Unproductive inventory is a nice way to say you have captive dollars sitting on your shelves instead of being used to make customer-centric investments.

I recently invited Susan Merlo, author of “The Digital Distributor,” to speak to our peer collaboration community about personalization and the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

As with most of my columns, the content or theme comes from personal experiences. This month is no exception.

I recently spoke with one of my coaching clients, and the subject of professional curiosity came up.

Since Chat GPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools started hitting the scene, I have been fascinated with their potential use in the world of distribution. 

The distribution world is on fire with mergers and acquisitions. It seems everyone is either looking to buy or sell a privately held wholesale distributorship. 

Sales meetings are a natural part of all distribution organizations. It is what our charter states — we sell stuff to others.

I was speaking with a couple of separate clients a couple of months ago, and the subject of remote work and workplace expectations came up in both conversations.

A few years ago, a client shared a book recommendation with me: “Ego is the Enemy,” by Ryan Holiday. Now, this is one of those grandiose titles that immediately makes my eyes roll. Here we have some know-it-all stating the obvious in a 250-page “business” self-help book. 

A few months ago, I worked with a client who felt he had neglected certain aspects of his company. He spent the last year heavily focused on sales and marketing, particularly driving an e-commerce platform.