On a daily basis, you can get news on mergers and acquisitions and the quarterly reports of publicly traded companies. And it seems like every week a new report comes out outlining new industry trends.

The University of Innovative Distribution (UID) has opened registration for its March 2017 program. IRCG's Mike Marks is a permanent faculty member at UID, and will be presenting four courses.

One distinction stands above all others in separating market-driven distribution companies from the competition: They set internal priorities based on an external, market perspective.

Every distributor says they are different because of their service and their people. But those are not differentiators: They are just the ante to play. If you have both, you get to bid. But if that’s your strategy, you’re going to be stuck competing on price.

IRCG’s Mike Marks wants distributors to be proactive, not reactive, about finding and acting on opportunities. That’s his message in two different recent articles featured on MDM.com.

Consolidation in wholesale distribution has remained strong in part due to a wave of owner-operators wanting to move on to the next stages of their lives. As part of their succession plans, some are selling to regional or national consolidators.

IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks recently contributed his insight on how distributors can succeed in today’s up-and-down climate in the newly released 2016 Distribution Trends Report from mdm.com.

Don’t wait to set up a succession plan. Now is the time to determine what you want next for your distribution business by conducting a strategic alternatives analysis.

IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks recently discussed distributors’ options in a presentation at the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association’s (MHEDA) annual convention.

Distributors are fighting wars on multiple fronts, according to a recent panel moderated by IRCG at the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) annual meeting, and they must respond with a fresh approach to compete effectively.

IRCG’s Mike Marks recently moderated a panel discussion at the 2016 National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) annual convention. The topic was "Are You Predator or Prey?" Panelists discussed how distributors are responding to the increasing pace of disruption in the electrical distribution industry.

In which part of the business cycle should distributors invest in analytics? IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks and PROS Director of Industry Marketing Sean Duclaux addressed this question and more in the recent National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors webinar “Realizing Revenue and Profit Growth for Wholesale Distributors.”

For many distributors, the last price paid is the go-to price. Salespeople know it worked last time, so they use it again. But over the past several years, more distributors have invested in pricing software to help them hit the right price – and not just the lowest or highest – on each transaction.

IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks joined PROS Director of Industry Marketing Sean Duclaux in a recent National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors webinar, “Realizing Revenue and Profit Growth for Wholesale Distributors.”

Industrial distributor Hisco has grown to sales of $265 million by giving its employees true autonomy to meet its customers’ needs at dozens of local branches. Mike Marks, IRCG managing partner, serves on the distributor's Board of Directors. It was recently featured in an article by Forbes.

You’ve put years into growing your business, so you need to find the right answer for the next phase of your business’s life.