MDM Webcast: The Executive AI Playbook – Scaling Intelligent Supply Chains & Distribution Network

August 7, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern

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.

Sponsored by: Mined XAI

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MDM Webcast: Preparing B2B Product Data for Growth and AI

July 24, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern

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.

Sponsored by: Akeneo

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MDM Webcast: 2025 Mid-Year Economic Update

July 10, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern

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.

Sponsored by: Oracle NetSuite

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How to Meet Evolving B2B Payment Demands

March 13, 2018

Speed cash flow, streamline operations & improve customer relations by revamping your A/R workflow.

Customers are demanding more of their distributors than ever before. To truly meet their needs – and live up to the growing expectations that a B2B company adopt more of a B2C mind-set – rethinking how you accept and process payments is paramount for keeping pace with the latest trends and providing a best-in-class customer experience.

In this free 60-minute webcast, Nick Babinsky, director of business development for event sponsor Billtrust, will show you why payment demands are evolving and how you can adapt. He will present the latest B2B payment statistics, which show that credit card and even virtual card payments are increasing among your customers, and then detail how a few changes in workflow can not only bring your business into the 21^st century but also improve financial performance.

You will learn:

The latest B2B payment stats, including the rapid decline in paper checks
Why credit card and even virtual card acceptance is increasingly important
Financial and customer retention benefits of expanding payment options
Best practices for updating your payment processing system

Sponsored by:

Speakers

Nick Babinsky
Director of Business Development, Billtrust

As Director of Business Development, Nick Babinsky leads the growth of Billtrust’s new solutions relative to invoice delivery and card acceptance. As a professional in the billing and payments industry for nearly a decade, Nick has worked closely with hundreds of suppliers to establish strategies for accelerating customer payments, reducing credit card fees, and improving cash application processes.

Eric Smith
Editor, Modern Distribution Management

Eric joined MDM as associate editor in September 2014. A native of Memphis, TN, Eric is an award-winning journalist who earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Rhodes College. Among his many writing stints, he has worked as a sports reporter in Alaska, and also has written for a children’s hospital and major university. Prior to joining MDM, he spent close to eight years as a business reporter and editor for The Daily News in Memphis – renowned as America’s Distribution Center – where he covered logistics, distribution and commercial real estate. Eric was named editor of MDM in October 2017.

Sponsored by: Billtrust

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The Future of Distribution

February 21, 2018

Mike Marks, Tom Gale & Ian Heller outline digital landscape scenarios.

There is more intense disruption in distribution markets today than the past 20 years, with every organization in transition. How do you stay ahead of the digital transformation curve, build a more adaptive business model, and navigate the turbulence of workforce change and superheated M&A climate, among other operational challenges? This 60-minute webcast sponsored by Infor examines likely scenarios, shares strategies to leverage the change and addresses audience questions.

MDM CEO Tom Gale moderates a lively conversation with Mike Marks of Indian River Consulting Group and MDM President Ian Heller on what the digital distribution enterprise of the future looks like. Here’s the format: 10 minutes of presentation, then a conversation on how the industry will likely respond to Amazon Business and other game-changers impacting every sector.

Don’t miss this important webcast that outlines short- and long-term strategies to succeed in the uncertain future of distribution.

Sponsored by: Infor

Speakers

Mike Marks
Managing Partner, IRCG

Mike Marks is the Managing Partner of Indian River Consulting Group. He began his consulting practice after working in distribution management for more than 20 years. His narrow focus in B2B channel-driven markets has created an extensive number of deep executive relationships within nearly every business vertical in construction, industrial, OEM, agricultural and health care. Mike has led project teams that improve market access by aligning resources to growth opportunities serving manufacturers, dealers and distributors.

Mike has written several books and served as a Research Fellow with the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, permanent faculty at Purdue University’s University of Innovative Distribution and eight years as Graduate Adjunct Faculty in the Industrial Distribution Program at Texas A&M University.

Ian Heller
President/COO, Modern Distribution Management (mdm.com)

Ian Heller is President/COO of Modern Distribution Management (mdm.com), 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.

Thomas P. Gale – Moderating
CEO/Publisher, Modern Distribution Management (mdm.com)

Tom Gale is CEO of Modern Distribution Management (mdm.com), the most trusted resource for market intelligence and industry insight to wholesale distribution executives and industrial product marketers since 1967. Tom has guided MDM’s research on distribution management best practices, benchmarking and industry trends since 1992. He is the executive editor of the Distributor’s Guide to Analytics, published by MDM in 2015.

Sponsored by: Infor

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The 2018 Distribution Industry Outlook

January 17, 2018

Conditions improved across distribution in 2017, but new threats emerged.

Distributor fortunes improved last year and are projected to continue through the first half of 2018 – but the rest of the year and 2019 remain uncertain. Meanwhile, Amazon and other emerging challenges to traditional distribution models continue to grow, heightening the need for companies to strengthen digital capabilities, differentiate their value more clearly, and think harder about how to best create a more effective business model.

This 60-minute webcast, sponsored by Oracle + NetSuite, analyzes the latest economic trends, emerging growth opportunities and how the competitive landscape is shifting – and how distributors and manufacturers can capitalize on all of these trends.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Economic forecasts for the wholesale distribution industry
The hottest growth sectors
The top 3 distribution trends to watch in 2018
How competition is being redefined

Sponsored by:

Speakers

David J. Manthey
CFA, Senior Research Analyst, Baird

David Manthey is Baird’s senior analyst covering Industrial Distribution & Services. Prior to joining Baird in 1995, he worked at Strong/Corneliuson Capital Management. David earned a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from Indiana University, with a major in finance and a minor in management information systems.

Ranga Bodla
Head of Industry Marketing, Netsuite

Ranga has more than 20 years of combined product management and marketing experience in the software technology industry. As the head of industry marketing for NetSuite, Ranga Bodla is chartered with driving the overall strategy and go-to-market for success across all of NetSuite’s industries including Wholesale Distribution, Manufacturing, Software, Services, Non-Profit, Advertising, Media and Publishing. Prior to joining NetSuite, Ranga led a global team focused on the successful go-to-market of SAP’s Governance Risk and Compliance Solutions. Ranga received a BS in Engineering from Trinity University in San Antonio.

Ian Heller
President/COO, Modern Distribution Management (mdm.com)

Thomas P. Gale – Moderating
CEO/Publisher, Modern Distribution Management (mdm.com)

Sponsored by: Oracle NetSuite

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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.