The Wholesale Change Show Ian Heller, Jonathan Bein

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.

AI is powering a new wave of applications in supply chain and warehouse, finance, HR, sales, marketing and customer service. These promise to deliver not just greater efficiency, but also greater effectiveness for distributors.

The key, according to AI expert Brooks Hamilton, is to “understand where humans act like machines. That’s where the opportunities lie.”

At the first-ever event on AI for distributors this month, Hamilton, who helps distributors build and implement AI strategies, gave our attendees the tools to get started with AI. Tapping into his extensive real-world experience, Brooks instructed distributors to embrace, educate and then expand their use of AI – building a solid foundation to reap the rewards of this game-changing technology.

Hamilton joined Wholesale Change hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein to share his takeaways from our Applied AI for Distributors event. They also dug into what comes next – after distributors decide to take their first steps.