Distributors have realized that virtual events are "a very good supplement" to in-person meetings and conferences, says Patricia Lilly, chief thought leadership officer at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and executive director of the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence. "While in-person events will continue when things are safe and people are feeling comfortable, I think the virtual element will be here to stay," she says.

Winsupply has completed its purchase of Massachusetts-based plumbing and heating wholesale distributor Avon Supply for an undisclosed amount. Separately, Applied Industrial Technologies has bought automation products company Advanced Control Solutions.

Indian River Consulting Group's Pandemic Revenue Index of 13 distributors increased 4.8% for the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 2. Meanwhile, the Fastener Distributor Index from FCH Sourcing Network and R.W. Baird came in at 52 for September, indicating expansion and an increase from August.

Scammers can connect information from small data breaches to execute sophisticated attacks, writes Jane Lee, trust and safety architect at Sift. Lee concludes that "fraud prevention needs to be an ecosystem-wide effort, so that user data is rendered useless—thus breaking the most important link in the fraud supply chain."

About one in three business-to-business purchasing executives use e-commerce marketplaces for at least 50% of purchases, according to a Digital Commerce 360 B2B survey. Nearly 30% said they make 50% or more of their purchasing volume with Amazon Business.

Achieve marketing and sales alignment by jointly defining ideal customer profiles and agreeing what "innovation" looks like, writes LeadMD CEO Justin Gray. Work in tandem to deliver content and messaging during the buying journey, and measure success via metrics such as "relationship depth," Gray recommends.

The top tactic used by business-to-business marketers is email, followed by social media and content, according to a study by Sagefrog Marketing Group. Conversely, just 16% of B2B marketers choose email marketing as a top priority for investment, while the most popular choice at 51% was website development.

Companies without much room to spend during the pandemic should examine support functions and revamp them for efficiency and efficacy, according to this Boston Consulting Group analysis, which offers a four-step guide. "Dedicated teams within each functional unit should develop their own sets of specific blueprints and identify their ultimate service delivery goals," the authors write.

What will be the impact of AI on distributor sales and operations? While AI hasn't transformed distribution yet, the change is coming soon. Integral to research being done by the NAW Institute is hearing directly from distributor executives. Will you please spare 5-10 minutes to help ensure that we get the most accurate data to inform this research? All individual answers will be kept confidential. In return for your time, we'll send you benchmark data on your AI readiness, and an AI opportunity analysis upon your request. Take the survey.

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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.