April saw a minor 0.1% uptick in US wholesale inventories, mirroring a similar rise in sales, according to Commerce Department data. Current metrics suggest that inventory stocks are broadly keeping pace with demand, and the inventory-to-sales ratio sits at 1.35 months compared with 1.39 months a year ago.

Ted Cowie spent the past four decades at the helm of industrial and safety sales teams at Barnes Distribution, Safety Today and Motion. Cowie, who is retiring from Motion this month, discusses the ways the sales function has changed and the importance of relationships and connections in sales teams. Cowie also details expanding product offerings, stressing sales teams should know how to uncover opportunities and find the appropriate resources and suppliers to pursue those opportunities.

The US job market added 272,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in May, according to Labor Department data. Despite a slight uptick in the unemployment rate to 4.0%, the robust job growth indicates a resilient economy. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4% from April and 4.1% from a year ago.

Operational costs decline, productivity increases, worker retention improves and customers are more satisfied when manufacturers integrate the supply chain, writes Matt Goker of ATA. Selecting the appropriate platform for digitization, choosing providers capable of customization and applying best practices with a priority on data are three keys to a successful integration strategy, Goker writes.

Generative AI will make a noticeable difference in challenges faced by freight brokerages and logistics companies, but it is critical to get buy-in organization-wide rather than relying solely on the tech team, says Megan Orth, senior director of commercial connectivity at C.H. Robinson. Generative AI tools must be appropriately trained, said Orth, describing how the company has progressed from limited use cases to broader applications.

Sales teams often struggle with rejection, writes Michelle Richardson, vice president of sales performance research at the Brooks Group, who offers six tips for overcoming rejection. Richardson's recommendations include to expect some amount of rejection, learn from lost sales and focus on the next opportunity.

Being indifferent doesn't mean you don't care about what's going on, but instead you've done the hard work of discerning what's truly important and what you can let go, writes Steve Keating. Create this new mindset by setting clear priorities, learning to detach from external events, spending time in self-reflection and embracing change instead of trying to control things around you, Keating advises.

There are roughly 2,000 publicly traded US companies and nearly 7,000 globally that carry so much debt their earnings cannot cover the interest on their borrowings. These "zombie" companies accumulated cheap debt over the years but are now strained by high borrowing costs. Corporate bankruptcies are at a 14-year high in the US and could still hinder the economy even if central bank rate cuts come to fruition.

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