Master B2B Friday 15

Brian shares a report from Amazon Business's Reshape conference.  Then Andy and Brian discuss Amazon's vending machines and return lockers, why Amazon learns from incumbents, where distributors still differentiate, and why value-added services and solutioning are the most defensible ground. They also cover how AI could close the product expertise gap, and a longer-term idea of local distributors becoming Amazon channel partners. Get your Master B2B Summit ticket.

Anthropic has filed its S-1. Andy and Jared (with Brian out again) go through the filing: $16.3 billion in first-half revenue, a $500 billion compute overhang, the unusual "uninsurable harm" risk factor, and how Anthropic is positioning itself as an enterprise AI company. They also cover how to read an S-1, why avoiding AI vendor lock-in matters for B2B leaders, and Jared's concern about what happens to products after an IPO. Master B2B Mindshare Summit Master B2B Forum

Andy Hoar and Master B2B's Jared Blank are joined by Christina Chatfield, Head of Growth at materials distributor Composites One, to talk about lessons learned from a digital transformation undertaking at the company. Christina talks about the importance of communicating with different departments BEFORE tech is fully built, how she got the sales team on board, and how a company knows when it's time to undertake a huge endeavor like this.

McKinsey reports that 88 percent of companies use AI in at least one function, and only 7 percent have scaled it. Andy and Brian dig into a Harvard Business Review article that names middle managers as the most common failure point in generative AI adoption, what the article recommends, and why Andy argues companies also need to rethink the work itself. Along the way: Amazon's flatter organization, Microsoft's internal AI lessons, and what the West Coast offense can teach B2B leaders.

Andy and Brian preview the 2027 Master B2B Mindshare Summit - our 5th annual! - taking place in Chicago on March 16-17, 2027. This year's event moves to a bigger venue (Convene Willis Tower), but features the small group conversations attendees rave about. In the podcast, the guys talk through some of the new sessions and improvements we're making for the event. Tickets available at summit.masterb2b.com