MDM, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors’ source of business intelligence for wholesale distribution executives, received two awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ (ASBPE) 2026 Azbee Awards of Excellence in business journalism.

In March, MDM announced it was honored as regional finalists in the Mid-Atlantic region within the Case Study and Diversity, Inclusion and Equity categories. Both of those entries moved to finalist judging, were judged against other regional finalists and were given Bronze Awards in Mid-Atlantic region.

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The honored case study, titled “Linc Systems: A Formula for Transformational Growth,” was authored by MDM’s former CEO and now Contributing Writer Tom Gale, who traced the strategic components of LINC Systems’ service-first model and growth trajectory, as well as the key inflection points that created the fasteners distributor’s formula for success.

This report is available on MDM Premium and the MDM Store.

In 2025, MDM won a Silver Azbee Award for another in-depth case study on Fastenal’s transformative shift to a digital-first distribution model. See that Fastenal Case Study here on Premium and here in the MDM Store.

MDM’s Senior Editor Vesna Brajkovic also won a Bronze Azbee Award in the DEI category for a market analysis on the PPE segment. The Premium article, From Niche to Necessary: The Business Case for Women-Specific PPE, explores the growing demand and business rationale for stocking PPE specifically designed for women in construction and other trade sectors. It highlights the safety issues caused by ill-fitting, male-centric PPE, referencing OSHA standards that now require properly fitting PPE for all workers. The article includes proprietary product demand data from MDM Analytics, and features interviews with NAW members and MDM Top Distributors Vallen and Airgas.

The award was presented at ASBPE’s D.C. Chapter Awards Luncheon, hosted by MDM at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“We always strive to provide excellent value for our MDM readers, and this kind of recognition from B2B media peers is validation of that,” said Mike Hockett, MDM’s Executive Editor since 2022. “Both of these features were focused, niche deep dives into topics that required considerable research and legwork, and we love seeing that rewarded.”

About the Award

The Azbee Awards honor the best in B2B media, recognizing editorial excellence by business, trade and association publications across 59 categories. It is recognized as one of the most competitive awards programs for B2B media.

The competition received more than 740 entries, which were judged by 83 experienced editors and journalism professors.