Friday 15 Podcast
Short, practical conversations with B2B ecommerce practitioners. Watch, listen, or read the recap.
Is the CMO Disappearing in B2B?
Jared Blank joins Andy Hoar and Brian Beck to unpack why the CMO title is vanishing across the Fortune 500, and what that means…
With Jared Blank, Co-Founder, Master B2B
How to Use Analyst Research in Ecom Tech Selection
Brennen Volbeda of PCNA joins Andy Hoar and Brian Beck to walk through how research, proof of concepts, and peer networks fit together across…
With Brennen Volbeda, Senior Director of Digital Experience & Strategy, PCNA
The 2026 Paradigm B2B Combine for Ecom Platforms
Andy Hoar breaks down the eighth annual Paradigm B2B Combine, why research is a piece of the platform selection process rather than the whole…
Get Big or Get Small – Can a Mid-sized Distributor Survive Anymore?
Jared Blank and Andy Hoar on Meta's 75 percent AI price cut, why the middle keeps disappearing in B2B distribution, and what IBM's historic…
AI and the Executive Career Reset
Jared Blank and Andy Hoar are joined by commercial growth executive Meeta Kratz on what AI is changing about executive careers, from a shrinking…
With Meeta Kratz, Commercial Growth Executive
Are B2B and B2C eCommerce Converging?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on a convergence that now runs both ways, from David's Bridal and Home Depot moving into B2B to the…
From Catalog Chaos to Confidence: Getting B2B Product Data Ready for AI
Elastic Path CEO Bryan House on why messy catalog data is the real barrier to AI in B2B, how answer engines are becoming a…
With Bryan House, CEO of Elastic Path
Who Is Your Next Hire? Why the Old Hiring Playbook Is Being Rewritten
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on a web where bots now outnumber humans, a labor market stuck in a low-hire, low-fire pattern, and a…
Are AI Token Costs Getting Out of Control? What It Means for Your eCommerce Stack
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on runaway AI token bills, why usage is a poor measure of value, and what consumption-based pricing will mean…
Maximizing the Tech Investments You’ve Already Made: Why So Much Software Sits Unused
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar are joined by Dale Edman of Lipton Teas and Infusions to talk about why more than half of enterprise…
With Dale Edman, VP eCommerce and Shopper Marketing, Lipton Teas and Infusions What B2B Can Learn from B2C Merchandising
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar are joined by Denise Foley of ULE Group on why B2B buyers now expect a consumer-grade experience, where the…
With Denise Foley, EVP eCommerce, ULE Group
A Report from 2 Fields: Chicago and Manchester
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar share insights from recent B2B e-commerce events in Chicago and Manchester, covering Amazon's logistics expansion, the company's true B2B…
Announcing Bot 2 Bot, Andy’s New Book!
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar discuss Andy's new book Bot 2 Bot, covering AI's impact on B2B commerce, plus breaking news on Google's record…
Should B2B companies own their own marketplaces?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine whether B2B companies should build and operate their own marketplaces, exploring the strategic trade-offs as Amazon continues its…
The Most Overhyped (and Underhyped) Ideas in B2B eCommerce
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar identify the most overhyped and underhyped trends in B2B e-commerce, drawing on discussions from the Master B2B summit and…
Where will B2B eCommerce execs spend their next dollar (2026 edition)
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar explore where B2B e-commerce executives are directing their next budget dollar in 2026, as OpenAI's shutdown of Sora and…
Shoptalk 2026: A Report from the Field
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar share insights from Shoptalk 2026 in Las Vegas, exploring six ways B2B and B2C e-commerce differ and five ways…
Is AI Making Us More Productive or Just Creating More Work?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on the difference between production and productivity, why only 3% of workers are in the AI productivity sweet spot,…
A Recap of the 2026 Master B2B Mindshare Summit
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on the key themes from this year's summit in Chicago, why peer-to-peer roundtables generate more value than traditional conferences,…
Is AI More about Making Money or Saving Money?
Brian Beck, Andy Hoar, and guest Trevor Pope on where B2B companies are seeing real AI returns, why revenue gains are harder to attribute…
With Trevor Pope, Senior Director of Solution Architecture at Optimizely
Measuring the ROI of AI: A Framework for B2B Leaders
Brian Beck, Andy Hoar, and guest Howard Blumenthal on why most AI projects fail to deliver returns, the four questions to ask before starting…
With Howard Blumenthal, eCommerce advisor and former digital leader at Motion Industries and Advanced Auto Parts
How Can Companies Build Trust When AI Has the Ability to Undermine It?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on the four foundational ways to build customer trust, why transparency about AI use increases rather than decreases confidence,…
Is AI Becoming an Oligopoly? The $3 Trillion Battle for B2B Commerce
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on the protocol wars between OpenAI and Google, intelligence on demand as a commodity, and what it means for…
Has AI Rewritten the Hiring Process in B2B?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar are joined by Kevin Stone of Motion Industries on AI's double-sided takeover of hiring, from resumes polished past recognition…
With Kevin Stone, Senior Vice President, Motion Industries
Is Google Winning or Losing the AI Race? The Battle for Search Supremacy
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on Google's surprising stock surge, Gemini's rapid user growth, and what zero-click search means for the future of AI…
The Final Answer to Amazon 1P vs 3P
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar report from a live debate at B2B Online in Atlanta where practitioner teams argued whether 1P or 3P selling…
The One Reason Your Company Should NOT Sell Online
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar talk with Schneider Electric's Anthony Lockach about why one of the world's largest manufacturers chose not to sell direct…
With Anthony Lockach, Global Director of Distribution E-commerce at Schneider Electric
Software Buying Tips and Tricks from an Insider
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar talk with longtime software executive Gireesh Sahukar about the mistakes companies make when buying e-commerce software and what practitioners…
With Gireesh Sahukar, Master B2B Executive Adviser
Getting Your Company’s AI Strategy Unstuck
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar talk with futurist Dr. Lisa Palmer about why a third of B2B executives do not know where to start…
With Dr. Lisa Palmer, CEO of Dr. Lisa AI and author of Show AI, Don't Tell It
Can Research Analysts Stay Relevant in the Age of AI?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine why analyst firm stocks have cratered, which parts of the research business AI can already do, and whether…
How B2B Brands Can Protect Themselves from Unauthorized Distributors
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar talk with brand enforcement attorney John Groa about the hidden costs of unauthorized resellers, why most manufacturers do not…
With John Groa, Partner at KJK
Has the Composable Commerce Approach Run Its Course?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine whether the composable commerce model remains viable as platforms add pre-built capabilities and practitioners report implementation difficulties.
Do Managers Have Too Many Direct Reports in B2B?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine the trend of delayering organizations and whether managers with 15 direct reports can effectively lead their teams.
Why Do 95% of AI Projects Fail?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine MIT research on why AI projects fail and what separates successful implementations from expensive experiments.
Is AI Changing the Role of the Systems Integrator?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar welcome Tim Elenius from American Eagle to discuss how AI is transforming systems integration work and what it means…
With Tim Elenius, VP of Strategic Initiatives, American Eagle
One B2B Executive’s Journey Into the Gig Economy
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar welcome John Pal to discuss his transition from corporate executive to fractional consultant and how AI and networks enable…
With John Pal, Strategic Adviser and Founder, E3 Omni Advisory
Has the Gig Economy Come for B2B Ecommerce Jobs?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine how the gig economy is reshaping B2B digital roles, from interim executives to fractional workers augmented by AI…
The Key to Finding Digital Executive Roles in the Age of AI
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar welcome Ed Fenton from Greybar to discuss the challenges of finding executive roles when AI bots screen resumes and…
With Ed Fenton, VP of AI and Digital Transformation, Greybar
Are B2B Ecommerce Teams Understaffed?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine whether B2B ecommerce teams are adequately staffed compared to their B2C counterparts, finding significant gaps in headcount and…
Why Is B2B Lagging in Mobile Investment?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine why B2B companies underinvest in mobile commerce despite consumer trends and the changing demographics of B2B buyers.
Part 2: Is Generative Engine Optimization Taking Over SEO?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar continue their examination of generative engine optimization, comparing AI search results to traditional Google search and discussing practical strategies…
Is Generative Engine Optimization Replacing SEO for B2B eCommerce?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on how AI answer engines are reshaping discovery, why traditional search traffic is declining, and what B2B marketers need…
How to Find the Right Systems Integrator for Your B2B eCommerce Rollout
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar on the red flags that systems integrators and practitioners should watch for, why word of mouth beats all other…
Is Amazon a Friend or Foe to B2B Companies?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine the complex relationship between B2B companies and Amazon, exploring when the marketplace giant helps versus hurts distributors and…
Can You Build a Successful Career at a Family-Owned B2B Company?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar welcome Trent Guyer from Grasshopper Mowers to discuss building an ecommerce career at a third-generation family-owned manufacturer.
With Trent Guyer, VP of Marketing and Digital Strategy, Grasshopper Mowers
How Effective Is B2B Ecommerce Site Search?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine site search effectiveness in B2B ecommerce and introduce the Paradigm B2B Search and Discovery Combine report evaluating eight…
What Is the Best Way to Measure Customer Acquisition Costs in B2B?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine how B2B companies should calculate customer acquisition costs, finding that 70% of practitioners favor a broad definition including…
Is Digital Transformation a Project or a Program?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine whether digital transformation should be managed as a finite project or an ongoing program, finding that 96% say…
Who Should Be on the Technology Buying Committee?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine how to compose technology buying committees for ecommerce platforms, finding that operations ranked highest but sales and finance…
Metrics Month: Is Customer Lifetime Value the Best Measure of Ecommerce Success?
Brian Beck and Andy Hoar examine whether customer lifetime value is the single best metric for B2B ecommerce success, finding that 73% of practitioners…