Each year, our editorial team conducts dozens of interviews to identify the key trends affecting the distribution industry for our annual Distribution Trends Report. Often, we hear similar things from year to year, such as a growing focus on inventory management. But while the overarching subject may be the same, as each year passes, we see new and different impacts of these trends on the industry.

Take the generational shift, for example. Distributors have been concerned about the impact of an aging workforce for quite some time; along with that, the concern has been how to get new blood into the industry. What many didn't foresee – and a key trend identified in the 2013 Distribution Trends Report – is how the generational shift is also impacting how customers are looking to do business.

In the latest episode of MDM's Executive Briefing, MDM's editorial team provides a sneak peek into how these trends are affecting distribution today – and how it differs from what we've seen in the past few years, from "smarter" vending to blurring channel lines.

Access the latest episode of MDM Executive Briefing here to get more insight on the trends driving distribution in 2013.