james dorn Archives

From SHIFT 2024: Customer-Based Sales Strategies

Featured Blog, Featured Premium, Remote Sales, Sales & Marketing / Anna Debiec

MDM’s marquee event this past September highlighted the importance of relationship-based sales models and omni-channel integration. Here’s our key takeaways.

To access this page, you must purchase MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription – Monthly, MDM Premium Subscription – Annually, MDM Premium Subscription, MDM Premium Subscription, April 2025 Premium Monthly Report, MDM 1Q25 M&A Report, MDM 2Q 2024 M&A Report, MDM 3Q 2024 M&A Report, January 2025 Premium Monthly Report or MDM 1Q25 MarketPulse Report.

From SHIFT 2024: Customer-Based Sales Strategies Read More »

MDM Podcast: Finding Focused Direction for Your Sales Team

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog / Mike Hockett

With many distributors recently restructuring their sales teams, James Dorn and John Gunderson discuss how to optimize and align them toward high-level revenue performance.

MDM Podcast: Finding Focused Direction for Your Sales Team Read More »

MDM Podcast: Inventory Opportunities in Slower-Demand Markets

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, Inventory Management, Perspective, Strategy / Mike Hockett

As customers continue to work down inventory levels into 2024, James Dorn and John Gunderson outline action items for optimizing inventory levels in partnership with suppliers to stay nimble and gain share.

MDM Podcast: Inventory Opportunities in Slower-Demand Markets Read More »

MDM’s Top QuickTakes of 2023

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, MDM Blog / Mike Hockett

Our 2023 retrospective looks at which of our short-form podcast conversations garnered the most listens and blog views.

MDM’s Top QuickTakes of 2023 Read More »

QuickTake: Price is Now a Priority for Customers

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, Perspective, Pricing / Tom Gale

James Dorn summarizes Dorn Group’s latest survey results that hold some surprising insights for distributors on the pricing front.

QuickTake: Price is Now a Priority for Customers Read More »

QuickTake: Drive Profit with Active Category Management

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, Perspective, Strategy / Tom Gale

James Dorn and Tom Gale outline ways to leverage manufacturer incentives, create strategic tiered suppliers at a product category level and capture every available dollar before year-end.

QuickTake: Drive Profit with Active Category Management Read More »

QuickTake: Data Analytics Powers a Profitability Playbook

Leave a Comment / Data & Analytics, Featured Blog, Strategy, Tech & Operations, Technology / Mike Hockett

James Dorn and Tom Gale discuss distributors’ use of data analytics to inform profitability decisions in the year ahead, which figures to involve more strategy as firms can’t lean on inflation.

QuickTake: Data Analytics Powers a Profitability Playbook Read More »

QuickTake: The Data Analytics Journey in Distribution

Leave a Comment / Data & Analytics, Featured Blog, Technology / Mark Powell

In this conversation, James Dorn and Tom Gale look at the bigger picture of data analytics in distribution, the stages of competency, building blocks and ways organizations are building world-class capability.

QuickTake: The Data Analytics Journey in Distribution Read More »

Profitability Summit Takeaways: Speakers Stress Opportunity & Offense

Leave a Comment / Data & Analytics, Featured Blog, Finance, Market Analysis, Operations, Pricing / Mike Hockett

Missed MDM’s free Virtual Profitability Summit? It’s now available on-demand. Here, find a quick recap of some final thoughts from the event.

Profitability Summit Takeaways: Speakers Stress Opportunity & Offense Read More »

QuickTake: The Power of Qualitative Analytics

Leave a Comment / Blog, Data & Analytics, Featured, Featured Blog / Vesna Brajkovic

James Dorn shares insights on leveraging voice of customer, associate and supplier research to inform strategy, make better decisions and build winning playbooks.

QuickTake: The Power of Qualitative Analytics Read More »

QuickTake: Pricing for Digital Commerce

Leave a Comment / eCommerce, Featured Blog / Vesna Brajkovic

One of the biggest factors limiting the success of B2B distributor eCommerce is pricing. James Dorn looks at pricing strategy and two schools of thought on how distributors look at the ROI equation for their eCommerce revenue.

QuickTake: Pricing for Digital Commerce Read More »

QuickTake: Category & Supplier Management Strategies

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, Management, Pricing, Strategy, Strategy & Research / Brad Star

Customers experiencing price increase fatigue are looking for ways to reduce operational costs. James Dorn shares thoughts on how distributors can manage their manufacturer suppliers more strategically.

QuickTake: Category & Supplier Management Strategies Read More »

Hand of woman watering small plant in pot shaped like growing graph

QuickTake: Profit Levers For a Tightening Year

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, Pricing, Strategy / Mark Powell

With volume moderating across most distribution sectors, Tom Gale and James Dorn discuss sell-side, buy-side and program improvements to protect and improve profit.

QuickTake: Profit Levers For a Tightening Year Read More »

QuickTake: Levers to Increase Enterprise Value

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, MDM Blog, Mergers & Acquisitions, Operations / Mark Powell

Dorn Group’s James Dorn and Tom Gale recap some of the key themes from MDM’s recent Distribution M&A Summit and outline the most pertinent areas of improvement for EBITDA margin, growth and value.

QuickTake: Levers to Increase Enterprise Value Read More »

QuickTake: Private Label Outlook for 2023

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, Market Analysis / Mike Hockett

In our latest QuickTake Podcast, Dorn Group’s James Dorn shares how he sees a perfect storm brewing for private label investment as softening inflation and supply chain pressures add tailwinds to its equation.

QuickTake: Private Label Outlook for 2023 Read More »

QuickTake: 3 Takeaways on Value Creation in 2023

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, Operations / Tom Gale

In a discussion on threats, themes and strategic planning for 2023, James Dorn of the Dorn Group and MDM’s Tom Gale discuss thinking beyond rebates, the rise of customer self-serve, the power of segment focus and pain relief, and a call to rewrite the operating manual for distributor-supplier relationships and value creation.

QuickTake: 3 Takeaways on Value Creation in 2023 Read More »

Offshoring has been a popular strategy for manufacturers and distributors for many years.

Quicktake: Reshoring/Nearshoring Impacts for Industrial Distribution

Leave a Comment / Featured Blog, Operations / Brad Star

James Dorn of the Dorn Group joins MDM’s Tom Gale to discuss ‘shoring’ opportunities and strategic implications for distributors. The industry is moving from digital-defining seamless service to a broader supply chain transformation that mitigates risk for customers by creating better transparency and deeper engagement.

Quicktake: Reshoring/Nearshoring Impacts for Industrial Distribution Read More »

Rewrite Your Strategy to Win the New Self-Serve Customer

Featured Blog, Strategy / James Dorn and J Schneider

The end customer increasingly desires to buy from you like they do in their everyday personal life. If you aren’t rewriting your strategy to meet the needs of the self-service customer, you are in danger of falling behind.