Ongoing pandemic-related issues with meat and produce supplies mean that restaurants must continue to seek alternatives such as frozen products, says David Poe, senior vice president of category management at US Foods. He notes that seafood is "a great protein option" that remains widely available.
Impossible Foods is making its plant-based sausage patties available to any restaurant that wants to put them on the menu via foodservice distributors, including US Foods, Sysco and Dot Foods. Impossible Foods has teamed with Yelp to identify the country's top 30 independent diners and reward them with a free supply.
Distribution centers are increasingly taking sustainability into account by using technology to prescribe the right amount of packaging and by relying on recyclable and reusable shipping materials instead of single-use plastics. "Consumers are certainly driving all of the actions we're seeing our customers take," says Chris Rempe of Automated Packaging Systems.
The coronavirus pandemic is teaching distributors how much work can be done remotely and whether their suppliers, customers and other entities are reliable, among other lessons, writes Robert Sabath.
Salespeople must be more than just order-takers to succeed with today's buyers, writes David Brock. "Buyers want and need guidance, leadership, and help," Brock writes.
Business-to-business marketers should partner with the right publishers to create valuable content that moves prospects along the buying journey and results in quality leads, John Webb writes. Ditch lead generation for demand generation to "understand, persuade and move audiences," he writes.
Twenty-four percent of workers requested paid time off in May, up from 18% in April, according to a study from Namely. Fewer workers are taking time off this year compared with last year -- 38% of workers requested time off in May 2019 -- but data suggests people are stepping out as the government eases stay-at-home restrictions.
Distributors have made progress in navigating through this unprecedented disruption, but much more is needed. In this live webinar, we will follow up with Michael DeCata, President and CEO of Lawson Products, to hear how he is navigating through COVID-19 and how it has accelerated his plans around innovation. Mark Dancer, author of NAW's "Innovate to Dominate," and Richard Blatcher of PROS will explore with Mike how distributors must implement an "innovation ecosystem" to compete in the new normal. Register today! Sponsored by PROS.
Are you well-informed about different best practices and knowledge in our industry? If not, NAW's Top 10 E-book List can help get you up-to-speed quickly so you and your business can stay competitive in these challenging times.
