MDM provides an outlook of the state of the distribution industry based on reader surveys and data collection in partnership with Oracle NetSuite. This white paper includes the growth outlook, top concerns, pain points, plans for building revenue and cutting costs and technology plans for 2019.

Distribution companies expect their customer touchpoints to radically change in the next three years, as sales channels continue to rapidly evolve. Even so, the distribution community is not aggressively embracing digital strategies, according to a recent MDM survey in conjunction with Infor.

The road to true, transaction-enabled e-commerce is fraught with obstacles, with many “right paths” to success. But there are proven best practices. Read the results of MDM’s latest survey on e-commerce implementation and learn how to quickly build a strong e-commerce platform with integrated inventory management capability.

In like a lion, out like a lamb – 2018 started with a few landscape-shifting deals in the industrial and building materials sectors. The competitive landscape continued a healthy pace in second quarter with major deals by Sunsource and MSC, plus competing bids to buy Essendant. The Staples-Essendant saga finally settled in October and M&A extended into marketing groups as IDC-USA merged with the marketing group Affiliated Distributors. Download a free copy to read about other M&A deals of 2018.

Amazon Business has not only changed the rules for customer expectations on price and purchasing options, they’ve rewritten the book on how distributors of all sizes, across all product sectors, compete in the future. Distributors need to map out a plan to invest in the technology and the strategic capabilities that will help them engage and retain customers, even as Amazon Business grows at exponential rates globally and other digital disruptors and traditional competitors quickly advance their value propositions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer science fiction – it’s the here and now. And it’s transforming how business leaders look at enterprise resource planning (ERP) functionality, driven by digital disruptors that are leveraging AI across several dimensions to innovate on behalf of customers. But what is it? And how exactly can it help a business grow? This white paper outlines how artificial intelligence will increasingly support and enhance core ERP capabilities for distributors.

This report defines artificial intelligence and machine learning and how leading companies are using them so that executives understand both the promises of AI and the threat posed by competitors who use it well. In this analysis, we will cover a wide range of technology topics, and we will start by defining and explaining some terms that may be new to you.

This free PDF includes lists of top distributors in 14 sectors, including:

•  Company profiles
•  4-year revenue trend data
•  14 sector snapshots

This free PDF includes lists of top distribution companies across 14 sectors.

The lists are ranked in order of 2017 revenue size alone; no other factors were used to compile these lists.

This report, focusing on distribution’s omnichannel future, follows Amazon’s rise as it rapidly built the competencies needed to master B2B distribution the way it mastered the online bookstore. We examine the threats that Amazon poses, the rise of Amazon Business – formerly AmazonSupply – and why it presents a clear threat to today’s distributor.

This free report highlights five practices firms are using to transition their field sales rep roles from being self-directed generalists to management-directed specialists.

Learn how to avoid these common pitfalls distributors make with vending.

Each year MDM provides an outlook of the state of the distribution industry based on reader surveys and data collected in partnership with Baird.

This PDF includes an overview of current economic conditions, expectations for 2018 and the top three trends to pay attention to in the year ahead.

This free PDF includes lists of top distribution companies across 14 sectors.

The lists are ranked in order of 2016 revenue size alone; no other factors were used to compile these lists.