Advertise on podcast: Driven by DCKAP

Vendor relationships are easy to talk about and hard to build. Bob Mirbaha of Metro Electric Supply has been doing it for over 30 years — and he’s seen everything change except the fundamentals.In this conversation, Bob breaks down his B2B relationship building philosophy from the ground up: why he goes straight to manufacturers rather than relying on reps, how he decides which vendors deserve his loyalty (and which don’t), and how he approaches vendor management and consolidation in a market where too many partners can actually weaken your position.Bob also shares what it takes to stay connected as industry contacts move from company to company, and why LinkedIn notifications aren’t enough for real B2B sales success. He makes the case for industry associations like EBMI as the irreplaceable fabric of a regional distribution market, and explains why AI Adoption will free up more time for face-to-face contact, not replace it.Whether you’re in electrical distribution, wholesale, or any B2B business, Bob’s hard-won wisdom on building lasting business relationships translates across the distribution industry.

Jenny Sagan started as a clerical worker, moved through finance and operations, and built her expertise one role at a time. Today she leads digital transformation as an ERP Analyst at Singer Industrial and serves as president of the P21 Lake Erie User Group — a regional community she built to help distributors navigate exactly the kind of change she manages every day. In this episode, Karthik sits down with Jenny to talk about what it really takes to get an ERP rollout adopted, not just deployed. Jenny's answer centers on empathy. When you're asking someone to abandon a system they've used for years, she says, you have to recognize the human cost of that transition and meet people where they are. They also dig into the state of women in distribution, the honest industry conversation around Epicor's on-prem to cloud migration, what mindful AI adoption actually looks like in a distribution environment, and how Jenny has built a career by leaning in, expanding her boundaries, and continuing to learn.

What does it look like when an entire industry builds its own data infrastructure — and then has to reimagine itself for the AI era? Patrick Knight, President & CEO of IDEA, joins Karthik Chidambaram to talk about what makes IDEA unlike any other company in the B2B supply chain space: it's not VC-backed, it's not chasing an IPO — it's owned by the industry it serves (NAED and NEMA), and everything it builds is aimed at making electrical distribution smarter and more efficient. In this episode, Patrick unpacks how AI is reshaping supply chain data management, why data accuracy matters more than speed when wrong specs can cause real physical harm, and what IDEA's digital transformation into a full SaaS company looks like over the next five years. He also breaks down IDEA's flagship products (IDEA Connector and IDEA Exchange), newer offerings like DataWhispers and Cross-Check, and the push to adopt ETIM North America standards across the supply chain. If AI, supply chain innovation, or the future of B2B distribution is on your radar, this one's worth your time.

Most distributors are using CRM wrong — and many don't even know it. In this episode, Karthik Chidambaram sits down with Kevin Brown, CEO of LeadSmart Technologies, to talk about why traditional CRM for Distributors has failed them, and what a smarter approach looks like. Kevin breaks down the four customer journeys every distributor needs to unify — ERP data, marketing, e-commerce, and interpersonal data — and explains how bringing them together into a single platform is where the real revenue opportunity lives. They also cover why industry-specific CRM outperforms off-the-shelf solutions like Salesforce and HubSpot for distributors, how AI-powered smart alerts are replacing manual data entry, and what it actually means to give salespeople more out of a system than they put in. Plus, Kevin shares the story behind his own podcast, “Around the Horn” in Wholesale Distribution & Manufacturing, which is approaching its 200th consecutive weekly episode.

What does it take to thrive in B2B sales when margins are thin and the stakes are high? Brian Rooney, President of Callas Kingsley Electrical Sales, has built his career on a simple but powerful premise: B2B is really P2P — person to person.In this episode, Brian explains why the manufacturers' rep model is uniquely positioned amid the current AI technology race, and how the surge in data center infrastructure is creating a gold rush moment for the electrical industry. As major tech companies race to expand AI data centers and electricity demand hits unprecedented levels, Brian sees the electrical industry as the picks and shovels of this generation's resource rush.Brian pulls back the curtain on how the rep model actually works, why distributors rely on reps for specialized product expertise across thousands of SKUs, and how Callas Kingsley approaches long-term relationships with both manufacturers and distributors. It's a model built entirely on trust, and Brian makes a compelling case for why that's more valuable now than ever.

What does it look like when sales and solutions engineering operate as one unified force? In this episode, Lance Hutt, VP of Global Strategic Applications Sales, and George Olaru, VP of Solution Engineers, at Epicor — one of the world's leading ERP providers for manufacturers and distributors — bring the answers.The conversation covers how Epicor is fundamentally rethinking what an ERP platform can be. George breaks down headless ERP architecture and Epicor's Agent Foundry — a new AI-powered framework that allows companies to build custom agents and consume ERP data through their own preferred interfaces, without sacrificing governance or data security. Lance explores the growing portfolio of strategic applications — from EDI and inventory planning to connected worker software and CPQ — that companies like Anheuser-Busch and Johnson Controls are using to scale operations, many of them as standalone solutions outside of Epicor's ERP ecosystem entirely.Together, they dig into the consultative philosophy that drives Epicor's go-to-market strategy: the MEDDIC sales framework, the Customer Value Exchange Workshop, and why the best question a customer can ask isn't about features, it's about business challenges. For anyone in B2B distribution, manufacturing, or ERP-adjacent tech leadership, this is a practical look at how modern ERP strategy is evolving well beyond the system of record.

What does AI actually mean for distributors and wholesalers — and what happens if you wait too long to find out?In this episode, Karthik sits down with Jason Nyhus, President of North America at Shopware, to unpack one of the most critical inflection points in B2B e-commerce. Jason brings 20+ years of industry experience and a front-row seat to how AI and agentic commerce are reshaping the e-commerce landscape faster than most distributors and wholesalers realize — and why the industry is at an existential fork in the road around it.From agentic commerce and Shopware's Digital Sales Room to why ERP integration is the air every distributor breathes, Jason breaks down what it takes to build a B2B commerce strategy that fits your business — not the other way around. Plus, what the fastest-growing e-commerce platform in North America is doing differently with AI, and why the underdog mentality is still driving it forward.

What does it take to build a $5 billion employee-owned company? For Border States President and CEO Jason Seger, the answer starts with one simple principle: care for people first.In this episode of Driven by DCKAP, Karthik sits down with Jason in Fargo, North Dakota to unpack the servant leadership philosophy behind one of the most unique companies in electrical distribution. From his early days as an intern in 1999 to leading 3,700 employee owners today, Jason shares the defining moments, the relationships, and the culture that have shaped Border States into what it is — and what's driving their ambition to grow from $5 billion to $10 billion.Jason gets candid about the moment early in his career that reframed everything — a late evening conversation with a mentor that made him realize a job could mean something far bigger than the work itself. He breaks down the servant leadership model that drives Border States' 95th percentile employee engagement, why vendor relationships deserve the same investment as customer ones, and how ambitious goal-setting shifts the thinking of an entire organization almost overnight. He also speaks honestly about work-life integration, bringing his family into the fabric of what he does, and why focusing on people first — whether employee owners, customers, or partners — is what ultimately drives the numbers.

In this episode, Karthik sits down with David Gordon to unpack the state of the electrical distribution industry — from data center growth and reshoring manufacturing to the business growth strategies helping distributors go from $25M to $75M in four years. He shares why people will always be the number one differentiator in distribution, why it's important to focus on customer relations above all, why e-commerce is a facilitator and not a driver, and where AI's real low-hanging fruit actually is.

What does it take to lead a 100-year-old family business — and set it up for the next 100? Brian Schlise, President of APR Supply, joins Karthik Chidambaram on the podcast to share how a fourth-generation wholesale distribution company is embracing automation, succession planning, and bold leadership to stay ahead.Brian breaks down how APR Supply automated 50% of their warehouse operations with AutoStore and robotics, why their 2025 company theme was "be bold — fail fast," and how RFID technology could revolutionize the wholesale distribution industry. He also shares his philosophy on stewardship, what coaching 35 softball teams taught him about leading people, and why he believes industrial automation creates better jobs — not fewer.

Adam Derry, President of Field Fastener, grew up watching his father and uncle build a 12-person fastener company into a 400-person operation growing at 18% year over year. He wasn't sure he'd join. He did anyway — and in 2022, he stepped into the role of President. In this episode, Karthik Chidambaram sits down with Adam to talk about the real mechanics behind Field's growth: a culture-first operating model, 30 actionable behaviors called the Fieldamentals, and a mission to make sure every customer loves working with them. They also get into the harder stuff — family business governance, second-generation leadership, succession planning, and what it actually means to have higher expectations for family members than everyone else.

Why would a successful CEO choose an ESOP over private equity? In this episode of Driven by DCKAP, JD Ewing — CEO of COE Distributing — shares why he chose an employee ownership model over a private equity exit, and what that decision means for the future of his business and profitability.But the ESOP decision is only part of the story. JD took over his family's wholesale distribution business at 19 years old with just $225,000 in revenue, built it into a multimillion dollar company, sold it — and then watched the acquiring company go bankrupt. So he started over from scratch, this time alongside his wife Melanie. Today, COE Distributing stands as one of the most profitable independent office furniture distributors in the US — built twice, and better for it.

What does it really mean to build a company that matters? In this special behind-the-scenes episode, DCKAP Founder and CEO Karthik Chidambaram steps away from the conference floor to share what actually drives him — and the heart behind everything DCKAP does. From handwriting letters in Tamil every Sunday to keep his mother tongue alive, to turning an empty office into a tuition-free coding school for students in Tamil Nadu, to sponsoring a book fair simply because reading transforms people — Karthik opens up about the initiatives that might never show up on a spreadsheet but define the very culture of DCKAP.

Most family-owned distributors don't make it to the fourth generation. Standard Electric Supply has, and Larry Stern and Matt Stern share exactly how. From untangling a complicated 17-owner inheritance structure to navigating daily acquisition offers from private equity and large consolidators, Larry has spent over three decades building something worth handing down. Now, with Matt stepping into the COO role, the next chapter of Standard Electric's 106-year story of business growth is just getting started.Together they talk succession planning, culture, leadership, and what it actually takes to grow a family-owned distribution business in a market that keeps trying to buy you out. If you're an independent distributor thinking about the future of your business — or just want to hear from two leaders who are doing it right — this conversation is for you.

Most distributors aren't failing at AI because of the technology — they're failing because of the people. Rick Pozniak, Founder & CEO of Move78 Solutions, spent over 30 years inside distribution at Rexel, Westburne, and Gescan before launching a consulting firm dedicated to closing the gap between humans and artificial intelligence. In this episode, Rick breaks down why reskilling, rather than upskilling, is the real key to getting your team to actually use the tools you're investing in, and why honest self assessment is where that journey has to start. Rick walks through his Seven Levels of AI Competency framework, why mid-size distributors may actually have the advantage in the digital era, and why the biggest barrier to AI adoption isn't the technology — it's your people. If you're wondering where to start your AI journey, or why previous efforts haven't stuck, this conversation is your roadmap.