Specialty building materials distributor US LBM has acquired a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of structural building components, Automated Products, that supplies material for builders in the state and throughout the Minnesota-St. Paul metropolitan region. The deal marks the fourth structural building component manufacturer acquisition this year for US LBM. Automated Products leadership is expected to remain in place.

Foodservice packaging, printing papers and janitorial supplies distributor Imperial Dade has acquired New Brunswick-based Pro-Tech Sanitation, a cleaning supplies and equipment distributor, in a deal that enhances Imperial's presence in Canada's eastern provinces. "Imperial Dade looks forward to building upon Pro-Tech's already established success and continuing to find ways to better serve our customers and vendor partners," says Imperial Dade Canada President Stephane Lapointe.

The South African Weather Service on Tuesday forecast a cold front that is likely to create storm conditions and swells around 30 feet that will affect ships that have been rerouted due to instability in the Red Sea. In addition, Maersk has warned of slowdowns in the US as trucks have been delayed by power outages related to Hurricane Beryl in Texas and BNSF has closed its Pearland Intermodal Facility in Houston until the weather improves.

Consumer expectations regarding speed and convenience are factors pushing warehouses to make connectivity a priority and equip the workforce to interact with automation, writes Ryan Chesterfield from Auto-FC. Making the changes necessary to keep up with automation takes time, writes Chesterfield, who urges "careful planning, execution, and ongoing refinement."

Data normalization is at the heart of effective procurement orchestration, followed by making it work within contextual and conditional workflows, says Anders Lillevik, Focal Point CEO and founder, who notes the third principle is a "singular" view that facilitates automation. It is essential to "know what's being done, who's doing it," and be able to "ensure the process is being followed with all the leave-behinds that someone in auditing would want there to be," says Lillevik, noting that relying on Excel is counterproductive.

Retaining existing customers shouldn't be an afterthought, writes David Brock, author of "the Sales Manager Survival Guide," recommending a focus on how sales can continue to help customers. Brock advises salespeople to keep looking for opportunities to expand business with existing customers, or risk losing them to competitors.

Lauren Boyman, chief marketing officer at KPMG, talks about the company's "AiQ" initiative to upskill employees in generative AI and how the marketing team is using the technology. Boyman explains how AI is improving content creation and creating innovative customer experiences, such as Skylar, an interactive podcast booth powered by AI.

According to the Bank of America Institute, job hopping has slowed, with the rate of job-to-job changes decreasing from almost 4% during the Great Resignation to around 3%. The median pay raise for those changing jobs has also dropped from over 20% to approximately 10%. "This continued downward trend suggests the labor market is no longer as tight, and the balance of power between employer and employee has shifted back towards the hiring firm," according to the report.

CFOs feel knowledgeable about health care costs but are worried about their unpredictability, particularly when it comes to expensive new therapies, according to a recent report from Mercer. Health benefit costs are increasing more rapidly than inflation and 72% of CFOs report health care expenses are less predictable than other company costs. More than one-third of CFOs lack confidence in long-term cost management strategies.

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