Fastenal's daily sales in November increased by 6.8% from a year ago, and total sales were also up 6.8%. Safety products had a sales increase of 35.9% compared with a year earlier.

United Natural Foods is setting new targets for reducing emissions, boosting sustainability and addressing climate change, and the wholesale grocer plans to submit the goals to the Science-Based Targets initiative for approval within a year. UNFI is joining a number of other food industry companies collaborating with the initiative, which is dedicated to helping the private sector develop climate change action plans.

Distributors need to use the best technology for e-commerce platforms while offering the best service for customers, write Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein of Distribution Strategy Group. They recommend looking beyond conventional return-on-investment models and invest in adaptable management of value-added services.

Shifts toward renewable energy, automation and optimized energy consumption are among the warehouse trends to watch as companies update their logistics strategies amid the coronavirus pandemic. Prologis' Essentials program has helped some clients move toward LED lighting, achieving environmental and monetary benefits in the process.

Business-to-business marketers seeking to target small- and medium-sized companies should invest in third-party data and monitor intent data to improve personalization, Outward Media's Paula Chiocchi writes. "When planning your campaigns or targeted outreach, focus on the direct value your solution offers and be specific when it comes to what customers can expect," Chiocchi advises.

Business-to-business companies should consider investing in apps and App Store optimization as the pandemic accelerates the digital trend, writes Gummicube's Dave Bell. Bell provides optimization tips spanning audience and keyword targeting, metadata, conversion, click generation and paid advertising.

Criticism is inevitable, but what you control is how you react to it, writes Dan Rockwell, who offers four themes for handling feedback you disagree with. "It's a waste of mental resources to criticize a critic," he writes.

Attend NAW's free webinar, "Value-Added Services as a Survival Strategy: Real Value Isn't Free," on Dec. 15, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Many distributors historically gave away services as part of selling products. Now that assortment and availability have been commoditized, they find that a strong service menu can differentiate them from their competitors. However, "free" services are usually poorly developed and managed and they include costs without clear revenues. There is a better alternative; join us to learn all about it.

Join your distributor colleagues for the NAW Digital Summit, Jan. 27-28, a welcoming forum to network, learn and share ideas. We'll have a condensed schedule packed with critical areas of focus that you must consider when bracing for an unpredictable future, including the Annual Economic Update and a Post-Election Analysis with an exploration of what the new landscape means for your business. The always-popular discussion roundtables will help you uncover new ideas about leading in a time of transition. Sign up and we'll notify you when registration is open.

Old school distribution is about stocking inventory, taking orders and serving demand. New school distribution is about innovating through customer services and working side-by-side with customers in the real world. The future of distribution is about solving problems in your customer's business -- often before your customer even knows a problem exists. Innovate to Dominate provides breakthrough ideas, lessons from leading distributors who are innovating and inspiration to help you lead your customers into the future and sustain your competitive advantage.