Publicly traded distributors will be releasing the first earnings reports that offer year-over-year comparisons of pandemic-era conditions, which is just one thing Mike Hockett is watching. "With industrial activity improved through early April and the expectation of continued economic expansion going forward, I'm looking to see if distributors mention planned pricing increases or alternative measures to boost profit margins," Hockett writes.

Associated Wholesale Grocers reported $284.4 million in full-year profit on $10.63 billion in net sales, with both figures up from a year earlier.

Curri has raised $6 million in funding to address last-mile problems in construction material delivery with technology that allows users to easily find what they're looking for while paying only for what they need. The "elastic scale" concept incorporates the ability to find transportation for materials using gig drivers.

Godfrey's Scott Trobaugh and Cliff Lewis talk in this podcast about how business-to-business marketers can bring "weird" or divergent thinking to their creative, and why it must be backed by brand authenticity. "Presenting your audience with something weird, or something unexpected, it doesn't just get their attention...but it also primes the mind of your audience for change and so that's why it's valuable," Lewis said.

Next PR's Kasey Thomas offers six tips to help integrate public relations and sales to boost investment returns, including sharing media coverage on social channels and sharing links in sales emails to articles highlighting products or company announcements to spark conversations with prospects.

Reopening offices successfully will require ongoing communication, better use of technology and an understanding that culture has changed during the pandemic, writes James daSilva. "Even the fairest process will force some people to change their situation, so also show how you'll support the transition and how you'll hold people accountable," daSilva writes.

Auto parts makers are working with multiple suppliers, using analytics to track stock and moving to improve supply chains after the past year's disruptions. "This is a precursor of what life is going to be like," says Steven Merkt of TE Connectivity, explaining that a shortage of microchips and the pandemic are not "black swan" events.

In NAW's free webinar today at 2 p.m. Eastern, Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein of Distribution Strategy Group and Alex Moazed of Applico will bring you the latest thinking on marketplaces. They'll evaluate the marketplace strategic options available to distributors, such as becoming a third-party seller on a merchant-owned marketplace, becoming a third-party seller on a marketplace not owned by a merchant, building your own marketplace, the imperative for an industry-owned marketplace, and opting out of marketplaces. Register now! Sponsored by Oracle Netsuite, Zoro, and McFadyen Digital.

How have distributors been innovating their business during the pandemic? Find that out and much more from 10 distributors who tell their stories and share ideas for both surviving and thriving in a drastically changed business environment. Author Mark Dancer shares up-to-the-minute ideas and insights from distributor leaders based on their experiences and lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic. Order this just-released e-chapter, "Distribution Leans In: Stories of Resiliency and Innovation During the COVID-19 Pandemic."

Through the NAW Certificate in Distribution Professional Management, which is completely virtual in 2021, NAW and our partner Texas A&M University offer these three comprehensive sessions to help you help your managers to strengthen their skills with the educational foundation they need to enhance their value to your company: Optimizing Distributor Profitability, May 24-27; Generating and Managing Growth, July 19-23; Distributor Capability Development, October 18-22. Register your team today!