US durable goods orders fell sharply in January, declining 6.1% from the previous month, a drop largely attributed to a temporary lull in Boeing passenger plane orders. Economists had forecast a smaller 5% decrease. Excluding transportation, orders showed a more modest 0.3% decline, while a key gauge of business investment remained essentially flat with core orders increasing by 0.1%.

Sales of new single-family homes increased to an annual pace of 661,000 in January, lower than the 684,000 rate expected in a Bloomberg survey and lower than the 840,000 annual rate from a Reuters estimate. The tally is up 1.5% from December's revised total, per the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Lower mortgage rates in January boosted sentiment among homebuilders and buyers.

KeHE Distributors is launching the KeHE Fresh Marketplace brand to provide retailers more than 24,000 fresh products, including meat, seafood, cheese, deli and bakery items. The offering allows the natural and organic foods distributor to maximize its routes while reducing costs for retailers.

Robotics experts explore the changing role of robots within warehouse and distribution environments, the increasing value of mobile technologies and other new automation projects, best practices for starting the automation journey and the changing role of workers. They expect AI and machine learning to add flexibility and autonomy to current systems and that tomorrow's distribution centers will be smaller and closer to last-mile delivery outposts, be fueled by simplified applications and primarily managed by robotic automation.

Companies that want to procure materials responsibly need the agility and transparency to deal with vulnerabilities in the supply chain, according to the chief marketing & solutions officer for SAP Intelligent Spend and Business Network, Etosha Thurman. Generative AI can help achieve this goal by vetting suppliers while monitoring logistics and supplier diversity, Thurman notes.

Linehaul and delivery routes for FedEx and other transportation companies will be more costly if the White House approves waivers that govern meal and rest breaks in Washington and California, FedEx says. Interstate carriers would face stricter rules in those two states, which will force them "to revise routes, as well as compensation plans and policies, at a great operational cost," FedEx Corporate Vice President Clement Klank wrote in comments filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Business-to-business marketers must meet the desire for seamless digital experiences from a new generation of B2B buyers by embracing ecommerce, writes Christina Schmitt, principal analyst at Forrester. Schmitt outlines a four-step strategy to do so, including ensuring company-wide alignment and "crafting an end-to-end experience that resonates with the customer's needs and preferences."

Kent Lewis, founder of pdxMindShare, offers advice on setting up a successful email newsletter to engage consumers, starting by mapping its objectives to current marketing and sales goals, identifying the target audience and setting key performance indicators. Lewis also describes how to research the newsletters of competitors, spanning content, design, delivery, timing and frequency, and performance.

The first step for having tough conversations is to prepare how you want to broach the topic so as not to put employees on the defensive. Once you're face to face with the person, let them know immediately what the conversation is about and have empathy for the emotions they might feel. Finally, follow up in order to ensure progress comes about from the conversation.

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