Commentary: Digital Distributor Summit Will Arm You with the Tools Needed to Tackle Change

When speaking at the Industrial Supply Association’s recent ISA21 virtual conference, MSC Industrial Supply Co. CEO and President Erik Gershwind discussed hearing a louder and louder drumbeat coming from the company’s clients in recent years. The metaphorical sound represented the urgency behind customers’ changing expectations of MSC in the wake of their own business challenges. 

Gershwind knew MSC needed to evolve, not to merely stay relevant to current customer needs but rather to predict where those needs will lie in the future so that MSC could have the infrastructure in place to meet them. As you’ll see in our recap of Gershwind’s ISA presentation, “MSC’s Intentional Transformation,” MSC couldn’t make that happen without embracing digital technology investments. 

A similar story is playing out across distribution. To help you make sense of your customers’ growing digital expectations, MDM is proud to host our second Digital Distributor Summit, happening virtually on Tuesday, June 29. 

Organized into three two-hour sections, we’ll take you through three key phases of creating a successful digital transformation:  

1. Customer Experience

The conference opens with presentations from the industry’s leading minds on digital strategy. Keynote speakers include Brian Beck and Andy Hoar, co-hosts of the popular MasterB2B Un-Webinar series, as well as Kevin Dean of digital technology consultancy ManoByte and Jason Hein, Bloomreach’s in-house expert on the intricacies that go into e-commerce success. 

2. Technology & Change Management

Our midday sessions center around the critical topic of change management — an essential element to any new digital initiative. Hear from industry panelists who have been there before and know how to overcome inevitable obstacles. Speakers during our second block hail from Dorn Group, Stanley Black & Decker and WESCO, to name a few. 

3. Future Innovation & Marketplaces

The day will end with a look at where the future of digital strategy and operations is headed. Our closing speakers will leave you thinking about an array of digital innovations, thanks to panel discussions between distributors who are continually disrupting the concept of business as usual through marketplaces, website innovations and more. 

To arm you with the tools you need to tackle digital change, MDM is tapping our diverse community of the distribution industry’s leading digital leaders and thinkers – consultants, service providers, IT solution providers and, most importantly, those leaders from distribution organizations responsible for accelerating their digital capability as though the company’s future depends on it … because it does. Don’t miss the opportunity to interact live. Visit mdm.com/the-digital-distributor-summit for much more information and to register.