Foundation Building Materials has acquired Wisconsin-based Marriott Drywall Materials for an undisclosed amount. "The addition of Marriott further builds our residential and commercial market presence in the Milwaukee metropolitan area," Foundation Building Materials President and CEO Ruben Mendoza said.

Amazon Air took delivery of its first direct-purchase Boeing 767 to join its fleet. Amazon Air is leasing dozens of 767s and 737s for its operations.

Distributors need to design their websites in such a way that they facilitate easy shopping, not just buying, writes Dean Mueller of Distribution Strategy Group. He notes the importance of understanding customer intent, tracking Google's Core Web Vitals and constantly seeking improvements to ensure a good user experience.

While micromanaging is often the wrong strategy for sales managers, it can be a good approach where metrics are concerned, writes Colleen Francis. Sales managers should be checking sales velocity, pipeline size and opportunities created on a daily basis, Francis writes.

Thibaud Clement, CEO of Loomly, says visual content is key for brands to capture viewers' ever-shrinking attention, and crucial because it conveys more information more concisely than text can. He emphasizes that repetition and consistency will help make brands memorable, which eventually establishes brand awareness, relevance and trust.

Take breaks frequently, especially when you're about to make a decision based on emotions, to give yourself a chance to process and reflect on the situation, writes Wally Bock. "Think about possibilities and opportunities to get a clear view of the opportunities you want to seize," he writes.

Leaders need to do a historical audit of their company to uncover past acts that could be considered objectionable, such as unfair labor practices, and seek ways to modernize its reputation, writes Bruce Weindruch. "In this historical moment, when standards and expectations are changing continually, when reputation is more valuable, but more vulnerable, than ever, being forewarned is being forearmed," he writes.

Register now for NAW's Sept. 24 live webinar, "How Distributor Customers Will Use Technologies From Their Suppliers and Who Is Winning." Leading technology companies are offering customers new ways of ordering. Retailers and distributors are using AI-enabled business intelligence to understand customer needs better and are applying autonomous vehicles, including drones, for deliveries. Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein will delve into how important all of this is to distributor customers and whether distributors need to build technological capabilities to remain competitive.

The pandemic is forcing many distributors to reevaluate their supply chains to create more resilient models. At the heart of "Optimizing Channel Profitability" is a common ground for distributors and manufacturers to focus on making a one-to-one connection among a supplier's channel compensation, a distributor's capabilities and customer value, all leading to a process where all three entities can have constructive, objective dialogue rather than subjective, selective fault-finding. If you're looking to strengthen your value proposition post COVID-19, this resource will help.

Are you ready for the technology that is transforming distribution? With the influx of new competitors and new technologies, changes are happening at warp speed. In this NAW series of seven research reports and seven accompanying webinars in seven months, distribution expert Ian Heller will help you to gain the intelligence you need to formulate new strategies and ensure that your company thrives through this era of technology transformation. You've got seven months, so let's get started. Sponsors include Unilog, SAP and Conexiom.