Walmart officials say they are pleased so far with the response to the InHome Delivery program, a pilot that was launched in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Mo., and Vero Beach, Fla., in October. The service, which officials say is founded on trust, lets customers shop and order online, with a Walmart worker then delivering the products and putting them directly in the refrigerator.
Over 70% of Grainger's orders last year were made online, including through its websites and KeepStock offering, as the percentage of orders coming from physical locations and by phone has dropped by 50% since 2012. Other distributors are seeing varied levels of e-commerce growth, with digital sales at Watsco up 17% last year, while MSC Industrial Supply increased e-commerce revenue by 5%.
State of the Wholesale Supply Chain Industry in 2020 For the third straight year, Blue Ridge asked wholesale supply industry leaders about their challenges, how they're thinking about solving them and how they're dealing with the pace of technological change. One key finding for the 2020 survey is the adoption of new machine learning, such as A.I., which is on the rise as a strategy to combat supply chain disruption. Get the report to read more.
The Logistics Manager's Index continued to reflect growth in February, although it continued a decline that's been steady for nearly two years. Despite that drop, the future conditions LMI increased last month.
Grazitti Interactive created an infographic displaying key insights from a business-to-business content marketing study by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. It shows that social is the top content type used by B2B marketers; half of B2B marketers use content to generate awareness; and 80% employ metrics to measure performance -- the top four of which are email engagement, web traffic, web engagement and social analytics.
An elevator pitch should relate directly to the problems a prospect faces and quickly explain how the product or service being offered is unique from other alternatives, writes James Meincke. Effective elevator pitches are also customized for each prospect and include a call-to-action that will lead to a follow-up meeting or phone call.
Shopify executive Simon Eskildsen started at the Canadian company at 18, fresh from Denmark, and realized he needed to build his knowledge base. He describes his system for reading widely, remembering those details and the technology he uses to organize his facts and learning.
Designed for C-suite executives, these roundtables provide actionable strategies and best practices that will increase your company's competitive advantage. Member companies belonging to this community are from distribution firms that exceed $1 billion in annual sales. Participating in this 24-hour, results-focused business meeting is one of the best ways to learn from your C-suite peers in distribution -- who aren't competitors! Register today.
Are you well-informed about the latest knowledge in our industry? If not, NAW's Top 10 Best Sellers list provides the best wholesale distribution knowledge all in one place. These top 10 are what distributors across the industry are reading right now. Which of these top picks should be on your 2020 reading list? Quantity discounts start with two copies ordered.
In his new post, NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence Fellow and Author Mark Dancer writes: "Distributors may avoid outsider disruption by being human, but only if they make concrete plans to work with customers where they live and work -- in communities. A new mindset is required. Segmenting customers is about selling. Serving communities is about collaborating. Relationships are built on trust, and at its core, building trust is a very human endeavor." Read his post.
