Consumers' short- and long-term inflation expectations increased in April, according to the New York Federal Reserve's latest survey. One-year inflation expectations increased to 3.3%, the highest since November, with the five-year outlook rising to 2.8%. Housing prices were a particular concern, with respondents expecting median annual home price growth of 3.3% over the next year, the highest since July 2022.

Electrical supplies distribution giant Sonepar has seen significant North American growth through acquisitions, with over 200 acquisitions accounting for nearly $11 billion in added sales over the past 20 years. MDM Executive Editor Mike Hockett examines Sonepar's acquisition journey, including its recent deals in 2023 and 2024, and details the firm's strategy and digital transformation initiatives that suggest further growth on the horizon.

Chinese-owned bargain shopping app Temu, which became the US' second-most popular shopping app behind Amazon in two years, is reportedly cooling its US activity and focusing on other global markets. The ecommerce firm, which has spent billions of dollars on social media advertising, reportedly expects less than a third of its sales to be made in the US this year, compared to 60% in 2023.

Employee engagement surveys help organizations with competitiveness, retention and responsive culture, but companies must be open to getting honest feedback, ensure the process is transparent and use an outside organization to ensure employees feel safe sharing their opinions, writes Mark Bray, president of ACR Supply Co. Third-party survey providers can certify and validate company culture, offer insight into how companies stack up to competitors, create actionable outcomes for leadership teams and offer coaching and consulting on survey results and strategic planning, Bray writes.

Predicting disruptions to supply chains can be tricky, but organizations can prepare with digital platforms to mitigate risk, writes Talal Abu Issa from Beebolt. Benefits of digitization include centralized document management, improved communication and streamlined task management, Abu Issa writes.

Forty-six percent of business-to-business marketers who are very confident in their data strategy experienced significant revenue increases last year, in comparison to 15% overall, according to a report by Anteriad and Ascend2. In addition, 66% of B2B marketers overall say improving data quality is a priority, while other data challenges include integrating technology and the implementation and testing of new strategies.

Skills-based hiring can help bridge the gap between workers without college degrees and success, write experts Joseph Fuller and Matt Sigelman, but should be deployed strategically. They recommend starting with skills-based promotions and adjusting onboarding for skills-based hires, as well as defining requirements to succeed initially, among other tips.

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