Ferguson reported higher first-quarter adjusted core earnings and underlying trading profit, while revenue increased by 3.1%, to $5.3 billion. US revenue was up by 3.2%, while Canada was also a strong market.

Third-party sellers on Amazon are concerned that the company's recent limits on warehouse space will inhibit their ability to fulfill the rush of holiday orders, and some say products that were typically moved to fulfillment centers within days now take up to two weeks. Amazon previously said the policies were implemented to ensure adequate room for sellers' goods and to prevent shipping delays and bottlenecks like those at the start of the pandemic.

A distributor's level of involvement in e-commerce could affect the support it receives from manufacturers, writes Channel Marketing Group President David Gordon, who explains what e-commerce success looks like for distributors.

US businesses that use distribution centers and warehouses in the UK for the EU market are bracing for possible logistics disruptions related to a possible upcoming Brexit deal. "Now, with the UK being a separate market, we see a lot of US companies investigating a two-DC solution for Europe: one covering the EU/EEA [European Economic Area] and one covering the UK," said Stan de Caluwe of the Holland International Distribution Council.

Personalized e-mails, up-to-date cold call lists and appropriate follow up are three keys to boosting business-to-business marketing efforts, writes Ademola Alex Adekunbi. "B2B and B2C customers are very different in the way they make choices on what products and services to buy," Adekunbi writes, adding, "hence, the approach of selling to them must take those differences into consideration in order to be effective."

The coronavirus pandemic has created difficult challenges for sales teams, but many of the changes being made will ultimately lead to positive results, writes David Brock. Sales managers should not stubbornly stick to "normal" practices, instead opting to constantly rethink processes and procedures for the better, Brock writes.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator defines 16 personality types, which can be useful to know when working with others to see their strengths and weaknesses. This story walks through how to work effectively with each of the personality types, particularly while working remotely.

Effective leaders know how to hire the right people, delegate and empower them instead of trying to do it all themselves, writes Brian Berner. "I am constantly humbled by my team and live by the idea that if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room," 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.

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, Conexiom, Mirakl and PROS.