B2B Commerce UnCut Podcast: The Unvarnished Truth About B2B eCommerce

This week, we met Kyle Gustafson, civil engineer by training, digital commerce expert by career. From scaling office supply giants to building businesses at Amazon, Kyle reflects on what digital transformation really takes and why WIFM – “What’s in it for me?” – is the key to adoption and growth.

Highlights
00:00 – Introduction: Meet Kyle Gustafson & His Career Path
02:00 – Lessons from Office Depot, Staples, and OfficeMax
04:00 – Building Private Brands and Supply Chains at Amazon
06:35 – Transformation Mindset: Thinking 20 Years Ahead
11:35 – Why Companies Call for Help: Common Consulting Triggers
17:40 – Defining eCommerce: Where’s the line?
21:33 – Why Digital Transformation Never Really Ends
28:40 – Tech Adoption and the Power of WIFM
34:10 – The Alexa Microwave Story: When Customer Value Isn’t There
39:23 – Leadership Lessons from Mentor Ron Lala
45:10 – Book Recommendations & Closing Thoughts

Resources Mentioned

Viktor Frankl – Man’s Search for Meaning
Malcolm Gladwell – The Revenge of the Tipping Point
Paul Leonardi and Tsedal Neeley – The Digital Mindset: What It Really Takes to Thrive in the Age of Data, Algorithms, and AI

Allie Copeland, Chief Transformation Officer at ADI Global, joins Aaron Sheehan to break down what transformation looks like in wholesale distribution. From merging companies and overhauling tech to building a customer-first culture, Allie shares how ADI keeps progress moving, even when change never ends.

Episode highlights:
00:00 – Introduction: Meet Allie Copeland & ADI
02:15 – What Does a Chief Transformation Officer Do?
04:50 – Why Transformation Never Really Ends
09:15 – Turning Strategy into Action
12:54 – Upgrading Tech: From Mainframe to Microservices
18:25 – Planning for Agility, Not Just Stability
21:45 – “Even Better Together”: Customer-First M&A
25:15 – Decision-Making: When Changes Help (or Hurt) Customers
27:24 – Real Feedback: NPS, Surveys, and Store Pilots
29:30 – How Distribution is Evolving Beyond Inventory
34:32 – Culture Change: Project Avengers & Rebel Alliance
40:13 – Radical Transparency & Leading Through Uncertainty
42:35 – Leadership Lessons & Advice for Transformation
46:25 – Book Recs & Closing Thoughts

Resources mentioned:

• The Singularity Is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil
• Apple in China by Patrick McGee

Alli Copeland, Chief Transformation Officer at ADI Global, joins Aaron Sheehan to break down what transformation looks like in wholesale distribution. From merging companies and overhauling tech to building a customer-first culture, Alli shares how ADI keeps progress moving, even when change never ends.

Episode highlights:
00:00 – Introduction: Meet Alli Copeland & ADI
02:15 – What Does a Chief Transformation Officer Do?
04:50 – Why Transformation Never Really Ends
09:15 – Turning Strategy into Action
12:54 – Upgrading Tech: From Mainframe to Microservices
18:25 – Planning for Agility, Not Just Stability
21:45 – “Even Better Together”: Customer-First M&A
25:15 – Decision-Making: When Changes Help (or Hurt) Customers
27:24 – Real Feedback: NPS, Surveys, and Store Pilots
29:30 – How Distribution is Evolving Beyond Inventory
34:32 – Culture Change: Project Avengers & Rebel Alliance
40:13 – Radical Transparency & Leading Through Uncertainty
42:35 – Leadership Lessons & Advice for Transformation
46:25 – Book Recs & Closing Thoughts

Resources mentioned:

• The Singularity Is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil
• Apple in China by Patrick McGee

This episode tackles the real reasons manufacturers and distributors stay stuck: old systems, patchwork processes, and business habits that don’t change overnight. Jason Greenwood and Aaron Sheehan dig into what goes wrong in B2B projects, how leaders can spot roadblocks early, and why honest internal conversations matter more than buying the latest software.

Key Highlights

5:00 Why B2B companies still run on spreadsheets and ancient ERPs
9:00 Shadow IT in B2B operations
11:03 Field reps aging out, digital-native buyers moving in – how it’s reshaping expectations
13:05 The real question companies ask: Should we replace the ERP or launch eCommerce first?
15:23 Customers force the issue: “We’ll switch suppliers if you don’t make it easier”
17:05 How Jason breaks the customer base into three digital adoption buckets
19:16 Manual ordering habits (screenshots, PDFs)
23:20 When eCommerce is dismissed as ‘just for small customers’ and why that’s wrong
32:00 How eCommerce automation solves pain points beyond the transactional workflow

Resources Mentioned

Digital Services Layer (DSL): Jason’s concept for all the non-transactional digital capabilities customers expect.
OroCommerce's AI SmartOrder: An AI-powered tool for processing unstructured purchase orders and enabling digital self-service.
Upcoming Movie: A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
Top Gun: Maverick
B2B eCommerce World 2025 in Scottsdale, AZ

Kyler Nixon, Co-Founder of Forward Studios, joins the show to unpack what most distributors and B2B eCommerce teams get wrong about email marketing and how to turn it into a growth channel. Drawing on first-hand lessons as a Chief Revenue Officer, Kyler breaks down how to capture more revenue, why most companies leave money on the table, and what practical steps move the needle in B2B email.

Episode highlights:
00:30 – Intro: Kyler’s path from agency owner to B2B eCommerce
03:00 – What distributors get wrong about email marketing (and how Kyler found the gap)
05:42 – Planning and forecasting in distribution: What signals Kyler actually tracked
09:45 – Why the “endless aisle” is a trap for most distributors
11:40 – First growth levers: growing the sales team, fixing SEO, improving UX
16:33 – The lost revenue of not capturing email
22:40 – Personalization in B2B email: beyond “Hi, Bob”
23:50 – Simple segmentation that works: inside vs. outside the buying window
25:52 – Kyler’s 3-part B2B email marketing framework explained
32:10 – What the B2B Commerce Association adds for practitioners
37:23 – Kyler’s podcast and TV recommendations

Resources Mentioned:
How I Built This (podcast by Guy Raz)
Wisdom from the Top (podcast by Guy Raz)
Survivor (reality TV show)
B2B Commerce Association
The 2025 B2B Buyer Perspectives Report