True Value Hardware is dealing with competition from Amazon by making investments such as the $150 million it spent on a 1 million-square-foot Pennsylvania distribution center, said CEO John Hartmann. "We are listening to our customers intently," Hartmann said.

Amazon Air will open a cargo hub in Fort Worth, Texas, next month that will be operated by 300 full-time employees, feature sorting services and operate daily flights. The facility will be part of the 26,000-acre Alliance Global Logistics Hub, an intermodal complex that includes highway and rail access.

Artificial intelligence can be used to help industrial distributors identify customer purchasing trends and make better procurement decisions, writes David Panitch. Distributors should develop and communicate clear plans for implementing AI and start with small projects, Panitch writes.

Better forecasting and technology can help distributors quickly fulfill orders without overinvesting in stock. Avoid buying until stock levels hit specific reorder points, and use minimum quantity thresholds to automate reordering, writes Bridget McCrea.

Larisa Bedgood provides statistics to explain why customer retention should be a major focus for business-to-business marketers, 34% of whom say educating customers to make sure they have complete knowledge of their company's services and products is their biggest retention priority, per Brightback. The same study found that 51% of B2B marketers say testing various discount offers at the point of cancellation is the most effective strategy to reduce customer churn.

Linkedin Marketing Solutions' Alex Sibois examines the nuances that are particular to business-to-business marketing, such as finding the right balance between sales activation and boosting brand awareness, and appealing to multiple decision-makers over a long buying journey. "Targeting should aim for broader audiences, influenced by long term and far-reaching thought leadership content," Sibois advises.

Leaders need to practice what they preach, but they should also avoid lengthy or complex value propositions, says Chris Barbin, former CEO of Appirio and chief culture officer at Wipro. "Generally, there's a perception gap between what the leadership believes they are doing and representing and what the actual employee base believes and sees," he says.

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