Channel Marketing Group is pleased to partner with NAW and MDM on the upcoming MDM Shift conference, scheduled for May 13-15, 2025.
I’ve known Tom Gale and MDM since I was at IMARK. MDM has been the preeminent publication sharing best practices and ideas across industries for many years. Since 2017, when they got into the conference business, they have received rave reviews for the takeaway content and the audience. They’ve had great speakers talking about the issues of today … and tomorrow. The “who’s who” of distributors attend, and those who aspire to be tomorrow’s leaders (or want to position their company for growth and a higher exit!)
The key, in my opinion, is the thought leadership. Distributors benefit from cross-industry dialogue as well as being exposed to ideas to “stretch the mind”, enabling them to ponder “what could be.”
This is what a conference should be, and what MDM SHIFT delivers.
And for this reason, we reached out to NAW and MDM and secured a significant, electrical industry exclusive, discount for HVACRTrends readers.
John Gunderson, VP of CMGTrends, which encompasses, www.electricaltrends.com and www.industrialsupplytrends.com, and formerly with Crescent Electric Supply, HD Supply, Anixter / Wesco and others, is once again sharing thoughts at SHIFT.
He shared his thoughts on this year’s conference:
SHIFT 2025 | The Future of Distribution — May 13-15, 2025
In looking at this year’s agenda it is focused on helping channel leaders- Navigate Distributions Rapid Transformation
Disruption is reshaping distribution—sales, digital, data, and culture are evolving faster than ever. AI is accelerating this shift, and traditional structures are giving way to agile, networked teams.
This year, SHIFT attendees will receive a newly imagined experience. In addition to the mainstage and breakout programming, attendees will now participate in the focused strategy sessions known known as cohorts of choice.
SHIFT this year has 4 tracks to choose from that are designed to help your business in 2025
- Build a stong(er) hybrid sales organization
- Benefit from the ceaseless digital advancements you’re bound to face,
- Build a high-performing team to attract and retain talent, and
- Reinforce your organization by applying data analytics that will clarify and allow you to adjust your KPI’s.
The 4 tracks you can choose from are
- Digital– In depth sessions about smarter tech and improving seamless integrations
- Data Analytics– Sessions that help you unlock the power of data to drive sales and profits
- Culture– Building and maintaining your workforce
- Sales– Optimizing your sales strategies to win more business.
The MDM Shift program is extensive, so it is not possible to attend every track session as a single attendee, so many companies often sent multiple attendees. As usual the 20 plus speakers and presenters represent top distributors in Industrial, HVACR, Building Materials, Electrical, Security, and many more channels.
It has been very interesting to see how MDM and NAW have evolved this annual in person event to be more than sales transformation into a business model innovation program. The three-day event covers everything
MDM this year is highlighting Speaker Spotlights where you can learn more about each session.
SHIFT Speaker Spotlight: Nick Pericle – Modern Distribution Management
Nick is one of the best AI thinkers in Distribution
SHIFT Speaker Spotlight: Allie Copeland – Modern Distribution Management
Allie from ADI Global, one of the top distributors in North America
SHIFT Speaker Spotlight: John Gunderson – Modern Distribution Management
My takeaways for the HVACR channel from MDM/NAW Shift past events are:
- Non-HVACR Channels like Electrical, Building Materials, Plumbing, Industrial, etc. are serving similar type customers and there is much to learn as a HVACR Channel leader that the “other channels” are doing that could be applied to your business.
- Digital and Ai are evolving quickly with growing applications for your business. They may not be clear to you yet but sitting on the sidelines doing nothing is dangerous. If you feel your HVACR business will not be greatly affected in the short or long term in my opinion this would be an unwise position.
- Your culture is crucial to understand what new programs and ideas you can bring to your organization that will be successful. Every year I sit at tables where one distributor shares a program that had failed that they launched, and across the table another distributor launched a very similar program that was successful. You must execute on only the best ideas that fit for your business and your culture. As Peter Druker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. This probably applies to most distributors business.
Take Aways
- If you want thought leadership and idea generation, you, or someone / people from your team should be here.
- Here’s a link to the agenda
- Both John and I will be there. He is presenting on “The Power of Precise Customer Segmentation.”
- There are multiple topics on AI, pricing, business model innovation
- For those who want “industry” speakers, someone from Turtle is speaking as is a former Wesco executive and a former Graybar executive.
- Want to hear from other big companies? How about Ferguson, ADI Global, and SRS Distribution (now part of Home Depot).
The discount is significant, and we’ve been asked not to share it publicly, so either email me and I’ll provide you the code, connect with me via LinkedIn, or give me a call.
If you are looking to shift your thinking to accelerate growth and profitability; if you want to look at tariffs as an opportunity to take share, profitably, or if you are thinking about AI and process improvement, you should be represented.
And if you are a manufacturer … shouldn’t you know what your customers are thinking so you can better support them?
Call / email us today, and then register.
