying experience needs more than just having the right product information in place. Today’s buyers expect personalized and accurate product content – no matter where they are getting in touch with your products. 

 In this webcast, you will learn how to create a comprehensive buying experience that reduces shopping cart cancellations, converts more customers and leads to incremental sales with greater efficiencies.

 

In this MDM Webcast, McKinsey Partners Alex Abdelnour and Kevin Sachs share their latest research on the recipe for leveraging innovation to win in distribution, including a panel discussion with executives who have successfully applied the recipe.

Those who attended the 2022 MDM SHIFT Conference saw these McKinsey Partners present their research on what leaders have done to outperform in the evolving distribution landscape — a landscape characterized by below-GDP growth, increasing customer expectations, accelerating consolidation, increased disintermediation, non-traditional disruptors and tight labor markets.

Companies that successfully transformed in this landscape showed an ability to deliver outsize growth while expanding margins. To achieve this, they innovated — whether in business model, service, experience, process or some combination.

Join us in this free one-hour webcast on Thursday, March 16, 1-2 pm ET.

Cyber threats and malware have been a security threat to distributors ever since they began launching websites, and those risks have grown exponentially in today’s hyper-connected business environment. But even with cyberthreats everywhere, they can easily be overlooked by businesses when speed-to-market is an utmost priority and other challenges exist.

This webcast will examine what cybersecurity and malware threats exist for distributors, what they look like and what business areas are often targeted. You’ll also learn about blind spots in your cyber defenses and where you may be most vulnerable.

Above all else, you’ll learn how to make your business more vigilant against these many threats and the actions you can take to avoid a crippling security breach.

Investment Banking Directory

Work with a banking partner that knows your business. Get detailed information on investment banks with expertise in the wholesale distribution industry.

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