Staples' recent announcement that it will offer same-day delivery with Instacart in the US could position it to take business away from Amazon, Matthew Stern writes. He notes that Amazon's struggle to fulfill orders in a timely manner during the coronavirus pandemic may benefit Staples and other retailers.

Walmart has teamed with Canadian e-commerce company Shopify in a deal that will add 1,200 of Shopify's third-party sellers to Walmart's online marketplace this year. The partnership, which comes as Walmart's online sales are growing faster amid the pandemic, looks to assist the retail giant better compete against Amazon.

Distributors should build customer profiles to identify trends and changes that could lead to increased sales and profits, writes Robert Kelley of Distribution Strategy Group. Good profiles can help distributors set up pricing and loyalty programs and better serve small customers, among other benefits.

Corporate executives that need to reinforce stressed supply chains can learn from financial markets that weathered a similar shock and had flaws exposed during the 2007-2009 recession, Brendan Murray writes. A paper by Michigan State University professor Steven Melnyk and Maine Pointe executive Simon Knowles urges businesses to act quickly to fix supply chains and focus on safety, sustainability, advanced technology and risk rebalancing, with Melnyk noting, "The winners will be those firms who are willing to make investments now."

Distributors can support salespeople by helping them review pricing and maintain margin, John Gunderson writes. "It's often a SKU by SKU street battle to find ways to help the sales team during a time where the pressure to go low will be at an all-time high," he writes.

The top three skills business-to-business buyers want to see from salespeople are active listening, problem solving and confidence, per LinkedIn. The study also found the most valued traits sought in salespeople by sales managers are problem solving, critical thinking and relationship building.

Testing employees for the coronavirus is one way small businesses can move closer to normal operations, but organizing and paying for testing can be prohibitive. "We're really good at logistics in getting products and services to our customers, but we're not medical people," said Mike Stanfill, president of distributor French Gerleman.

Fear of failure can leave people stuck in "highly functioning mediocrity," as opposed to the higher state possible through admitting vulnerability and taking action based on clear values and ethics, writes LaRae Quy. This approach means you'll forgive people, practice kindness and "possess the self-awareness to recognize those areas that need improvement," she writes.

Subscribe to the new NAW Podcast Series: INNOVATE TO DOMINATE, sponsored by PROS so you don't miss a single episode. In episode 1, listeners will learn about INNOVATE TO DOMINATE and what it means in the context of COVID-19. This podcast series is centered around the findings in NAW's "Innovate to Dominate: The 12th Edition in the Facing the Forces of Change Series," which helps distributors connect the dots between the forces of change, the things that are reshaping how customers buy, and how businesses operate.

According to NAW Blog guest blogger Benj Cohen, "The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the relationship between distributors and customers. Distributors' sales processes have changed as travel and onsite visits have become all but impossible. Customer behavior has shifted within this new environment too. The combination of these factors means that distributors now face a unique and challenging puzzle: They must figure out how to make personalized sales without actually having personal contact with customers." Read his post.