Wholesaler-distributors are invited to join the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence and its sponsor SAP on Thursday, Oct. 24, from 1-2 p.m. ET, for a live webinar: “Reboot the Real World: Beating Disruption through Human-Centric Innovations.”

Those who have a calendar conflict and won’t be able to attend the live webinar can still register. NAW will send registrants a link to view the webinar on demand. Those interested can register here.

Despite the forces of digital transformation and disruption, the ultimate purpose of business remains what it always has been — to understand customers’ preferences and provide personalized products and services that make customers happy in the real world. This creates a major opportunity for distributors. By working with customers as humans, in physical spaces, and through direct person-to-person interactions, distributors can build on their reputation as local, community-based businesses to develop a strategic differentiation to virtual platforms. There is a catch, however. Success is not about defending the past; it’s about identifying value that can only be created in the real world and executed through customer experiences which are enabled, not driven, by technology. These connected customer journeys are based on a foundation of empathy, trust and innovation.

In this fast-paced and informative webinar, NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence Fellow and Author Mark Dancer will share insights from his new study, "Innovate to Dominate: The 12th Edition in the Facing the Forces of Change Series," published by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. Dancer will be joined by Magnus Meier, SAP’s global vice president for wholesale distribution, to explore essential requirements, including how to win by being human, how to engage customers through shared interests and mutual advantage, and how to optimize benefits through intentional combinations of human and technology forces of change.