This article is part of the MDM series: The Shifting Competitive Landscape.

E-commerce in distribution is no longer just “nice to have”: It’s “need to have.” And the proliferation of e-commerce as an essential part of doing business – from the simplest forms to complex systems – has changed how some distributors view the market. This article examines the impact of e-commerce on the wholesale distribution channel.

There’s general consensus in the business-to-business space that e-commerce is now a “need-to-have” platform as opposed to just “nice-to-have.” Acceptance and adoption of e-commerce in distribution has grown over the past three years, but today’s e-commerce – and the role e-commerce plays in distribution – is different.

Today’s e-commerce platform goes beyond placing orders online,