Janitorial supplier Imperial Dade has acquired The Ohio & Michigan Paper Co., expanding the former's reach into the Midwest market and allowing the latter to use Dade's platform to offer more personalized service, products and solutions. "The acquisition of O&M provides great value in the large and growing Midwest market, which is key as we expand geographically and grow nationally with our customers," said Imperial Dade Chairman Robert Tillis.
Truck drivers in Mexico have delayed a planned strike and protests for 30 days after authorities made agreements with the Mexican Alliance of Carrier Organizations. Concessions include monthly meetings with the National Guard to advance highway security and the elimination of fines for cargo trucks based on their model year.
State and local government procurement departments can help improve an area's economy and its strength of diversity with their buying choices, Kristin Malek of CDW writes. Buying locally and including diverse suppliers also aids in community relationships and increases employee engagement, Malek asserts.
Amazon turned a former distribution center outside of Denver into the Last Mile Delivery Academy, where thousands of the e-commerce giant's delivery drivers have taken a three-day safety course that uses virtual reality and an indoor driving course. The course was developed locally and could become a model for training nationwide.
Data-intensive generative AI is likely to alter procurement and other supply chain jobs, and leaders can prepare in several ways, such as redefining roles to focus on critical thinking and offering upskilling, Gartner supply chain analyst Gerhard Grimm says. It's important to help staff get on board now, as generative AI and other technologies "may represent a fundamental shift for supply chains, supporting demand and supply planning and improving decision-making," strengthening supply chain resilience," Grimm writes.
Distributors can help sales teams maximize their time and productivity by offering a distribution-specific customer relationship management platform that allows reps to work from a single screen, streamline search processes and increase meaningful engagement with customers, writes Benj Cohen, CEO of Proton.ai. "AI that's purpose-built for distributors can give reps a daily call list organized by revenue potential -- highlighting sales opportunities and churn risk -- so reps can engage the right customer with the right message at the right time," Cohen writes.
Don't be too late to personally recognize, and even reward, your company's most effective colleagues. Keeping details about promotions, raises or future projects close to the vest can lead to frustration and unexpected exits, writes leadership expert Alaina Love.
Fighter pilots must make quick decisions on limited information, and U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and Chief of Training Systems Hasard Lee has developed a three-part system -- the ACE Helix -- that can help leaders assess situations, use fast-forecasting to choose the best action and build the necessary resilience to execute plans, writes Michael McKinney. "The key to maximizing our mental resources is to focus only on what we have control over, which is the next decision to make," says Lee.
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