Genuine Parts lost $564 million in the second quarter, with most of that attributed to divestitures, on total sales of $3.82 billion, which were down 14.2% from the year-ago period. Its Motion Industries unit saw sales fall 21.1% to $1.33 billion, although much of that decline was attributed to the sale of EIS.

Toromont Industries posted second-quarter revenue of $849.6 million, down 13.2% from a year ago, while first-half revenue was down 7%. President and CEO Scott Medhurst said the declines were due to "reduced economic activity, caused by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic."

United Rentals had second-quarter revenue of $1.94 billion, down 15.3% from a year earlier, although it posted a profit of $212 million.

User experience and search engine optimization go together in ensuring customer satisfaction with B2B sellers' websites and increasing business, writes Dean Mueller of Distribution Strategy Group. He recommends performing a website audit and hiring outside help for best results.

One of the biggest mistakes a salesperson can make is working with only one decision-maker within a company, leaving them vulnerable to lost sales, writes Colleen Francis. "You need to always know who the backup, likely successor, or other decision-makers are so that you can shore up your defenses and risk mitigate against losing the business," Francis writes.

Criticism can sting, so the challenge for managers is being empathetic while also being clear about what needs to change, writes Kim Scott. "When you challenge people and expect them to challenge you back, you both get stronger," Scott writes.

Based on original research conducted in July with wholesaler-distributors in many lines of trade across the industry, author Ian Heller of Distribution Strategy Group will reveal on this webinar how distributors evaluate and respond to emerging technologies. Is Artificial Intelligence a threat, an opportunity, or both? Find out how distributors plan to incorporate new technologies to build their competitive advantage. Register now. Research report with more intel is coming in early August. Sponsored by Unilog, SAP and Conexiom.

Mark Dancer says, "As some distributor leaders drive their businesses to offer unique customer experiences, enabled by new operating models, they are finding that their company's traditional knowledge and skills are coming up short. Leading-edge distributors already know this, and so they are competing on continual innovations and embracing the practice of building an innovation ecosystem, which consists of outside advisors, vendors and partners to help them generate ideas, provide design assistance and help with implementation." Read his post.

If you missed NAW's July webinar with Ian Heller, you can watch it on demand. Wholesale distribution has never seen disruption like what we're seeing today. Ian provides an overview of current and upcoming technology disruption in the industry 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. Also download the 20-page research report that provides even more intelligence. Sponsors are Unilog and SAP.