Grainger reported $2.84 billion in second-quarter sales, a dip of 1.7% from a year ago, and $114 million in profit, down 56.2%. "We gained significant share in a down market, fueled by elevated levels of pandemic product sales and improving trends in nonpandemic product sales throughout the quarter," Chairman and CEO D.G. Macpherson said.
UFP Industries posted second-quarter net profit of $69.69 million on net sales of $1.24 billion, both up from a year earlier. Sales by unit were down, but higher prices carried the company.
Indian River Consulting Group's weekly Pandemic Revenue Index of 10 distributors declined 5.5% in the week of July 13 to 17 compared with a year ago, a smaller decline than the previous week. "The plateauing trend with mid-single-digit declines continues, at least for now," IRCG's Mike Emerson writes.
Amazon has begun testing its Scout delivery robot in two more US markets after launching pilots in Irvine, Calif., and Snohomish County, Wash., last year. Robots deployed in Franklin, Tenn., and Atlanta will make deliveries on weekdays to select customers and will be accompanied by human employees.
Women hold an increasing number of chief supply chain officer positions, but they constitute a smaller percentage of vice presidents or senior directors now than in 2019, according to a recent Gartner survey. Given the pandemic and resulting economic downturn, "the concern is that in this moment ... people who are midcareer or at an inflection point are at risk," said Dana Stiffler, vice president analyst at Gartner.
Salespeople can't afford to waste time selling to people who aren't ideal prospects, which only leads to frustration, additional work and diminished time and resources for other clients. "There are certain people who are simply not a good fit for your business and vice versa," writes Colleen Francis.
Employee-recognition programs are critical right now, as many workers battle feelings of isolation brought on by enforced quarantines, writes Raphael Crawford-Marks, founder and CEO of Bonusly. Crawford-Marks offers tips for improving recognition, such as by encouraging all employees -- not just managers -- to look for their peers' praiseworthy contributions and recognize them for those efforts.
Distribution hasn't seen disruption like what we're seeing today. Distribution expert Ian Heller provides an overview of current and upcoming technology disruption that is driven by new, advanced technologies and outside entrants. He discusses how these technologies will change customer expectations and how distributors should change to meet them. Traditional distributors must find new ways to compete and non-traditional ways of adding value. Get the intel you need in this research report and at next week's webinar. Register for the July 28 webinar and download the report.
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.
Distributors have made progress in navigating through this unprecedented disruption, but much more is needed. Replay this July 16 webinar with Michael DeCata, President and CEO of Lawson Products, as he discusses how he is navigating through COVID-19 and how it has accelerated his plans around innovation. He is joined by Mark Dancer, author of NAW's "Innovate to Dominate: The 12th Edition in the Facing the Forces of Change Series," and Richard Blatcher of PROS. Sponsored by PROS.
