US wholesaler, distributor sales edged up slightly in Q1 | Why focusing on innovation will transform distribution | US Foods receives incentive to build facility in Ill. city
Sales for US distributors and wholesalers as a whole totaled about $2 trillion in the first quarter, an increase of slightly less than 1% compared to the same quarter in 2022, according to the Commerce Department. Several large distributors drove this increase with significant sales growth, including MSC Industrial Supply, which saw sales grow 12.9%; Grainger, which reported sales growth of 12.2%; and Fastenal, which saw sales grow 9.1% year over year.
The Facing the Forces of Change initiative launched earlier this year at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors' Executive Summit in Washington, D.C., with the goal of transforming distribution through innovation. Using data and technology to streamline supply chain operations, finding opportunity in new regulations and mandates, and ensuring hiring practices are in line with strategic and operational goals are the overarching themes guiding the initiative, writes Mark Dancer, senior fellow for innovation with NAW.
The Aurora City Council in Illinois has approved a plan to offer US Foods a decadelong 50% sales and property tax rebate -- amounting to nearly $190,000 annually -- to build a 310,000-square-foot facility on the northeast side of the city. The foodservice distributor plans to invest $103 million to build and equip the operation, which is expected to create 260 jobs.
Generative artificial intelligence solutions, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, can support supply chain operations by assisting with customer service communications and translations, automating tasks, analyzing data, customizing employee training programs and generating new ideas. "ChatGPT takes existing applications for AI in robotic process automation a step further. Advanced natural language processing helps it handle more complex content and user requests. Even integrating it into a larger automated system could improve performance," writes Emily Newton, editor-in-chief of Revolutionized.
DHL Supply Chain plans to enlist 2,000 more autonomous mobile robots from Locus Robotics in 2023 in addition to the 3,000 currently operating across its warehouses and distribution facilities. Sally Miller, DHL Supply Chain global digital transformation officer, says the need for robots is being sparked by work issues and rising e-commerce rates and notes the robots boost productivity by two to three times, while decreasing operational and employee costs.
Business-to-business agency and brand executives talk about the increasing interest within the industry in the use of artificial intelligence to improve data analysis, take creative risks and place media in more traditionally consumer channels such as connected TV and podcasts. "B2B brands can be creative," says Accenture's Jill Kramer, adding, "They can play in the same space as B2C [business-to-consumer] brands. Their content can be fun, engaging and clear."
Leaders can get their ego out of the way by practicing vulnerability, asking questions to learn from others and letting go of feeling the need to always be right, say experts. However, those in marginalized groups should "dial up their ego to navigate workplaces in which they are underestimated, receive microaggressions and experience bias," says Jenny Garrett, OBE, a career coach, leadership trainer, speaker and author.
