Most distributors expect to increase sales in 2023 | Seeking agility, retailers turn to technology, data | Philadelphia, N.Y. manufacturing indexes point to rebound
About three-quarters of distributors surveyed by Industrial Distribution report increased profits year over year, slightly better than the reading taken in early 2022. Expectations for the remainder of this year have moderated but two-thirds still expect sales to increase.
Retailers are taking advantage of advanced technology diving deeper into data trying to fix supply chains disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. "What the pandemic taught you is you have to move faster," says Kristin Howell of software maker SAP.
Two regional gauges of manufacturing sentiment in the US showed signs of potential improvement in June. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index declined but was better than expected, and the New York Federal Reserve's Empire State Index jumped significantly upward. The data suggests the manufacturing sector's recent weakening may be coming to an end.
Nine out of 10 US manufacturing executives anticipate further price increases in the second half of this year, despite earlier price hikes, according to a recent Forbes, Xometry and Zogby poll. Survey respondents also indicated strong support for the White House's stance on manufacturing and a growing interest in both artificial intelligence and federal oversight of the technology.
Conagra Brands, Tyson Foods, PepsiCo and Cargill are among the founding members of a new food and agriculture platform developed by the Information Technology-Information Sharing and Analysis Center that tracks cybersecurity threats and shares that information industry-wide.
Organizations must constantly keep up with data sovereignty laws and changing technology and not just check off compliance once and move on, Jessica Gulick and Nathan Vega write. Tokenization can allow for cross-border sharing while remaining compliant, they note.
Some sales teams could benefit from redefining roles as they try to maximize sales and profits, tasks that sometimes conflict, writes CEO David Bauders of business consultancy SPARKiQ. In this commentary, Bauders outlines how pricing teams should work with sales teams to develop a better understanding of their counterpart's objectives, and any disagreements become "based on a common set of principles and a proper balancing of strategic levers to achieve a single goal: maximized long-term profitability."
Consumers disgruntled over campaigns that take a stance on social issues are increasingly targeting marketing leaders via the media and on social media, and some believe could dissuade marketers from purpose-driven campaigns. Executives say doxing and other risks should be addressed through internal discussions, guardrails should be established and brands must remain authentic to their culture.
Some employers tout hybrid work as a flexible compromise in remote versus in-office conflicts, while in practice hybrid models largely return to rigid office schedules, experts say. Employee-experience researcher Tim Oldman emphasizes the need for flexibility from workers and bosses and encourages employers to structure hybrid plans that can accommodate all employees, particularly those who are caregivers or have disabilities.
