On the table now
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80.8% of B2B Marketers Invest in Social Media for Brand Building. Toolstation Goes Where the Tradespeople Are: TikTok and Instagram.
Toolstation, a tool and building supplier, puts its social effort on TikTok and Instagram. That is where the tradespeople are. Marketing Week reports how four B2B brands use social; in its State of Brand in B2B survey, 80.8% of 300 respondents invest in social media for brand building.
Editor’s picks
Lonestar Electric Supply Aimed Its Nashville Launch at 644 Contractors. More Than 200 Came to the Opening.
Source: tED Magazine
Eaton Reorganized Marketing Around Its Buyers. An Early Pilot Produced More Than 600 Qualified Leads in Nine Months.
Source: Content Marketing Institute
Sonepar Runs AI Models Across Businesses That Produce 95% of Its Revenue. Two of the First Three Uses Serve Sales.
Source: Distribution Strategy Group
Topics
Buyer behavior · AI & search · Channel & distribution · Pricing · Trade shows & brand · Budgets & benchmarks · Leadership
Latest
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R.S. Hughes Has More Than 40 Distribution Centers and Still Calls Itself a Specialist
R.S. Hughes has annual revenue above half a billion dollars and more than 40 distribution centers. Its president still calls it a specialist. Industrial Distribution profiles the employee-owned distributor of adhesives, tapes and advanced materials, where reps present converting services…
Source: Industrial DistributionRead →: R.S. Hughes Has More Than 40 Distribution Centers and Still Calls Itself a Specialist -
Eaton Reorganized Marketing Around Its Buyers. An Early Pilot Produced More Than 600 Qualified Leads in Nine Months.
Eaton rebuilt its marketing around five global centers of excellence. One holds eight teams aligned to buyers, from machine builders to data centers. Content Marketing Institute reports that an early pilot, aimed at machine builders, generated more than 600 qualified…
Source: Content Marketing InstituteRead →: Eaton Reorganized Marketing Around Its Buyers. An Early Pilot Produced More Than 600 Qualified Leads in Nine Months. -
Two Industrial Finishers Become One Brand, UltiCoat, With Three Plants in Wisconsin and Arizona
Scott’s Industrial Coatings and Perfection Industrial Finishing now operate under one brand: UltiCoat. Products Finishing reports that Madison Lake Capital introduced the name across three plants, in Green Bay, Phoenix and Tucson. The case for it is made from the…
Source: Products FinishingRead →: Two Industrial Finishers Become One Brand, UltiCoat, With Three Plants in Wisconsin and Arizona -
Sonepar Runs AI Models Across Businesses That Produce 95% of Its Revenue. Two of the First Three Uses Serve Sales.
Sonepar now runs predictive AI models across businesses that produce 95% of its revenue. Two of the first three uses serve sales: product recommendations drawn from customers’ purchase histories, and automatic email categorization so sales teams can prioritize customer requests.…
Source: Distribution Strategy GroupRead →: Sonepar Runs AI Models Across Businesses That Produce 95% of Its Revenue. Two of the First Three Uses Serve Sales. -
Lonestar Electric Supply Aimed Its Nashville Launch at 644 Contractors. More Than 200 Came to the Opening.
Lonestar Electric Supply opened its Nashville branch in spring 2025 with a six-month campaign aimed at 644 licensed electrical contractors within about 30 miles. The grand opening drew more than 200 electrical contractors and 30-plus vendor partners. tED Magazine lists…
Source: tED MagazineRead →: Lonestar Electric Supply Aimed Its Nashville Launch at 644 Contractors. More Than 200 Came to the Opening. -
Companies Running Four or More Sales Play Best Practices Grow Revenue Up to 1.9 Times Faster
Companies that execute four or more sales play best practices grow revenue up to 1.9 times faster than their peers. That is from Bain & Company’s January 2026 Commercial Excellence survey of 1,125 commercial leaders across industries.
Source: Bain & CompanyRead →: Companies Running Four or More Sales Play Best Practices Grow Revenue Up to 1.9 Times Faster
Channel & distribution
Distributors, dealers and how industrial companies go to market.
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R.S. Hughes Has More Than 40 Distribution Centers and Still Calls Itself a Specialist
R.S. Hughes has annual revenue above half a billion dollars and more than 40 distribution centers. Its president still calls it a specialist. Industrial Distribution profiles the employee-owned distributor of…
Source: Industrial DistributionRead →: R.S. Hughes Has More Than 40 Distribution Centers and Still Calls Itself a Specialist -
52% of Distributors in ASA’s Survey Are Losing Business to Online Competitors. 25% Cite Digital Ordering as a Differentiator.
52% of distributors in the American Supply Association’s latest survey say they are losing business to online competitors. Only 25% name digital ordering tools as a way they stand apart.
Source: American Supply AssociationRead →: 52% of Distributors in ASA’s Survey Are Losing Business to Online Competitors. 25% Cite Digital Ordering as a Differentiator. -
Grainger Tops the 2026 Big 50 at $17.9 Billion. Four Distributors Follow at $8 Billion or More.
W.W. Grainger tops the 2026 Big 50 of industrial distributors at $17.9 billion in revenue. Four more follow at $8 billion or above: Motion, Winsupply, Fastenal and Airgas. Industrial Distribution…
Source: Industrial DistributionRead →: Grainger Tops the 2026 Big 50 at $17.9 Billion. Four Distributors Follow at $8 Billion or More.
Trade shows & brand
Campaigns, rebrands, launches and what companies did with a show.
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80.8% of B2B Marketers Invest in Social Media for Brand Building. Toolstation Goes Where the Tradespeople Are: TikTok and Instagram.
Toolstation, a tool and building supplier, puts its social effort on TikTok and Instagram. That is where the tradespeople are. Marketing Week reports how four B2B brands use social; in…
Source: Marketing WeekRead →: 80.8% of B2B Marketers Invest in Social Media for Brand Building. Toolstation Goes Where the Tradespeople Are: TikTok and Instagram. -
Two Industrial Finishers Become One Brand, UltiCoat, With Three Plants in Wisconsin and Arizona
Scott’s Industrial Coatings and Perfection Industrial Finishing now operate under one brand: UltiCoat. Products Finishing reports that Madison Lake Capital introduced the name across three plants, in Green Bay, Phoenix…
Source: Products FinishingRead →: Two Industrial Finishers Become One Brand, UltiCoat, With Three Plants in Wisconsin and Arizona -
Lonestar Electric Supply Aimed Its Nashville Launch at 644 Contractors. More Than 200 Came to the Opening.
Lonestar Electric Supply opened its Nashville branch in spring 2025 with a six-month campaign aimed at 644 licensed electrical contractors within about 30 miles. The grand opening drew more than…
Source: tED MagazineRead →: Lonestar Electric Supply Aimed Its Nashville Launch at 644 Contractors. More Than 200 Came to the Opening.
AI & search
How industrial companies use AI to sell, and how buyers find suppliers.
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Sonepar Runs AI Models Across Businesses That Produce 95% of Its Revenue. Two of the First Three Uses Serve Sales.
Sonepar now runs predictive AI models across businesses that produce 95% of its revenue. Two of the first three uses serve sales: product recommendations drawn from customers’ purchase histories, and…
Source: Distribution Strategy GroupRead →: Sonepar Runs AI Models Across Businesses That Produce 95% of Its Revenue. Two of the First Three Uses Serve Sales. -
Buyers Use AI to Research. 69% Want a Rep to Confirm It.
Gartner’s survey of B2B buyers finds 45% used generative AI in a recent purchase, mostly for vendor and product research, and 69% prefer to validate what the AI told them…
Source: Demand Gen ReportRead →: Buyers Use AI to Research. 69% Want a Rep to Confirm It.
The week at the table
The week’s articles in one email, every Friday.
Everything we shared that week, with the numbers and the links. One email a week and nothing else.
