The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and other business groups are suing the federal government over an expansion of mandatory overtime pay rules. The lawsuit, filed against the Department of Labor, seeks to block the implementation of a Labor Department rule that would require overtime pay for workers earning less than roughly $58,600 annually. "The Department of Labor's overtime rule imposes new burdens and compliance costs on an industry already facing workforce shortages and excessive regulations," said NAW Chief Government Affairs Officer Brian Wild. "The significant increase in salary threshold will stifle employee growth opportunities, reduce workplace autonomy, and limit flexibility."

US business activity increased in May, reaching its highest level since April 2022, according to S&P Global's flash Composite PMI Output Index, which jumped to 54.4 from 51.3 a month earlier. Services fueled the upward move, with that index rising to 54.8 in May, from 51.3 in April. Manufacturing PMI moved up to 50.9, from 50, despite reported increases in input prices that could fuel future inflation.

Middletown, Conn.-based U.S. Electrical Services is expected to close in July on a deal to purchase Glens Falls, N.Y.-based Askco Electric Supply, a family-owned operation that serves commercial, industrial and residential markets. Askco will continue to operate under its name but will become part of Electrical Wholesalers & HZ Electric Supply Region.

Using AI and machine learning to automate supply chain analytics improves efficiency, makes it easier to scale, reduces cost and maximizes visibility, writes Tom Chapman, who shares examples from major vendors such as SAP and SS&C Blue Prism. "To effectively combat unprecedented supply chain stressors like inflation, it's imperative that CSCOs focus on using analytics, AI and automation initiatives to build intelligent, resilient and sustainable supply chains," says Jonathan Wright of IBM Consulting, another featured vendor.

OpenAI's upgraded GPT-4o can recognize more language nuances and deliver responses that sound like real conversations, writes Brian Hopkins. This offers distributors a way to use AI chatbots around the clock for customer support and consistent and personalized interactions. Chatbots are multilingual, can handle a broader range of topics and industries, troubleshoot more complex issues, manage repetitive tasks and offer instant answers drawn from databases and knowledge bases.

Seventy percent of shippers report being optimistic about revenue growth in the third quarter, a 5% increase over the first two quarters of 2024, despite decreasing volume, according to the BlueGrace Logistics Confidence Index. Negative sentiments about inventory management continue to grow, however, increasing from 6% during the first quarter to 21% for the third.

Dmytro Kudrenko, founder and CEO of Stripo, explains how business-to-business marketers can harness generative AI to not only optimize, but entirely create email campaigns. Kudrenko describes how to progress from starting small with subject lines and gradually teaching the technology along the way with brand data until, eventually, it can power the entire process.

Cold calling can be an effective tool if the calls are focused on customers who can truly benefit from the product or service instead of random outreach, advises David Brock, author of "Sales Manager Survival Guide." Cold calling customers "will always be a cornerstone of high impact customer engagement," Brock writes.

Several Federal Reserve officials questioned during the latest policy meeting whether monetary policy was restrictive enough to push inflation down to the central bank's 2% target, according to minutes from the meeting. Officials called policy "well positioned" but "noted disappointing readings on inflation over the first quarter" and said "it would take longer than previously anticipated for them to gain greater confidence that inflation was moving sustainably toward 2%," the minutes show.

Keep employee engagement high during organizational change by clearly communicating the changes, explaining how employees will be affected and preparing managers to deal with any backlash, writes Shane McFeely, the lead researcher at Quantum Workplace. Rely on those who embrace the change to show others opportunities they may have missed and listen to the critics to improve direction and implementation, McFeely advises.

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In observance of Memorial Day in the US, SmartBrief will not publish Monday, May 27.