Traditional order management practices are inherently costly and inefficient, especially when it comes to the wholesale distribution industry. Fortunately, companies are learning that AI-driven automation is an effective solution to unlocking the unrealized value in traditional order management processes.

Join us for an educational webinar with Esker Business Development Manager, Nick Carpenter, and Esker customer Jack Jurkowski, CIO of EBP Supply Solutions, as they walk you through the digital transformation of the distribution company’s order management processes, diving into topics such as:

• Building a business case for order management automation
• The importance of order management in the wholesale distribution industry
• Esker’s critical role in the EBP Supply Solutions digital ordering initiative
• The benefits achieved after implementing Esker’s AI-driven solution

Sponsored by:

Find out more about our sponsor

Speaker:

Nick Carpenter
Business Development Manager
Esker

Nick Carpenter is a business development manager with Esker where he focuses on helping folks to leverage AI-powered solutions to drive greater efficiency throughout their O2C process. Starting his career at Esker as a sales demand representative, he understands the unique challenges different companies face and how to overcome them.

Jack Jurkowski
CIO
EBP Supply Solutions

EBP Supply Solutions sees immense value in leveraging technology to better serve our customers, and for over two decades, Jack has tackled the challenging task of determining EBP’s strategic direction with technology. Jack began his IT career in manufacturing environments in Application Development at Duracell and Branson Ultrasonics. He expanded into the Supervision of IT Systems Management and Operations, for thirteen years at Physicians Health Services and its acquiring entity, HealthNet.

Moderator:

Elizabeth Galentine
Editor in Chief
Modern Distribution Management

Prior to joining MDM in 2018 as Editor, Elizabeth Galentine ran her own content services agency and led the editorial team for a national employee benefits media company for nearly 10 years.

Artificial Intelligence is not a trend of the future, but a tool that can and should be leveraged today as a means of driving customer service, efficiency, cost-savings, productivity, and sales.

The first step is understanding how other distributors are already using AI and what you can do today.  The next is thinking about AI in the long term.

The webcast will focus on how distributors are using AI and machine learning to leverage existing data to improve business functions.  With statistics on the rate of adoption and estimates on how machine learning can make a positive impact on sales and profits, we’ll explore AI’s role in distribution business operations including key areas like:

• Enhancing Customer Services by anticipating customer needs based on historical data and behavior.
• Cost-Cutting by using AI to efficiently manage inventory, anticipate fluctuations in demand, and influence purchasing decisions.
• Understanding buyer trends and purchasing behavior to drive more business through pricing optimization, companion product recommendation, and more.

Key to leveraging the power of AI today and into the future is ensuring you have the right technology in place – including interactive user experience and mobile access to data.

Sponsored by:

Find out more about our sponsor

Speaker:

Ian Heller
President
Modern Distribution Management

Ian Heller is the President & COO of Modern Distribution Management and its parent company, Gale Media, the most trusted resource for market intelligence and industry insight to wholesale distribution executives and industrial product marketers since 1967. He began his distribution career as a truck unloader in a Grainger branch in college. He left that company 15 years later as Marketing Vice President and has held senior executive positions in marketing and eCommerce at GE Capital Rail, Newark Electronics, Corporate Express and most recently as VP Marketing for HD Supply White Cap. Ian also founded and ran Real Results Marketing, a distribution-focused consultancy, for seven years.

Moderator:

Elizabeth Galentine
Editor in Chief
Modern Distribution Management

Prior to joining MDM in 2018 as Editor, Elizabeth Galentine ran her own content services agency and led the editorial team for a national employee benefits media company for nearly 10 years.

As customers increasingly rely on distributor websites for customer data and purchasing, it’s becoming more difficult to manage pricing between channels. This is much more challenging in B2B than in retail because:

• Distributors make extensive use of tiered pricing
• Pricing is often customer-specific
• Increasing price transparency makes it easier for customers to compare prices online
• Distributors sell commodities with frequently-fluctuating prices
• B2B companies sell to accounts with many buyers while a retail customer is one person
• Retailers tend to have an established assortment of SKUs; distributors source products for individual accounts
• Distributors offer many value-added services while retailers primarily focus on selling products

MDM recently conducted a survey of distributors to get their experiences and opinions on these issues and others.

This research, which is sponsored by PROS and Oracle NetSuite, will give you the latest intelligence on how distributors are managing pricing challenges between their channels. We encourage questions from attendees and we look forward to sharing the results with you.
Sponsored by:

Learn more about Oracle NetSuite and PROS

Speaker:

Austin Garrison
Founder
Concourse Capital

Austin Garrison is the founder and Managing Partner of Concourse Capital, a Manhattan, CA based private equity firm. Concourse is a research-based investment firm focusing on middle market private companies.  Garrison is an accredited Chartered Financial Analyst and consults on projects requiring intensive analytical and research capabilities. Garrison holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and an B.S. in Engineering from Colorado State University.

Ian Heller
President
Modern Distribution Management

Ian Heller is the co-owner, President & COO of Modern Distribution Management and its parent company, Gale Media, the most trusted resource for market intelligence and industry insight to wholesale distribution executives and industrial product marketers since 1967. He began his distribution career as a truck unloader in a Grainger branch in college. He left that company 15 years later as Marketing Vice President and has held senior executive positions in marketing and eCommerce at GE Capital Rail, Newark Electronics, Corporate Express and most recently as VP Marketing for HD Supply White Cap. Ian also founded and ran Real Results Marketing, a distribution-focused consultancy, for seven years.

Moderator:

Tom Gale
CEO
Modern Distribution Management

Tom Gale has been MDM’s lead researcher and industry analyst for more than 25 years on independent distribution channel trends, consolidation, technology and competitive landscape. He is a frequent speaker and moderator on these topics at company, marketing group and association meetings in North America and Europe.

Too many distributors get caught in operational silos of purchasing, inventory management and sales functions; they don’t fully optimize service levels while minimizing capital investment.

Join us for this one-hour webcast as Brad Johnson of Building Products Distribution – Supply Chain Analytics outlines best practices for more strategic purchasing and inventory management practices.

This MDM webcast will outline the tools to help improve your operations planning in these critical areas:

• Demand planning: How to determine sales team resource allocation based on forecasted sales and service-level goals by product.
• Supply planning: How to best align with suppliers’ capacity, manufacturing lead times and transportation lead times.

Longtime distribution purchasing executive Brad Johnson will explore each area of opportunity to give you immediate gains – and position your organization to achieve significant cost advantages.

Sponsored by:

Find out more about our sponsor

Speaker:

Brad Johnson
President
Building Products Distribution – Supply Chain Analytics (BPD-SCA)

Brad has over 12 years of experience in product management, global sourcing, procurement and supply chain in the area of distribution.  He has successfully implemented numerous programs to reduce cost, launch new products, improve fill rates and minimize working capital.  He provides “hands on” knowledge on how to improve your supply chain from source to customer.  Prior to his current company, Brad was the VP of Fasteners at PrimeSource Building Products where he was responsible for the Grip-Rite brand from sourcing, procurement, and product management leading to sales execution.

Prior to that, he was Director of Product Management at HD Supply White Cap Construction and Industrial and Senior Director of the Metal Business Unit at BlueLinx (previously Georgia Pacific’s distribution arm).

Moderator:

Elizabeth Galentine
Editor in Chief
Modern Distribution Management

Prior to joining MDM in 2018 as Editor, Elizabeth Galentine ran her own content services agency and led the editorial team for a national employee benefits media company for nearly 10 years.

Maximizing Customer Service and Profitability in the Face of Disruption

Wholesale distributors face unprecedented pressure from changing customer expectations, evolving competition, and the rapid development of technology. Companies that are able to address these pressures quickly have the best chance at continued success. With disruption and change inevitable, what ways can you respond to evolve your business? What areas should distributors prioritize in order to make the most impact?

Surveys continue to show that improving customer experience is a vitally important action item for distributors. But committing to it takes many different forms. Customers expect a profoundly different experience influenced by their personal interactions with B2C engagements. Customers are demanding:

• More self-service (ordering and information gathering)
• Mobile and tablet access
• Personalization and customized products
• Logical recommendations and known preferences
• Specialized pricing
• Same day delivery and shipping transparency
• Multi-channel engagement options with same level of service
• Excellent counter sales interactions
• Efficiency and accuracy
• Expertise and the ability to advise customers

But juggling these services takes investment. And finding the right balance between what your company can absorb financially and technically while staying profitable is the key.

You’ve likely experimented with CRM, BI and e-commerce. Those solutions continue to evolve while new technology is gaining momentum, including AI, robotics, more automation and new business models.

Sponsored by:

Find out more about our sponsor

Speakers:

Cindy Jutras
President
Mint Jutras

Cindy Jutras is a widely recognized expert in analyzing the impact of enterprise applications on business performance. Utilizing over 40 years of corporate experience and specific expertise in distribution/manufacturing, supply chain, customer service, and business performance management.

Kelly Squizzero
Industry & Solution Strategy Director
Infor

Kelly Squizzero has been with Infor for over 30 years, specializing in wholesale distribution. In her role as the Director of Industry & Solution Strategy, Kelly works closely with customers, prospects, and analysts to understand the challenges wholesale distributors face. Kelly is responsible for ensuring Infor’s products and messaging are aligned with wholesale distribution requirements, and she assists customers and prospects in developing digital transformation strategies.

Moderator:

Elizabeth Galentine
Editor in Chief
Modern Distribution Management

Prior to joining MDM in 2018 as Editor, Elizabeth Galentine ran her own content services agency and led the editorial team for a national employee benefits media company for nearly 10 years.

Customer Connection: Personalization is Powerful

The definition of top-tier customer service has changed rapidly. Customers across every wholesale distribution sector expect an Amazon-like customer experience in 2019. Are you providing it? Join us for this free one-hour webcast on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 1 PM ET

Key takeaways from this webcast:

• Segments of one: Personalizing your customer’s engagement
• Opportunities for distributors to customize a customer’s experience with your company
• Lessons from Amazon on customer experience
• The technology portfolio distributors require – self-service, e-commerce, content, ERP foundation – to enhance core value-added services and product offerings
• How to know if your business software is ready to deliver powerful customer experience

Sponsored by:

Find out more about our sponsor

Speakers:

John Walker
President
JJW Marketing Associates

John Walker has an extensive background in strategic, marketing and e-commerce planning in distribution.  Currently, John is the President of JJW Marketing Associates where he helps distributors develop and execute omni-channel marketing plans.  Prior to that, he developed his extensive knowledge of distribution, marketing and e-commerce working in various areas at Grainger for more than 17 years, where he became the Director of Marketing, Communications, Strategy and Planning. John holds a BA in Marketing from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Elizabeth Galentine
Editor-in-Chief
Modern Distribution Management
Prior to joining MDM in 2018 as Editor, Elizabeth Galentine ran her own content services agency and led the editorial team for a national employee benefits media company for nearly 10 years.

Event Summary

As digital disruption continues to pressure traditional distribution sales channels, new value propositions are emerging to level the playing field. In this free 60-minute webcast at 1 p.m. Eastern, Tuesday, Dec. 18, MDM’s research team will review and analyze the results of its recent survey on how distributors are shifting priorities around technology and talent.

Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation: Better technology by itself is not enough. To create more competitive cost structures, control margins, and provide consistent customer experience across sales channels, new and more innovative leadership and skillsets are required.

SPONSORED BY:

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPEAKERS:

Kelly Squizzero

Director, Industry & Solution Strategy 

Infor

 

Kelly Squizzero has been with Infor for over 30 years, specializing in wholesale distribution.  In her role as the Director of Industry & Solution Strategy, Kelly works closely with customers, prospects, and analysts to understand the challenges wholesale distributors face.  Kelly is responsible for ensuring Infor’s products and messaging are aligned with wholesale distribution requirements, and she assists customers and prospects in developing digital transformation strategies.

 

Della Coffelt
CIO
Distributors Corp of America

 

Della Coffelt has over 20 years of experience in wholesale distribution: operations, warehouse, sales and finance (controller). She also has nearly 20 years’ experience selling, consulting, training and project management focused around ERP software for wholesale distributors. In her current role as CIO, she believes it is her responsibility to help ensure that each department has the necessary tools to run efficiently, help remove barriers between the distributor and their customers and vendors, and ensure that the technology applied is in line with the overall corporate strategy. She had the honor of publishing an article in the business publication by Aspatore titled “Inside the Minds: Business Process Management of Technology Professionals.”

 

Jeremiah Curtis
Development Project Manager
Infor

 

Jeremiah Curtis has been with Infor for over 18 years, working in the area of technical services. He also has experience with technical presales. In his current role, he is responsible for application architecture and DevOps for Infor Distribution.

 

Harshad Khatri
Sr. Principal, Value Engineering
Infor

 

Harshad Khatri has 20+ years’ experience in driving business value through the strategic application of technology solutions in manufacturing, retail and distribution industries. He brings strong professional consultative solutions selling skills involving: opportunity/issue definition and analyses; development of business technology strategies; creation of compelling business cases and presentation to C-suite management; and building/managing productive customer relationships. He has published several articles related to the strategic implications of the intersection of technology and business. Harshad is a graduate of Indian Institute of Technology, trained engineer and Wharton MBA.

 

Michael Mazzoni
Senior Solution Consultant
Infor

 

Mike Mazzoni is a senior solution consultant with the distribution business unit of Infor. Mike has a Master’s degree in Industrial Technology from Purdue University and has 19+  years of experience implementing software and consulting to the wholesale distribution market space. Exposure to multiple software solutions across an array of industries has enabled Mike to better understand the technology needs of wholesale distributors and guide them toward executing the right solutions.

 

Ian Heller
President
Modern Distribution Management

Ian Heller became President & COO of Modern Distribution Management in 2017. Ian started his distribution career as a truck unloader at a Grainger branch in Ft. Collins, CO. Fifteen years later, he was the Marketing VP for Grainger and went on to serve in senior executive roles at GE Capital Rail, Newark Electronics, Corporate Express and HD Supply Construction & Industrial. Along the way, he founded, ran and sold the distribution consulting firm Real Results Marketing.

 

Thomas Gale

CEO

Modern Distribution Management

For more than 25 years, Tom Gale has been MDM’s lead researcher and industry analyst on independent distribution channel trends, consolidation, technology and competitive landscape. He is a frequent speaker and moderator on these topics at company, marketing group and association meetings in North America and Europe.

The use of digital technologies has to start with a vision set by each and every distributor’s leader. That vision must explain how the distributor’s markets are changing and how digital tools will enable the business to compete. Without a vision, distributors do not realize an adequate return on digital investments. With a vision, distributors can reach for improved business performance and competitiveness.

Join us for this 60-minute webcast on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time as Mark Dancer, founder of Channelvation and Fellow for the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence, outlines his research on why digital tools are a means to an end, and why that end must be identified through a leader’s vision.

Over the last several years, Dancer has investigated the role of digital tools in distribution, and the possibilities they create for change. His work reflects ideas and insights from hundreds of distributors and is published in four industry reports. His work covers e-commerce, CRM, social media, omnichannel strategies, mobility, competing with Amazon, partnering with suppliers, changing generational values, and more.

On our webcast, Dancer will share his most important findings about the adoption and use of digital tools by distributors, and more importantly, the critical requirements for effective and innovative distributor leadership in the digital age.

Sponsored by:

Speakers:

Mark Dancer

Tom Gale
CEO
Modern Distribution Management