Medline Industries has agreed to sell a majority stake to a private equity group that includes Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group and Hellman & Friedman. No terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close before next year, and the existing management team will stay on.

Distributors can withstand growing competition from disruptors by finding new avenues of value-add, which could include additional logistics and financial services, writes Ian Heller of Distribution Strategy Group, citing a report commissioned by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. The ability to handle complex B2B transactions is also an opportunity for distributors to ward off disruptors, Heller writes.

Buyers have developed new expectations for e-commerce sites during the pandemic, so distributors should make sure their sites provide a quality customer experience, writes Justin Racine of Perficient Digital. Racine recommends analyzing online and offline data, asking customers and employees for insights and telling buyers about planned site upgrades.

Salespeople should attempt to create value for buyers even during the qualification process, helping them decide how to address the challenges they face and consider how urgently they need a solution, writes David Brock. In that way, qualification can be a more collaborative process, leading to a smoother buying process.

Being skipped over for promotion, working for a bad boss or receiving a bad review are unpleasant but can help people become more aware of their own leadership approach, writes Kristin Hendrix. "The more senior we become as leaders, the more important it becomes that we remember the hard lessons," she writes.

Before bringing a digital innovation plan to management, make sure your presentation is clear about the problem being solved, how you'll meet the goals and what kind of budget and internal talent are available, writes longtime technology executive Mark Settle. Settle discusses why a "realpolitik" mindset is needed to advocate for reasonable goals rather than idealistic ambitions.

NAW and Distribution Strategy Group have teamed up on a seven-part free series called, "Adding Value in a Post-Pandemic World: New Leadership Strategies for Distributors." We focus on innovative ways for distributors to differentiate themselves from industry disruptors. Distributors will understand the challenges facing the industry, and will be armed with new modes of thinking and information to build robust strategies with staying power. Each part includes a free research report to download and a free webinar to watch live and on demand. Sponsored by Oracle Netsuite, Zoro, Conexiom and McFadyen Digital.

David Bauders of SPARXiQ writes, "…in B2B businesses everywhere, salespeople are having conversations intended to produce current and future revenue and profitability. For the vast majority of these sellers, who they spend their time with on any given day is largely an unplanned or reactive outcome. Most sellers don't have clear insight into which customers produce the greatest sales growth or net profitability, so their sales and profit outcomes result from a roulette wheel of variability. These are indiscriminate order takers." Read more.

Designed for C-suite executives, these NAW roundtables provide actionable strategies that will increase your company's competitive advantage. Companies belonging to this community are from distribution firms that exceed $1 billion in annual sales. You'll engage in thought-provoking conversations with your peers and hear from industry experts on topics that will ultimately increase your profits! Register today.