Morris & Dickson will be able to distribute COVID-19 vaccines quickly in Louisiana because of its experience with low-temperature storage and hurricane-related planning, says Morris & Dickson CEO Paul Dickson Sr. The company expects to deliver vaccines to all customers through Louisiana on time.

Parts management for maintenance, repair and operations has been changed by the pandemic in terms of speed of ordering, inventory visibility and control, and the added importance of personal protective equipment, writes Gary Forger. Areas of importance for distributors include "placing orders more quickly, especially for PPE, to being aware of secondary sourcing options, especially for mission-critical parts," says Lawson Products supply chain executive Shane McCarthy.

Office Depot uses humans alongside 18 autonomous mobile robots at a distribution center in Orlando, Fla., to quickly pick stores. The robots help create easy-to-follow routines while reducing walking and manual labor for workers.

Gearflow's online marketplace has more than 70 storefronts that sell equipment and parts for different machines. The marketplace is helping connect construction equipment suppliers and buyers who otherwise wouldn't cross paths.

Transparent and diversified supply chains are the building blocks for a resilient, flexible and responsive supply chain, writes Scoutbee Vice President Enno Lueckel. Meanwhile, procurement teams can address risk management with advanced digital solutions to prepare for disruptions amid global uncertainty, Lueckel writes.

A Forrester report advises business-to-business marketers to use chatbots and virtual assistants to guide prospects on their digital content journey, with a concierge-style approach yielding better results than using the technology for quick sales. The report recommends giving personalities to bots to make emotional connections and combining first-, second- and third-party data to provide a superior B2B experience.

About 44% of companies have official flexible working policies, an increase from 24% before the pandemic, and 65% of employees feel positive about opportunities for flexible working, according to research from the ADP Research Institute. The research also found that HR is playing a more strategic role, that psychological safety and confidence in leadership are vital for high worker resilience, and a "human element is playing a more profound role at work," says ADP's Tara Wolckenhauer.

Managers who effectively deliver internal communications can create better understanding and morale among employees without disrupting everyone's schedules, although training and measurement are needed, writes Robby Brumberg. "If you're doing a good job of measuring effectiveness, sooner or later these managers will either get with the program or be exposed as falling behind," says Jim Ylisela, co-founder of Ragan Consulting Group.

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!

Every executive wants to optimize efficiency, increase output and decrease costs. Join the discussion and learn from NAW Trusted Partner Creditsafe how automation and integration of data, financial insights, analysis and credit reporting provide a multi-tiered approach to achieving each of those goals while adding value to finance, accounting, credit, collections, sales and marketing departments.