United Natural Foods expects to extend its deal with Whole Foods in early 2021 while also finding a replacement for Steve Spinner, who is retiring as CEO. UNFI is also aiming to reduce costs by up to $100 million in the next couple of years.

Maryland-based Roberts Oxygen is prepared to produce more dry ice, as demand is expected for keeping coronavirus vaccines at the right temperature so they can be safely distributed. "The No. 1 question customers ask is, 'Are you going to have enough of it?' The answer is yes," regional sales manager Reggie Wright says.

Uber Technologies is expanding its same-day delivery service, Uber Connect, to 2,400 US markets, up from the 25-city coverage announced in June that included the US, Australia, Mexico and Canada, according to Uber blog posts. The package delivery unit is also enhancing its booking interface, package tracking and driver communications.

To prove end users would click, Terranova Security staged its 2020 Gone Phishing Tournament in 98 countries with the help of real-world scenarios provided by Microsoft. More than 1 in 4 employees tested in North America took the bait, with 18% submitting credentials; rates in Europe were better.

Migrating to the cloud without a clear strategy results in "higher costs, disjointed management, security vulnerabilities and overall dissatisfaction with cloud outcomes," says Raj Bala, senior research director at Gartner. A report from the company outlines seven steps to a comprehensive cloud strategy, including the sharing of responsibility.

Boost business-to-business email campaigns by automating efforts with tools like MailChimp or Litmus and segmenting lists to target prospects with personalized messaging, Sumeet Anand writes. Anand's other tips include using email to educate prospects and mapping email sequencing to effectively nurture leads.

Pauses are good because they help everyone to listen better and absorb information, and allowing for silence is also more considerate, writes Lisa Kohn. "We cut others off mid-thought, mid-sentence, and even mid-word sometimes, and somehow think it's okay," she writes.

Don't miss NAW's free webinar, "Value-Added Services as a Survival Strategy: Real Value Isn't Free," tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern with Ian Heller. 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.

NAW's first Digital Summit, Jan. 27-28, will be an event like none other hosted in the history of NAW. As we turn the page on 2020 and enter 2021, our event will focus on "Leading in a Time of Transition." This highly interactive virtual event will capture your attention from start to finish. We're including some surprise content and speakers you'll only experience if you attend our event. All of these are reasons for you to bring more team members to this event. Register today!

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.