The Indian River Consulting Group's Pandemic Revenue Index of 10 distributors increased by 11.7% in the week of June 29 to July 3 after several months of weekly declines. Meanwhile, the FCH Sourcing Network's Fastener Distributor Index registered at 56.9 in June, 11.9 points above May and the highest level since November 2018.
Walmart is set to launch Walmart+, a subscription program that will offer shoppers same-day delivery, reserved slots, deals and discounts, and other membership perks. Walmart did not comment on the reports, which said the service will be offered for $98 a year and would launch sometime this month, about four months after the original spring rollout of the new program was delayed by the pandemic.
An autonomous robot designed by MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Ava Robotics can disinfect a 4,000-square-foot space in about half an hour, killing any coronavirus on surfaces. The robot is being tested at the Greater Boston Food Bank's warehouse with plans to expand to the building's shipping dock and other high-traffic locations.
Kateryna Novatska provides a comprehensive guide to creating a business-to-business video strategy that spans hosting platforms, distribution, technology and content creation. She explains why the video marketing strategies of Cisco, HubSpot and Intel are so successful, and describes how these brands use creative storytelling and educational content to engage social audiences.
Distributors should discern service levels among customers in the areas of sales and marketing, support and technology, consultant Andrew Horvath writes. Doing so ensures maximum growth while controlling costs, he writes.
Midyear conversations are more productive when employees are prepared to talk about goals and when leaders are ready with insightful questions that spur ideas for improvement, writes Kevin Eikenberry. "Both parties should leave this conversation knowing what they can do to sustain and improve performance in pursuit of your goals," he writes.
Cost and privacy concerns are keeping many employers from implementing mass testing of workers for the coronavirus. With diagnostic tests costing about $100 per person, some employers are focusing instead on measures such as temperature checks, masks and social distancing.
NAW's new project, "How Technology Will Transform Wholesale Distribution," will help forward-thinking distributors to develop successful marketplace strategies, form new methods of differentiation, and survive and thrive through the digital transformation and disruption before us. To ensure that our research includes the advanced technology distributors are using now or contemplating using, please take 7-9 minutes to complete this survey. All answers will be kept confidential.
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.
