August Cohort:
8-week LIVE Online Instructor-led Course
The Details
Students must attend six (6) of the scheduled eight (8) virtual lessons. Attendance will be captured during each class session. All lessons will be recorded and made available on this page for rewatching.
Zoom links for each class can be found by clicking the blue “Join” link for that lesson.
August Cohort Course Curriculum
Lesson Schedule
 1:00PM–2:15PM EST Channel Growth Part 1: Supplier Perspective Monday, August 14, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET 
from 1:00PM — 2:15PM Channel Growth Part 1: Supplier Perspective Week one starts with the key objective of all channel partners: GROWTH. The lesson will focus on determining channel goals (financial and business) and metrics from the supplier’s perspective. The lesson will highlight the best practices in translating firm-level financial goals into channel goals and corresponding critical success factors. The class will focus on 5 financial drivers – growth, market share, profitability, cash flow, and asset efficiency. Course objectives:
Senthil Gunasekaran
Senthil has worked within the industry for 20+ years and brings a quantitative approach to business challenges. Having deployed best practices across hundreds of distributors over two decades, he believes in the critical role of people in making or breaking analytics. His solutions & frameworks are part of his seven best-selling books at NAW. Pradip Krishnadevarajan
Pradip is recognized in the industry as a thought leader, with 17 plus years of experience assisting hundreds of companies directly while co-authoring seven inspiring books that are consistently among the NAW Institute’s Top 10 Best Sellers. He has led workshops for over 4,000+ industry professionals over the years and is passionate about using a combination approach (data-driven and training) to help companies drive profitable growth. |
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 1:00PM–2:15PM EST Channel Growth Part 2: Distributor Perspective Monday, August 21, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
from 1:00PM — 2:15PM Channel Growth Part 2: Distributor Perspective Week two presents the distributor perspective to channel growth. The lesson will highlight nine growth strategies found across distributors of various sizes. The instructors will present growth strategies with real-world examples and key performance indicators (KPIs). The growth strategies include leveraging existing customers, penetrating new customers in existing marketing segments, broadening the product and service portfolio, adding new sales and marketing channels to reach customers, and more. Course objectives:
Senthil Gunasekaran
Senthil is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Senthil has worked within the industry for 20+ years and brings a quantitative approach to business challenges. Having deployed best practices across hundreds of distributors over two decades, he believes in the critical role of people in making or breaking analytics. His solutions & frameworks are part of his seven best-selling books at NAW. Pradip Krishnadevarajan
Pradip is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Pradip is recognized in the industry as a thought leader, with 17 plus years of experience assisting hundreds of companies directly while co-authoring seven inspiring books that are consistently among the NAW Institute’s Top 10 Best Sellers. He has led workshops for over 4,000+ industry professionals over the years and is passionate about using a combination approach (data-driven and training) to help companies drive profitable growth. |
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 1:00PM–2:15PM EST Channel Focus: Identify the Right Partner and Assess Existing Partner Performance Monday, August 28, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
from 1:00PM — 2:15PM Channel Focus: Identify the Right Partner and Assess Existing Partner Performance Week three dives deep into leveraging purchase order data to identify, assess, and maintain channel partner performance. The session will help you select backup suppliers and channel partners based on a data-driven performance model. The model will assess suppliers based on four key dimensions: spend (volume and growth), channel profitability, alignment, and supply chain performance. Course objectives:
Senthil Gunasekaran
Senthil is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Senthil has worked within the industry for 20+ years and brings a quantitative approach to business challenges. Having deployed best practices across hundreds of distributors over two decades, he believes in the critical role of people in making or breaking analytics. His solutions & frameworks are part of his seven best-selling books at NAW. Pradip Krishnadevarajan
Pradip is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Pradip is recognized in the industry as a thought leader, with 17 plus years of experience assisting hundreds of companies directly while co-authoring seven inspiring books that are consistently among the NAW Institute’s Top 10 Best Sellers. He has led workshops for over 4,000+ industry professionals over the years and is passionate about using a combination approach (data-driven and training) to help companies drive profitable growth. |
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 1:00PM–2:15PM EST Channel Value Proposition Part 1: Critical Elements of Channel Value Creation & More Tuesday, September 5, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
from 1:00PM — 2:15PM Channel Value Proposition Part 1: Critical Elements of Channel Value Creation & More Manufacturers and distributors expend resources on developing customer value propositions but do not necessarily apply the same principles to channel relationships. The channel value proposition encompasses how each entity creates and captures value from the other while serving end customers. This lesson focuses on the two balancing elements of the channel value proposition: (1) value creation and (2) value capture. Course objectives:
Senthil Gunasekaran
Senthil is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Senthil has worked within the industry for 20+ years and brings a quantitative approach to business challenges. Having deployed best practices across hundreds of distributors over two decades, he believes in the critical role of people in making or breaking analytics. His solutions & frameworks are part of his seven best-selling books at NAW. Pradip Krishnadevarajan
Pradip is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Pradip is recognized in the industry as a thought leader, with 17 plus years of experience assisting hundreds of companies directly while co-authoring seven inspiring books that are consistently among the NAW Institute’s Top 10 Best Sellers. He has led workshops for over 4,000+ industry professionals over the years and is passionate about using a combination approach (data-driven and training) to help companies drive profitable growth. |
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 1:00PM–2:15PM EST Channel Value Proposition Part 2: Compensation Elements & Channel Data Monday, September 11, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
from 1:00PM — 2:15PM Channel Value Proposition Part 2: Compensation Elements & Channel Data One of the significant challenges in channel compensation is that the distributor’s engagement level may be low across many channel incentives. Five channel effectiveness metrics represent the criteria by which distributors assess the attractiveness of channel incentives. The metrics include relevance, magnitude, immediacy, equity, and complexity. This lesson focuses on these metrics and explains how channel partners may leverage the same. Course objectives:
Senthil Gunasekaran
Senthil is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Senthil has worked within the industry for 20+ years and brings a quantitative approach to business challenges. Having deployed best practices across hundreds of distributors over two decades, he believes in the critical role of people in making or breaking analytics. His solutions & frameworks are part of his seven best-selling books at NAW. Pradip Krishnadevarajan
Pradip is recognized in the industry as a thought leader, with 17 plus years of experience assisting hundreds of companies directly while co-authoring seven inspiring books that are consistently among the NAW Institute’s Top 10 Best Sellers. He has led workshops for over 4,000+ industry professionals over the years and is passionate about using a combination approach (data-driven and training) to help companies drive profitable growth. |
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 1:00PM–2:15PM EST Channel Alignment Framework: Connecting All Stakeholder Interests Monday, September 18, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
from 1:00PM — 2:15PM Channel Alignment Framework: Connecting All Stakeholder Interests Channel alignment is the holy grail of channel partners. This lesson takes an analytical approach to define and assess channel alignment. It shows how to connect inventory mix, supplier performance, and customer profitability. It concludes by linking suppliers’ and distributors’ goals through various channel incentive mechanisms. Students will learn best practices to map profitable business at the intersection of CORE customers, PROFITABLE inventory, and CORE supplier mix with robust benchmarking to increase accountability and break down data silos. Course objectives:
Senthil Gunasekaran
Senthil is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Senthil has worked within the industry for 20+ years and brings a quantitative approach to business challenges. Having deployed best practices across hundreds of distributors over two decades, he believes in the critical role of people in making or breaking analytics. His solutions & frameworks are part of his seven best-selling books at NAW. Pradip Krishnadevarajan
Pradip is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Pradip is recognized in the industry as a thought leader, with 17 plus years of experience assisting hundreds of companies directly while co-authoring seven inspiring books that are consistently among the NAW Institute’s Top 10 Best Sellers. He has led workshops for over 4,000+ industry professionals over the years and is passionate about using a combination approach (data-driven and training) to help companies drive profitable growth. |
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 1:00PM–2:15PM EST Channel Evolution: The 4 Phases of Implementing Channel Performance Analytics Monday, September 25, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
from 1:00PM — 2:15PM Channel Evolution: The 4 Phases of Implementing Channel Performance Analytics Many manufacturers and distributors consider channel management a necessary evil. They manage the channel with a loaded preconceived mindset driven by past experiences (both good and not-so-great). The mindset of top executives should shift toward leveraging the channel as a competitive advantage. This shift is critical to igniting cultural change across the organization and channel. This lesson examines essential elements of implementation and how channel partners can adapt. Course objectives:
Senthil Gunasekaran
Senthil has worked within the industry for 20+ years and brings a quantitative approach to business challenges. Having deployed best practices across hundreds of distributors over two decades, he believes in the critical role of people in making or breaking analytics. His solutions & frameworks are part of his seven best-selling books at NAW. Pradip Krishnadevarajan
Pradip is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Pradip is recognized in the industry as a thought leader, with 17 plus years of experience assisting hundreds of companies directly while co-authoring seven inspiring books that are consistently among the NAW Institute’s Top 10 Best Sellers. He has led workshops for over 4,000+ industry professionals over the years and is passionate about using a combination approach (data-driven and training) to help companies drive profitable growth. |
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 1:00PM–2:15PM EST Roadmap for Implementation: A Blueprint for Execution Monday, October 2, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
from 1:00PM — 2:15PM Roadmap for Implementation: A Blueprint for Execution Now that the students have seen the channel alignment framework, assessment details, applications, implementation components, and how others have applied it in the real world, you may be asking how to start implementing these practices in your firm and channel. This lesson provides a blueprint for execution. Course objectives:
Senthil Gunasekaran
Senthil is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Senthil has worked within the industry for 20+ years and brings a quantitative approach to business challenges. Having deployed best practices across hundreds of distributors over two decades, he believes in the critical role of people in making or breaking analytics. His solutions & frameworks are part of his seven best-selling books at NAW. Pradip Krishnadevarajan
Pradip is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program. Pradip is recognized in the industry as a thought leader, with 17 plus years of experience assisting hundreds of companies directly while co-authoring seven inspiring books that are consistently among the NAW Institute’s Top 10 Best Sellers. He has led workshops for over 4,000+ industry professionals over the years and is passionate about using a combination approach (data-driven and training) to help companies drive profitable growth. |
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Senthil is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program.
Pradip is a Co-Founder of ActVantage, a company that helps distributors drive profitable growth through analytics and talent development. He formerly worked at Texas A&M University as a Professor for the Industrial Distribution Masters Program.
