US labor costs increased 4.7% during the first quarter of 2024, the largest annualized increase in a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Productivity increased 0.3% after a 3.5% gain in the previous quarter. Slowing productivity gains and rising labor costs could suggest continued inflationary pressure.

Industrial and fluid power distributor Motion & Control Enterprises is acquiring Alabama-based General Machinery Company. The more than 100-year-old distributor of process pumps and automation, electrical and compressed air products is MCE's 11th acquisition since the beginning of last year. The deal boosts Pennsylvania-based MCE's automation and rotating equipment solution catalog and expands the firm's geographical reach with two Alabama locations.

Specialty building products distributor Gypsum Management & Supply is buying Howard & Sons Building Materials, a wallboard and steel framing distributor based in Southern California. Howard & Sons, which runs operations from a single location in Pomona, Calif., will join the hundreds of GMS locations and transition to operate under its J&B Materials brand.

Companies need to take a more active role in planning for potential supply chain disruptions, according to a survey by Board International, with 72% of companies failing to plan for enough future scenarios. "The need to shift from conversation to action around scenario planning has never been more important," said Jeff Casale, the CEO of Board International.

Making sure all systems have multi-factor authentication is essential for reducing the risk of a breach, writes Taylor McKnight of the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, who provides seven cybersecurity strategies. McKnight also recommends consistent employee training, role-based access control and using a tool for application performance monitoring.

Eighty-one percent of business-to-business buyers say vendors showing they understand their company's needs makes them more likely to purchase and sales personalization is a key desire, particularly for large deals, according to research by Amplyfi. In addition, B2B buyers want a sales approach that is persuasive, tenacious and focused on relationship-building.

Lisa Rosh, an assistant professor of management at the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University, advises leaders that they can share personal information to build trust with teams. "The self-disclosure must fit and further the task at hand," says Rosh, who adds that leaders should be genuine in sharing stories.

The NAW Company Roundtables are an exclusive community of thought leaders from Billion Dollar and Large Company distribution enterprises who congregate to network with non-competing peers in multiple lines of trade on key issues. Learn more about the many Roundtable event opportunities we offer, and how your leaders can get involved. Learn more.

Interested in membership with NAW? Reach out and let us know how we can help you.