Increased corporate spending on IT functions has helped fuel revenue for companies such as Insight Enterprises, Microsoft and Salesforce. "Our goal was never to make the Fortune 500 list, but rather to ensure we were providing the IT solutions our clients needed, and this approach gave us an accelerated revenue path," Insight Enterprises CEO Ken Lamneck says.

Amazon's revved-up efforts to recruit sellers and brands from China to its marketplace have paid off, but they've also raised concerns about problem listings including products that are incorrectly labeled or banned in the US. A Wall Street Journal analysis found 10,870 problem products listed on Amazon, and 54% of the sellers identified are based in China.

Many distributors will be in for a potentially complex replacement process as mobile bar-code scanners, tablets and other devices running on the Windows 10 Mobile operating system stop being supported, writes Ben Ames. Although it may be easy to conduct a one-to-one replacement via Android devices, distributors should consider whether to upgrade their business and labor processes along with their devices, Ames writes.

Businesses now have more purchasing choices, with online marketplaces gaining popularity as price transparency and low costs become a bigger priority, according to Forrester Research.

Amber Armstrong, IBM's chief marketing officer for Watson IoT, discusses the importance of customer experience and how review sites such as G2 inform marketing strategy. "Clients are so influenced by their consumer experiences," she says, adding, "they still want to know what their peers think, and it's up to us to ensure it's as easy as possible for them."

Trustworthy leaders will help people improve, honor their word, manage pressure and take responsibility, writes Lolly Daskal. "That means maintaining the willingness to take charge when everything is falling apart and to take the blame when things go wrong," Daskal writes.

Join us Thursday, Nov. 14, 2:00 p.m. ET, for our "Welcome to the Age of B2B Innovation" webinar featuring NAW Institute Fellow Mark Dancer and Mike DeCata, President and CEO of Lawson Products. Mark and Mike will talk about ways that distributors can lead in this age of B2B innovation to defeat disruption and reinvigorate our business economy through digital transformation. This webinar promises big ideas and major takeaways for your business, so don't miss it!

"Innovate to Dominate: The 12th Edition in the Facing the Forces of Change Series" is less a report on trends and more of a roadmap for innovation. It helps distributors connect the dots between the forces of change and how distributors can change their business to capture opportunities ... and defend their business when necessary. The best innovations are about getting ahead instead of catching up. Save 10% per copy for a limited time using discount code FFC10 at checkout.

This study brings together best practices from leading distributors and their suppliers that were developed through a consortium on Optimizing Channel Compensation. The resulting Channel Alignment Framework is the first-of-its-kind map that seeks to build optimal manufacturer-distributor channels. Distributors need to read this book and buy it for their manufacturer partners. Then they need to sit down with those suppliers and properly plan effective processes to get the supplier market access while meeting distributor investment needs.