Genuine Parts subsidiary Motion's integration of Kaman Distribution Group, which it acquired in early 2022, is ahead of schedule thanks to careful planning and meeting challenges early and head on, says Motion President Randy Breaux. Customers have benefited through larger inventory, broader expertise and resources, and expanded reach, and Motion plans to "continue developing our automation, fluid power, conveyance and repairs and service solutions businesses," Breaux said.

Netflix became a $146 billion company by using artificial intelligence and data to create a personalized platform for each user, and its strategy carries lessons for distributors of all kinds, writes Benj Cohen, founder of Proton.ai. Personalization allows customers to more easily "find what they need even among hundreds of thousands of SKUs" and "increase the upsell factor with customized suggestions" while also maximizing "inventory for distributors by suggesting products that match customer needs -- but that you also want to move off the shelves," Cohen writes.

Hy-Vee has resumed construction on a 635,000-square-foot distribution center in Cumming, Iowa, that will support the grocer's specialty products division and service two other Hy-Vee Iowa-based distribution centers.

Machine learning can automate certain supply chain tasks such as inventory management, demand forecasting and risk prediction, and ML can identify cost-saving opportunities and optimize transport routes and schedules. It can also be used to select vendors, writes Arindam Mukherjee, an IT supply chain architect.

Chris Urmson, CEO of Aurora, said the company's autonomous commercial vehicles are slated to begin operations next year on Interstate 45 in Texas. "The next really big deal for us will be this Aurora Driver-ready milestone where we're confident that with a truck that has the appropriate redundancies, that we'd be able to drive that safely down the freeway," Urmson said.

Nearly half of selling is hybrid and 32% primarily remote, according to recent Rain Group research, so today's sales teams must be skilled in this growing way of business-to-business selling. The Rain Group's Mary Flaherty tells how to build a team that prospers with hybrid selling, explaining how to adapt seven skills that will allow them to shift back and forth with ease.

Amelia Ransom, vice president of DEI at Smartsheet, makes the case for expanding the DEI aperture from hiring to a more supportive strategy that includes inclusive policies and an equitable performance and promotion track. Ransom also suggests making investments in education and community, as well as forging alliances with industries and organizations to deliver the full arc of an inclusive culture.

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