Amazon has been criticized by third-party sellers for policies that include charging for access to account managers and requiring advertising purchases to receive favorable search-page placement. Sellers have also complained that Amazon lists its private-label products above those offered by third parties.

United Natural Foods reported $18.9 million in earnings on $6.4 billion in net sales for the fiscal fourth quarter. The company lost $285 million for the full year.

Ferguson performed well in the most recent fiscal year ended July 31 as it prepares to spin off its UK operations into Wolseley UK, says CEO John Martin. "Markets weakened in the second half but our well-executed approach to expanding gross margins and decisive cost control measures ensured strong profit delivery," Martin says.

Distributors must digitally transform their companies with a sense of urgency as the amount of business-to-business commerce conducted digitally continues to increase, according to AgoNow CEO Larry Davis. Still, distributors must continue to focus on operational excellence during the transformation process and find ways to deliver a consistently valuable user experience, Davis says.

Episerver reports that more than one-third of global business-to-business decision-makers intend to invest in personalized content next year and 82% plan to employ artificial intelligence over the next three years to personalize the customer experience. Additionally, one-third of business-to-business companies will prioritize mobile experiences for customers.

As marketers became adept at targeting consumers online, hackers mastered data theft, consumers grew skeptical of online promotions, lawmakers began stepping in with unwieldy state privacy initiatives and tech firms such as Google and Mozilla implemented tracking rules, writes Mike Driehorst. Meanwhile, marketers continue to look ahead by testing tools such as augmented reality and blockchain.

Create a strategic plan for 2020 by reviewing your company's vision, brainstorming new strategies and priorities, and assigning specific actions for each team member to pursue, writes Dave McKeown, founder and CEO of Outfield Leadership. This isn't a one-time event, so schedule regular reviews during the coming year with an agreed-upon process for revision, he writes.

To discover your value, think about what would be missed if you weren't there and then find ways to contribute more of that skill or characteristic, writes Dan Rockwell. His gift is helping people think differently, so he's created space and situations for people to be vulnerable and share their stories.

This study brings together best practices from leading distributors and their suppliers that were developed through a consortium on Optimizing Channel Compensation. The resulting Channel Alignment Framework is the first-of-its-kind map that seeks to build optimal manufacturer-distributor channels. Distributors need to read this book and buy it for their manufacturer partners. Then they need to sit down with those suppliers and properly plan effective processes to get the supplier market access while meeting distributor investment needs.

In this Oct. 24 live webinar, Author Mark Dancer will share insights from his brand-new study, "Innovate to Dominate: The 12th Edition in the Facing the Forces of Change Series." He will be joined by SAP's Magnus Meier to explore essential requirements, including how to win by being human, how to engage customers through shared interests and mutual advantage, and how to optimize benefits through intentional combinations of human and technology forces of change. Register today! Sponsored by SAP.

Large Company CEOs, CFOs and operations executives attend these roundtables to benchmark solutions and strategies with distribution executives who are at the top of their game. The companies invited into this community are from distribution firms between $100 million and $1 billion in annual sales. You'll experience the best networking in the industry, share ideas and benchmark with your C-suite peers in distribution -- who aren't competitors. Register today.