NAW President Dirk Van Dongen has been named by President Donald Trump to one of his industry advisory groups on reopening the economy. Key distribution industry CEOs also named include Mike Kaufmann of Cardinal Health, Bryan Tyler of McKesson, Kevin Hourican of Sysco and Marc Casper of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Fastenal CEO Dan Florness said Tuesday that he does not expect the coronavirus pandemic to force the company to cut as many full-time-equivalent positions as the recession did in 2009. "Certain discretionary costs such as sales and travel-related selling, as well as branch openings and closings will continue to be managed tightly by field leadership," said Chief Financial Officer Holden Lewis.

Sally Beauty CEO Christian Brickman has helped the company embrace digital tools over the past five years. "For the first seven or eight years of the smartphone, we didn't exist on the smartphone," Brickman says.

Companies need a centralized group to manage this crisis, with that hub building a variety of teams dedicated to critical operations and quickly changing realities. This McKinsey report details what a "network of teams" means and why teams should be led by "creative problem solvers with critical thinking skills."

Marketing expert Goldie Chan chats to talent management specialist Abhijit Bhaduri about how business-to-business marketers can work with influencers during the pandemic to build trust with customers and prospects. Work with "[i]nfluencers who can build hope, optimism, and resilience among customers and employees alike," Bhaduri advises, before talking about strong influencer campaigns from various B2B brands.

Sales professionals should focus on retaining a positive mindset, using available metrics effectively and pivoting quickly when change is needed as they adapt to challenging times, writes Colleen Francis. It's important to keep a close eye on relevant markets and focus on serving customers in marketing messages, Francis adds.

A crisis "is not the time to put on your Superman cape and think you can fly around and protect everything yourself," says Pam Fields, president of Fieldwork and a former CEO. "If you create a culture of help and helpfulness, you're much better positioned to deal with bumps in the road, however large," she says.

Do you have at least one person in each of your locations who is trained to clean and disinfect for coronavirus? NAW member ISSA and its Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) division released the GBAC Fundamentals Online Course to teach infection and contamination control measures that ensure worker safety. Take the course to learn protocols and earn a certificate of completion for $150 (50% off list price) with promo code NAWGBAC.

Did you miss last Thursday's webinar with Alan Beaulieu: "Distribution Industry: Navigating the Crisis," where he provided a short-, mid- and long-term financial outlook for wholesale distribution along with other leading economic indicators? It's not too late for you to join the hundreds of distribution executives who benefited from Alan's forecast. The webinar recording and slide deck are available now for purchase. Order here.