E&R Industrial, which was divested from Grainger in late 2023, is being led by CEO Joe Stephens, who aims to modernize and expand the privately owned metalworking and industrial supplies distributor through mergers and acquisitions and sales force development. Stephens, with experience from Fastenal and Motor City Industrial, discusses the importance of relationship selling, technology enablement and the evolving role of vending.

Leonard Green & Partners has acquired NEFCO, a Connecticut-based construction supply distributor, from Bertram Capital. NEFCO had expanded its geographic reach and capabilities under Bertram. NEFCO President and CEO Matthew Gelles expressed optimism about using LGP's resources and expertise to continue its growth momentum.

Anti-circumvention clauses in distribution agreements are designed to prevent manufacturers from bypassing distributors and dealing directly with customers, writes Fred Mendelsohn of Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella. These non-circumvention or direct dealing clauses can be territory-based, customer-based or non-solicitation, and they should be clearly defined, limited in duration and include strong enforcement mechanisms.

Simbe has officially launched Tally 4.0, the latest generation of its autonomous shelf-scanning robot. This new version builds on 10 years of field experience, maintaining its shopper-friendly appearance while incorporating significant upgrades to both hardware and software. Tally 4.0 will be available to customers starting mid-2026. The robot is expected to provide retailers with more accurate and faster shelf data to support inventory management, pricing and planogram compliance across a broad range of retail environments.

B2B sales reps heavily rely on case studies and short-form content, and report that long-form content like white papers and social media posts are less effective in engaging customers, according to an informal survey by Ryerson's Mike Carrozzo. Content is most valuable during the prospecting and early conversation stages, but its effectiveness declines after the sale, showcasing an opportunity for marketers to create content that supports customer retention.

As AI agents increasingly influence purchasing decisions, the traditional marketing funnel has become obsolete, writes Boobesh Ramadurai of LatentView Analytics. Marketers must optimize content for machine discovery and tailor messaging for both human emotion and machine logic, Ramadurai writes.

A survey from Ortec shows that 42% of North American logistics executives are not exploring agentic AI, despite its potential to update planning and execution. Executives cite high integration costs, lack of model explainability and poor data quality as main challenges.

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