PART ONE: In this episode, industry consultant (and MDM contributor across five decades!) Bruce Merrifield discusses post-COVID scenarios for distributors and the imperatives to transform into more customer-centric, profit-driven entities to compete effectively with digital sellers. Key question: What if customers want digital first, then virtual support as needed, and finally physical visits by the “experts” they select? What will you and your assigned, regular-calling rep do? 

In this episode, longtime M&A advisor Brent Grover shares his perspectives on how distribution M&A markets are shaping up in 2021. Short story: Financial buyers may have the edge over strategic acquirers, and overall buyers may want to be more patient than most sellers like this year. But as in every previous cycle, there are great opportunities across these highly fragmented markets.

Over the course of a 50-year career at F.W. Webb, a diversified HVACR, plumbing and PVF distributor serving nine Northeast states, Ernie Coutermarsh has made an incredible impact on the industry, business associates and the lives of so many he has touched. In this interview, Ernie shares his thoughts on leadership, innovation, talent development and much more.

In this June 12, 2020 segment of MDM LIVE, John Caplan, President, North America & Europe, Alibaba.com, urges distributors to drive digital in their businesses and the need for a marketplace strategy going forward. Hear much more from Caplan — including inspiration for taking your business digital, tips on getting started with Alibaba.com and practical advice on how to sell internationally.

In this June 5, 2020 segment of MDM LIVE, Barry Litwin, CEO of Systemax, parent of Global Industrial, talks about the company’s ongoing digital transformation, online customer service and how they are helping their customers prepare to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 with its R3 (Restore, Return, Rebound) program.

Jonathan Byrnes, senior lecturer at MIT and founding chairman of Profit Isle, a profit acceleration SaaS company, talks about the key elements of profit segmentation to manage the shocks of the pandemic and strengthen customer relationships – better defined customer service levels by profitability, smart product substitution and inventory management, digital transformation and setting up resilient supply chain systems.

In this special one-hour edition of MDM LIVE (May 29, 2020), hear the latest intel on how distributors are shifting from face-to-face to low-touch sales engagement – remote selling, resetting roles for outside/inside/customer service teams, building a more digitally-enabled sales force, sales comp challenges, analytics and more.

Over the last few years, Milwaukee-based HVACR distributor Gustave A. Larson Co. has implemented an agile management operating system, revised its sales model and refocusing service offerings. From the May 22, 2020 MDM LIVE episode, hear CEO Andrew Larson talk about how these work-in-progress transformation efforts have positioned the 430-employee company to weather the immediate impacts of the pandemic, and to accelerate growth going forward.

Products, features and benefits. How are we doing (or not doing) on monthly goals set up with Supplier A or Supplier B? These are the day-to-day conversations that, while particularly urgent in the current uncharted pandemic-infested waters, can get in the way of deeper strategic conversations about how to create more value for customers. In this third podcast of our three-part series on innovation, Dorn Group’s J Schneider maps how to rethink your business model to build a more customer-centric and innovative organization.

In this second of our three-part conversation on innovation in distribution, J Schneider of strategy and consulting firm Dorn joins host Tom Gale to discuss what innovation looks like in 2020 for distributors and manufacturers. In this episode, we look at the ways smaller distributors often have an advantage to identify opportunities for innovation, the need to be selective in building manufacturer-distributor partnerships around a shared vision for innovation, and how to build a culture of innovation.

Former Amazon team member and Amazon seller consultant Alan Adams speaks with Tom Gale on Amazon Business from an insider’s perspective. This podcast references MDM’s Amazon Business Forum conference, held in December 2018, that explored strategy and effective tactics for both partnering with and competing with Amazon Business.

Disruption, distribution M&A and shifting value propositions. After selling his family’s paper distribution business 20 years ago, Brent Grover has been a consultant and prolific author on pricing, M&A and creating value in wholesale distribution businesses. Brent talks with MDM’s Tom Gale on the next phase of his career and his take on the current challenges in the industry.