Hurricane Idalia disrupts Fla. supply chains | Airgas provides PPE to local disaster response groups | Core & Main opens fire protection facility in Wash.
Makatla Ritchter wades through floodwaters after evacuating her Tarpon Springs, Fla., home due to Hurricane Idalia. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia made landfall at the Big Bend of Florida Wednesday as a category 3 storm with high winds and rain that led to downed trees and power outages and forced the closure of roads, interstate highways and ports in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Jacksonville, Savannah and Charleston along with delivery disruptions for FedEx, UPS, XPO Logistics and other supply chain firms. Kathy Fulton, executive director of the American Logistics Aid Network, says the storm traveled between significant supply chain corridors and systems had been set up in advance to "respond to survivor needs for nourishment, hydration, shelter, and medical care."
Airgas is coordinating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to donate $2 million worth of surplus personal protective equipment it received during the pandemic to local emergency preparedness and disaster response groups nationwide. The industrial supply and safety product distributor is also coordinating product donations on Maui after recent wildfires on the Hawaiian island.
Core & Main has opened a facility in Spokane, Wash., that will allow the waterworks and industrial supplies distributor to distribute fire protection products in the Northwest. The move is part of a strategy "to make its products and expertise more accessible nationwide," the company said in a statement.
Amazon began inviting US-based Shopify sellers to integrate its "Buy with Prime" into their sites and use its payment and logistics services with shipping guarantees. Amazon plans to roll out the program to all merchants using Shopify's fulfillment network by the end of September.
Logistics firms are exploring the value of generative AI for customer support applications, such as package tracking, and internal efforts for cost savings, task automation, inventory management and other processes. Experts warn that AI tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT bot are not fully refined and users need to remain aware of potential data privacy issues.
Kaycee Kalpin, chief marketing officer of Premier, talks about how the business-to-business company uses agile marketing to continuously refine its ideal customer profile and more effectively target prospects. "The beauty in data and in applying agile marketing principles is that you can test and learn and refine the data," Kalpin says, noting, "The days of creating an annual marketing plan are completely over."
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors is among the associations pushing back against the Department of Labor's proposed rule mandating that employers pay overtime to salaried workers earning less than $55,068 annually, a 55% increase from the current maximum of $35,568, which includes provisions to update the threshold every three years. The "one-size-fits-all wage rule ignores marketplace discrepancies, and only further destabilizes an already strained marketplace for workers," NAW CEO Eric Hoplin said.
Leaders can tap into the power of artificial intelligence to help them streamline their processes, define new goals and generate more nuanced questions for one-on-ones to create a more profound sense of connection with their direct reports, primarily if they work remotely, writes Susan Fowler, the CEO and founder of Mojo Moments. Fowler outlines how she has used AI to improve her writing, set new goals and create stronger connections.
Positively influence those around you to change their behavior by embodying your own values, connecting with them on a deeper level and creating outcomes that benefit the whole instead of just yourself, writes Tsun-Yan Hsieh, the chairman and lead counselor of LinHart Group. "Connecting personally as human beings, behind the veneer of formal roles and outward personas, allows stakeholders to feel respected and accepted, and builds a foundation for understanding each other's deeper needs, assumptions, and beliefs," Hsieh writes.
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