SpartanNash, which already announced a $25 weekly bonus for hourly associates working during the pandemic, will pay certain workers an extra $2 for each hour worked from April 5-25. "These financial incentives are our way of giving back to the hourly front-line associates who are giving so much during these unprecedented times," says interim President and CEO Dennis Eidson.

The coronavirus contributed to revenue decreases for electrical distributors in March, with year-over-year comparisons weakening as the month went on, according to data from Baird Research. First-quarter revenue for electrical distributors increased 0.1% compared with Q1 2019, Baird said.

MSC Industrial Supply posted a profit for the second quarter ended Feb. 29, but revenue was down 4.5%. CEO Erik Gershwind says about 20% of MSC's customers are sidelined.

Distributors make incorrect forecasts for a variety of reasons, including rote reliance on historical data and inventory levels, writes eTurns CEO Rock Rockwell. "Use inventory usage data collected at the point-of-use to evaluate existing agreements with customers, and regularly assess whether the forecasts are still accurate and benefiting both parties," he writes.

Distributors will have a better chance of successfully navigating the pandemic by acknowledging the difficulties of the situation without panicking, writes ActVantage co-founder Pradip Krishnadevarajan. He describes a process of mobilize, observe, validate and enable that can help companies.

Great salespeople are disciplined and "leave nothing to chance" in terms of punctuality and preparation, writes Darrell Sterling of Johnstone Supply. "The top salespeople stay focused on the prize and rid themselves of worthless reports, time killing meetings, and time spent on low probability leads," he argues.

Benj Cohen says, "Coronavirus has thoroughly disrupted the sales processes for distributors. Not only have customer demands changed, but the process of selling has also been transformed. Social distancing has forced an accelerated digitization upon distributors. Suddenly, businesses that relied heavily on personal interactions and skilled outside sales reps are unarmed. Meanwhile, inside sales, customer service and e-commerce have become key channels." Read his post.

In this November 2019 webinar sponsored by PROS, Innovate to Dominate author Mark Dancer discussed ways that distributors can lead in this age of B2B innovation to defeat disruption and reinvigorate our business economy through digital transformation. Joining Mark for a distributor’s perspective was Mike DeCata, President and CEO of Lawson Products. Replay the webinar here for big ideas and major takeaways for your business.