Johnstone Supply has been able to function well in a remote work environment by emphasizing communication, articulating core values and promoting efficiency, says President and CEO John Tisera. He explains the importance of being intentional with meetings, getting employees to share ideas with one another and standardizing the onboarding process.

Companies looking to adopt smart warehouse technologies should consider what they want to accomplish, whether the cost can be justified and how the technology can serve their business going forward, writes consultant Dick Friedman. He describes the functions and potential of several technologies, including drones and robotics.

Salespeople all too often fail to connect with prospects because they don't follow requested guidelines for proposals, including sending late or incomplete proposals, writes Pat Criss. Other common errors that cause salespeople to miss opportunities include not focusing enough on the customer's needs or failing to sufficiently research the customer's business and industry before writing the proposal.

The keys to more effective business-to-business marketing include more emotion, more branding and more commitment, Peter Weinberg and Jon Lombardo write. They suggest asking yourself how you feel when watching an advertisement, if you know within two seconds what brand it is representing and whether or not the creative could be repeatable.

Slide decks are the default in many companies, but they aren't helping meetings be productive or engaging, so it's time to seek alternatives, writes brand design executive Stacy Hintermeister. She offers three alternative approaches, including tips on how to take these physical-world ideas and adapt them for remote meetings.

Team video gaming requires teamwork, training, a range of talents and personalities -- in other words, all the things that a successful business needs, writes Patrick Hopkins, who walks through a recent event and its lessons. "In business, challenging yourself to do more with less is a mantra, and everyone from the owner to the paid intern should be asking how they can use resources better," he writes.

NAW has just completed its 7-part series, How Technology Will Transform Wholesale Distribution -- 7 free research reports and 7 free webinars, with Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein of Distribution Strategy Group. Based on new research conducted with wholesaler-distributors, manufacturers and distributor customers, this series provides the intelligence you need to formulate new strategies for 2021 and ensure that your company thrives through this era of technology disruption and transformation. If you missed any part of this series, you can catch up now.

In his NAW Blog post, NAW Institute Fellow Mike Marks ponders, "How do you plan when all certainty has gone out the window more than once in the past year? Even with an end to the pandemic in sight, distributors may be looking at their 2020 business plan and wondering if it's even worth putting a plan together for 2021. It's tempting to stay light on your feet and be ready to pivot." Read his post.

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.