Insights
Where mid-market companies lose profit — and what the ones that stop losing it actually do.
"During the good years, we could take any order" — The Prosperity Trap
Growth in volume and growth in profit are different things. When the market is running hot, few companies pause to check which one they're getting. The ones that don't check tend to find out when the market turns.
When Incentives and Strategy Point in Different Directions, the Incentives Win
Most B2B companies pay sales teams on revenue because it's the number they have. Profit per customer is harder to measure. So the comp plan stays on revenue. And the sales team does exactly what they're paid to do.
The "Strategic Account" Myth
Every commercial leader has a list of accounts nobody is allowed to touch. The data consistently shows these are among the least profitable customers in the portfolio. Here's why — and what to do about it.
AI Is Bringing Cost-to-Serve to SaaS
For twenty years, every SaaS customer cost roughly the same to serve. AI changed that. The distribution industry figured this out in 1989. Most of them still haven't acted on it.
The 47-Year Gap
In 1979, 150 executives knew they had unprofitable customers. Zero were willing to act. The same pattern holds in 2026. The technology changed. The behavior didn't.
Why Mid-Market Companies Can't Copy Enterprise Best Practices
The four inventory management practices that separate top performers from the rest all require one thing mid-market companies don't have: dedicated analytical capacity.
The Inventory Problem is Getting Worse, Not Better
Three years of benchmark data show mid-market companies are losing ground on inventory management. Dead stock up 42%. Disciplined planners down 27%. What's going wrong?
The Hidden Skills Gap in Inventory Management
Why mid-market companies hold 38-50% excess inventory—despite having the tools to prevent it. Data on carrying costs by company size and industry, and what separates top performers from the rest.
The "Asset Rich, Cash Poor" Paradox
What the data says about mid-market inventory, and how to release trapped cash. Research shows 38% of SMB inventory is excess, costing ~25% annually in carrying costs.