Several vendors signed their first master-agent agreements during the final months of 2018.

The masters are targeting a new breed of suppliers as they seek to offer the deepest technology portfolio to their subagents. Chicago rivals TBI and Avant formed partnerships with IT companies, with Avant bulking up on security. Advantage Communications teamed with an Asian carrier to double down on its international reach. WTG added another IoT solution.

Vendor partnerships are the bread and butter of master-agent news, but there was more to that in 2018’s fourth quarter. We also wrote about new hires, surveys and programs; plus, an acquisition announced at the end of the year raised industry eyebrows.

Scroll through the gallery below to view 11 updates regarding the some of the biggest players in the channel.

We put out a recap of important happenings in the master agent channel every three months. The third quarter recap is here.

If you’re looking for more in-depth reading, see Buffy Naylor’s guide to picking a master agent partner.