Distribution Strategy Group

📣 Announcing the Profit and Productivity Summit for Distributors!📣 November 11-13 in Chicago Unlock maximum profitability and transform your distribution business at this exclusive event. 🏆 Why attend: ✳️ Learn from industry luminaries ✳️ Master expert pricing management ✳️ Optimize costs and service ✳️ Enhance working capital performance ✳️ Understand profitability-driving behaviors ✳️ Network with industry peers 🌟 Featuring insights from: ✳️ Dr. Al Bates ✳️ Brooks Hamilton ✳️ Janet Zelenka And more speakers to be announced! Secure your spot now - early bird registration is open. Learn more or register here: https://lnkd.in/gBn4Xzxq #DistributionExcellence #ProfitabilityStrategies #SupplyChainOptimization

Next week — on July 31 at 9 PT/12 ET — we’re hosting a panel to discuss how AI has unlocked greater levels of efficiency, improved customer experience, and increased sales and profitability for distributors.  Alex Witcpalek of Continuum and Jared M Helenic of Infor will share practical steps for incorporating AI into your digital transformation strategy.  Join us next week to learn: - Common mistakes made when evaluating AI  - How to assess opportunities for leveraging AI  - Strategies for updating your digital transformation amid rapidly changing technology  Register now: https://lnkd.in/eQci8vFw Can’t make it? Register anyway, and we’ll send you a link to watch on demand.  Thank you to our sponsors Continuum AI and Infor.  

When it comes to AI, distributors’ mindsets have shifted from curiosity and a little bit of fear to “How can we use this?” That’s the take of our panelists on our recent Wholesale Change show, where we shared key takeaways from our June conference, Applied AI for Distributors. Attendees at the event were focused on next steps and practical applications for AI in their businesses, and the potential ROI. Get more insights from our latest Wholesale Change episode: “All the Buzz About the Applied AI for Distributors Conference: What Did We Learn?”: https://lnkd.in/eJBhRBby 

You’ve probably heard people talk about sales enablement. But what can it really achieve when implemented at the formal maturity level? In Mike Kunkle's 30-year career, enablement has helped his clients: > Increase sales per rep by 47%  > Increase sales results by 28.7% year-over-year  > Improve average profitability per sales rep by 11%  > Decrease first-year new-hire churn from 75% to 24% and eventually down to 16% The building blocks to this approach include aligned buyer engagement content, proactive sales coaching, investment in sales tech and tools, and cross-functional collaboration.  As Kunkle explains, sales enablement is an ongoing process of improvement and can feel like a major challenge—but the rewards are worth it. Here’s how: https://lnkd.in/gegPnYeb 

Imagine a crew of 100 people who can’t get any work done because the materials they need haven’t arrived yet. After an hour, the materials finally get delivered. No big deal, right? It was just an hour. Well, not exactly. Multiplied by 100 workers, it’s actually 100 hours wasted on a single late delivery. Whether it’s a delivery, a quote or a change order, speed matters in the distribution business. And as Graham Smith of Esker U.S. explained in a recent DSG panel with Ian Heller, it matters now more than ever because of how the pandemic made B2B buyers expect B2C-level reliability and convenience. In the same panel, Frank Heenan of Epicor advised distributors to make sure they’re using good data and useful metrics to track KPIs, such as margins and inventory turns, to make sure that their technology investments are resulting in efficiency gains. Get more of Smith and Heenan’s insights on how technology can help distributors meet higher customer expectations: https://lnkd.in/g6gx6MJn

Join us July 24 at 9 PT / 12 ET for a webinar with Gregory A. Smith and Jonathan Bein, who will share strategies and best practices for effective pricing and costing. Plus, they will discuss industry benchmarks from our distributor survey.  Learn how to optimize your pricing processes, improve margins and manage costs more effectively. Sign up now to secure your spot.  Register >> https://lnkd.in/ePv8Xra7 Can’t make it? Register anyway and we’ll send you a link after the show to watch it on demand. Thank you to our sponsor: Epicor

According to The CFO Survey, nearly two-thirds of CFOs list task automation as their top priority. And they’re putting their money where their mouth is: In the past year, nearly 60% of U.S. companies have adopted tech solutions intended to do just that. Of the CFOs who said their companies have invested in automation and/or AI: ➡️ 58% hope to increase product quality ➡️ 49% want to boost output ➡️ 47% are looking to reduce labor costs ➡️ 33% are substituting those solutions for workers What can you learn from this data, and how can your company take advantage of the rise of AI-powered solutions? Steven Levy offers his take: https://lnkd.in/gNGixcTc

Can AI help distributors sales teams build better relationships? Kristen Thom (Dooley) and Jacobi Zakrzewski, panelists on our recent webinar, think so. It’s about giving sales reps time back. "It's not about removing that relationship-building piece of it; it's allowing sales reps to spend their energy thinking about and working on the customer relationship,” Thom said. “That's where we see a lot of the best adopters of tech." Get their take on the role tech can play in improving sales processes on demand: https://lnkd.in/g3EniK57 Or read our article summarizing their takeaways: https://lnkd.in/gy43z6Ke #salesmanagement #AI #artificialintelligence

Next week – on July 17 at 9 PT/12 ET – we welcome three distribution leaders to a panel discussion on mastering digital transformation:  🔹 Carrie G. Busbee, Core & Main  🔹 Darren Taylor, previously at FleetPride  🔹 John Pehler, previously at Rexel USA They’ll share what’s worked for them – and their lessons learned. We’ll cover ecommerce, personalization, data and analytics, mobile technology and more. Don’t miss this chance to learn proven strategies and hear from some of the best in the business. Register now: https://lnkd.in/gZg8DYnU Can’t make it? Register anyway, and we’ll send you a link to watch on demand. Thank you to our sponsor: Epicor

Barry Litwin is stepping down as CEO of Global Industrial Company to pursue another opportunity. See his post below. Press release from the company is here: https://lnkd.in/g5y8RyRS