Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo: B2B Trade, Suppliers, and Channel Partners

Episode 57 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna explore how distributors are piloting blockchain to verify product authenticity, reduce disputes, and unlock faster payments. They break down the real-world case of a European pharma distributor that cut chargebacks by 60 percent using a permissioned ledger shared with suppliers and retailers. The hosts discuss why blockchain isn'...

Episode 56 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo digs into SKU rationalization — a method distributors use to cut inventory, improve turns, and free up working capital. Lucas and Luna walk through a real-world case: a mid-size electrical distributor with 14,000 active SKUs. They found that 20% of those SKUs accounted for 80% of revenue, while the bottom 30% generated just 3% of sales and consum...

In episode 55 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how distributors are cutting delivery costs by rethinking their logistics networks. They look at one mid-sized plumbing distributor in the Midwest that consolidated its pool of parcel carriers from seven to two, renegotiated zone-skipping agreements, and used a transportation management system to optimize route density....

Lucas and Luna dive into the growing trend of distributors launching private label products to capture higher margins and control supply chains. Using the example of a mid-sized industrial distributor who replaced a national brand with its own line of safety gloves — and boosted gross margin by 12 percentage points — they explore the economics, risks, and strategy behind private label in B2B. They...

In episode 53 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna unpack cross-docking — the logistics strategy that turns warehouses into flow-through hubs rather than storage centers. They anchor on a real case: W.W. Grainger, which processes roughly 30 percent of its outbound volume through cross-dock facilities. The hosts explain how a distributor can slash handling labor by up to 50 perc...

Episode 52 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo explores how distributors are leveraging third-party B2B marketplaces—like Amazon Business, Faire, and ThomasNet—to acquire new customers without building their own e-commerce storefronts. Lucas shares how a mid-sized industrial distributor called Allied Industrial Supply used an existing marketplace to gain 200 new accounts in 18 months, generat...

Episode 51 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo breaks down a deceptively simple financial lever: payment terms. Lucas and Luna explore how Net 30, Net 60, and even Net 90 aren't just billing conventions — they're strategic tools that shape cash flow, supplier relationships, and buyer behavior. Using a real-world case from a mid-size industrial distributor, the hosts walk through how one firm...

In episode 50 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how distributors can use supplier financing — specifically reverse factoring and dynamic discounting — to improve cash flow and strengthen supplier relationships. They break down the mechanics of a typical reverse factoring program, using the example of a mid-sized industrial distributor with $50 million in annual purch...

Episode 49 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna explore how distributors use supplier scorecards to objectively measure vendor performance, reduce late shipments, and negotiate better terms. They break down a real example from a Midwest industrial distributor that cut lead time variance by 40 percent after implementing a weighted scorecard system covering on-time delivery, defe...

In this episode of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into the world of rebate management—a strategy that turns supplier rebates from a back-office headache into a profit lever. They explore how distributors often leave millions on the table by mismanaging volume and growth rebates, and share a concrete example of a mid-sized electrical distributor that recovered $1.2 milli...

Episode 47 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna dive into cash discounts—specifically the '2/10 net 30' model—and how distributors use them to accelerate receivables and reduce DSO. They break down the math: why a 2% discount for paying 20 days early equates to a 36.5% annualized return for the buyer, and how savvy distributors create a win-win. The hosts walk through a real-wo...

This episode dives into how distributors use Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies to protect margins and brand value. Lucas and Luna break down a real-world case: a mid-sized electronics distributor that implemented MAP enforcement and saw gross margins improve by 4.5 percentage points within six months. They explore the mechanics of MAP monitoring, the role of automated price-tracking software...

Episode 45 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna break down how distributors are using activity-based costing (ABC) to uncover which customers, products, and orders actually drain margins. They walk through a real example from a mid-sized electrical distributor that discovered 60% of its small orders were unprofitable after allocating costs like picking, packing, and shipping. T...

Episode 44 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo dives into cooperative advertising — co-op — a funding model where manufacturers pay a percentage of a distributor's marketing costs. Lucas and Luna unpack how a mid-sized electrical distributor in the Midwest used co-op dollars to run targeted digital ads that generated 3x return on ad spend, while most distributors leave 30-40% of their accrued...

Episode 43 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna explore how distributors are adopting dynamic pricing—adjusting prices in real time based on demand, inventory, and competitor moves. They break down a specific case: a Midwest electrical distributor that used dynamic pricing to boost gross margin by 6 percentage points over six months without losing volume. They discuss the softw...

Episode 42 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna explore how distributors are implementing 'Just-in-Time 2.0' — a data-driven evolution of the classic JIT model — to slash inventory levels by 30% or more without increasing stockout risk. They dive into a real example: a Midwest electrical distributor that cut $12 million in slow-moving stock using predictive analytics, supplier...

Episode 41 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna break down how distributors use price escalators—contract clauses that automatically adjust prices when raw material costs or inflation spikes. We walk through a real case: a mid-sized steel distributor who embedded escalators into every contract after 2021's volatility, and how it saved $2.3 million in unhedged margin losses in 2...

In episode 40, Lucas and Luna explore how distributors leverage channel data—sell-through rates, inventory turns, and share-of-shelf metrics—to negotiate better terms with suppliers. Using the example of a mid-sized electrical distributor that increased its rebate rate by 2.5 percentage points after presenting a data-backed case to a major manufacturer, they discuss the shift from relationship-bas...

Episode 39 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo explores how distributors are using predictive analytics to prevent stockouts before they happen. Lucas and Luna break down the mechanics: ingesting historical sales data, supplier lead times, seasonality, and even weather patterns into machine learning models that flag at-risk SKUs days or weeks in advance. They dive into a real example from a m...

In this episode of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how distributors are adopting just-in-time (JIT) inventory principles traditionally used in manufacturing. They break down the mechanics of JIT in a distribution context—reducing safety stock, tightening reorder points, and relying on reliable supplier lead times. Lucas uses the example of Toyota's original JIT system...

Episode 37 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo explores Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) — a model where the supplier, not the buyer, manages inventory levels at the customer's location. Lucas and Luna break down how VMI reduces stockouts, lowers carrying costs, and strengthens supply chain collaboration. They anchor the discussion with the real-world example of a mid-sized industrial distribut...

Episode 36 of Wholesale & Distribution digs into consignment inventory — where suppliers hold stock on distributor premises until sold. Lucas and Luna explore a real-world case: a mid-size industrial distributor that shifted core bearings to consignment, freeing $2.3 million in working capital and cutting stockouts by 40%. They dissect the supplier pushback, the legal mechanics, the data-sharing r...

Episode 35 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna explore how distributors are adopting drop shipping to expand product lines, enter new markets, and reduce inventory carrying costs. They walk through the operational mechanics using the example of a mid-sized industrial distributor adding a line of high-dollar HVAC equipment without taking physical possession. The hosts discuss t...

Episode 34 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo breaks down how distributors are replacing one-size-fits-all pricing with tiered structures that reward loyalty, capture margin, and reduce churn. Lucas and Luna explore a case from W.W. Grainger, which segments industrial customers into three pricing tiers based on annual spend and ordering behavior. They walk through how the tiers work, why vol...

Episode 33 of Wholesale & Distribution with Fexingo explores how distributors are launching private-label products to capture higher margins and reduce dependence on national brands. Lucas and Luna break down the strategy using the example of a mid-sized janitorial supply distributor in Cleveland that introduced its own line of cleaning chemicals. They discuss the upfront investment, supplier sour...