The Wholesale Change Show

The second half of 2024 has been defined by uncertainty, with the election looming and economic indicators wavering.

Alex Chausovsky, a highly experienced market researcher and analyst, clarified the murky forecast when he joined Wholesale Change hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein to talk about what distributors can expect in the rest of 2024 and beyond.

He provided practical and actionable advice to help you chart a course in the new year.

We discussed:

The impact of the U.S. presidential election

Economic growth projections

The impact of interest rate fluctuations

Labor market trends

The supply chain outlook

Sector-specific insights

And more

You won’t want to miss this. Listen now!

Watch on-demand as hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein sit down with Wes Smith, the president and CEO of the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED).

Wes started his current position in January 2024, but he’s no stranger to the electrical industry or the association. He spent more than 34 years with Mayer Electric, including 14+ years as president before they were acquired by Rexel. At Rexel, he served as Chief Strategy and Growth Officer.

After three decades in the industry, he was named NAED’s chairman from 2020-2022 and remained on the executive committee until he was appointed to lead the association.

We talked with Wes about:

*NAED’s mission in the electrical industry

*What’s driving the electrical distribution industry, including challenges and opportunities

*How NAED collaborates with other groups in the channel

*How NAED is tackling key issues, including energy policy, workforce development, supply chain transparency, data standards and more

*The future role of organizations like NAED in the distribution industry

On this episode of The Wholesale Change Show, we welcomed Zoro President Sandy Mattinson.

Zoro is an ecommerce platform that helps businesses thrive by offering an endless assortment of products for every business need. Launched in 2011, the Grainger subsidiary has grown rapidly to over 600 team members and over $1 billion in annual revenues. 

Sandy joined Zoro in 2019 as the company’s first female vice president and established its business development, category management and digital merchandising capabilities, which were instrumental in expanding Zoro’s assortment to more than 13 million products.

Sandy continues to invest in the culture that has seen Zoro recognized repeatedly as a great place to work.

“My ‘North Star’ is helping people in businesses thrive,” she says. “Our business customers, our distributor partners and our team members. That’s how Zoro thrives, too.”

In this conversation, we explored the company’s value proposition and how Sandy is helping build on its success by investing in the success of other distributors.

Watch as Distribution Strategy Group’s Ian Heller is joined by some of the technology leaders who participated in our recent conference, Applied AI for Distributors.

During an information-filled, action-packed event, attendees spent two and a half days immersed in the latest information and education on AI and how it can help distributors grow sales, drive productivity, improve CX and provide better services. During this discussion, panelists reviewed:

General session speakers: Zack Kass was at OpenAI when they launched ChatGPT and now he’s a futurist with an inspiring and profound message about the future of AI. Theresa Payton is a former White House CIO who spoke on how AI impacts cybersecurity threats. Brooks Hamilton spoke on how AI can drive profitability and Jonathan Bein gave an overview of AI applications for distributors. We’ll also talk about the eyebrow-raising presentation Grainger’s Chief Product Officer Brian Walker.

Networking: Always the best part of a great conference, the networking was amazing at the Applied AI event. The starry-eyed looks we saw at the last event are gone; now, distributors are in the market for applications to help them run better businesses – now.

Breakout sessions. Dozens of technology companies demonstrated existing AI applications or offered sneak peaks about what’s coming soon.

Learn about the conference if you couldn’t attend or participate in a review discussion to refresh your memory if you were there.

Can AI truly make a real-world difference, today, in a mid-sized distribution company? The answer is yes and Millcraft is one company who did it by focusing on adopting the latest technology and recruiting and training a workforce that understands how to use it. Among other solutions the company has implemented AI tools for order automation that has increased touchless ordering to 60%.

Watch the Wholesale Change Show on-demand with hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein, Ph.D. as we welcomed our guest Travis Mlakar, president of Millcraft. Learn how Travis incorporated AI to make a significant difference, freeing up employee time to focus on what is truly valuable to the customer. Travis also discussed the next steps for the company. Using advanced analytics along with AI, Travis will be optimizing cross selling, supply, and other areas for ready for advancement.

On this episode we welcomed Tim Brooks, CEO and co-owner of Lohmiller & Company, an HVAC distributor in Denver, Colorado. Tim has built a highly successful company based on extensive employee training, aggressive expansion of value-added services, a willingness to invest in new technologies and a focus on building an exceptional culture.

These capabilities offer customers the best high-touch experiences with personal interactions but also top-notch digital tools that resulted in 27% of sales coming through electronically in 2023.

Listen now to hear from the CEO of a fast-growing, privately-held HVAC distributor who shares his tips for success.

We welcomed Renata Morgan to this episode of the Wholesale Change show. Renata was recently promoted to President of Rheem Northeast Distribution, which is a combination of four previously independent distributors: United Supply Company, P&N Distribution, Mechanical Supply and MCN Distributors.

The new division will incorporate 32 branches selling both Rheem and Ruud products across Eastern Pennsylvania, all of New Jersey, and parts of New York and Connecticut. Renata will be tasked with defining core values and setting a vision for the combined enterprise to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. As in any merging of companies, establishing a new culture that takes in the best aspects of each individual organization will be a key challenge.

An HVAC industry veteran with experience driving organizational change and leading diverse cross-functional teams, Renata’s leadership has been recognized by being named a Top 20 Woman in HVAC in 2021 along with a HARDI 40 Under 40 honor in 2016. Renata received a Master of Industrial Distribution degree from Texas A&M University, where she currently serves as a member of the MID Advisory Board, along with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Houston.

BradyIFS + Envoy Solutions, a national distributor of janitorial-sanitation, foodservice disposables and industrial packaging products, just unveiled their new name: BradyPLUS. The new corporate identity follows the October 2023 merger of the two companies and is a step toward realizing the company’s priority of operating as one. 

Get an inside view of the rebranded distributor’s story as we welcomed BradyPLUS Chief Marketing Officer Ian Gresham to the Wholesale Change show. His specialty in marketing, omnichannel strategy and corporate communications is critical in a time of transformation for the merged organization.

Hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein talked with Gresham about:

*The power of the combined distributors and their member companies

*How BradyPLUS will leverage data to understand customers better

*Building a digital experience to enable more efficient buying

*How the distributor balances digital with in-person expertise and value-added services

Traditional and emerging competitors make it more difficult than ever for distributors to hold on to their role as manufacturers’ primary partners in going to market. Marketplaces, large retailers and even options for selling direct to end-users become more tempting to manufacturers when distributors offer poor digital capabilities or are weak at marketing.

In this episode of Wholesale Change, representatives from two major manufacturers – ABB and Signify – shared how distributors can become more important to them. Instead of taking defensive action to hold onto existing market share, we discussed how distributors can go on offense and take share from other channels.

Watch on-demand for a unique opportunity to hear directly from major manufacturers on how you can become more important in the channel.

During his two-decade tenure with Grainger companies, Kevin Weadick demonstrated his versatility across multiple countries and diverse divisions including supply chain, marketing and product management. However, the pinnacle of his Grainger career was the role of president for the company’s B2B marketplace, Zoro.

Given his remarkable track record, it’s no surprise that when FleetPride embarked on its quest for a new CEO, Kevin emerged as an exceptional candidate. Few can boast of extensive experience within a prominent branch-based distribution business coupled with a history of accomplishments in digital commerce, exemplified by his achievements at Zoro, a 100% online company.

At Zoro, it wasn’t just about sales growth; the company’s outstanding culture earned it accolades as an exemplary employer.

Now CEO of FleetPride, Kevin is committed to replicating this culture success. He is also focused on strategically integrating digital solutions alongside FleetPride’s existing branch and sales strategy and expanding the company’s emerging service channel.

All of this is in service to the company’s core purpose: “FleetPride keeps the country running.”

Listen to this episode of the Wholesale Change show we talk to Kevin about what he’s learned over his long distribution career, how he’s adapting to a new industry, and how he plans to leverage his experience to achieve big goals at FleetPride.