United Natural Foods has added 53 all-electric cold truck trailers, becoming one of the first wholesalers to add zero-emission transport refrigerated trailer units to its delivery fleet. The move comes after a four-month pilot program and California's decision to mandate zero emissions for all refrigerated trailers used in the state by the end of 2029.

Distributors and other B2B businesses have demonstrated the principles of corporate social responsibility in how they stepped up to help customers, employees and their communities, even while many of these efforts also made business sense, writes Mark Dancer, an NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence Fellow. He offers 10 principles that are important "for companies pursuing business innovations and activists who are encouraging social responsibility," as well why B2B companies should focus on culture as one key action item.

April's Fastener Distributor Index from FCH Sourcing Network and R.W. Baird came in at 58.7, a 7.3 percentage-point drop from March. However, the reading continues to show expansion and is 18.7 points higher than a year ago.

Rates continue to climb for truckload and less-than-truckload freight as companies raise wages to try to attract truck drivers, as data from the Cass Linehaul Index and C.H. Robinson show.

Marketing chiefs from Branch, Axonify, BetterUp, Lessonly and Airtable share the business-to-business demand generation strategies that are proving successful for their companies. Key takeaways include focusing on ideal customer profiles, offering high-value expertise and unique experiences to develop long-term relationships, and not gating content, apart from demo requests or webinars.

Consumption of business-to-business content increased by 22% in 2020, although C-suite executives consumed 3% less year-over-year, according to a report by NetLine Corp. The research found it took B2B prospects an average of 29.7 hours to get to content, a rise from 28.5 hours in 2019.

Instead of focusing on being nice at work, focus on being kind, which will push you to speak up at meetings and be seen as competent. "It really doesn't matter whether your coworkers like you. It matters that they respect you and that you have a good working relationship with them," writes Vanessa Wasche, owner of On Point Speaking.

NAW and Distribution Strategy Group want to get a feel for how leadership in distribution is adapting as we emerge from the pandemic. Let your voice be heard by May 10 in this 5- to 7-minute survey! All questions are optional, but please complete as many as possible. You will NOT be required to identify yourself or your company, and your responses are held in the strictest confidence by the researchers. Your participation will make you eligible for a chance to win one of five $100 gift cards.

David Bauders, CEO of SPARXiQ, writes in his guest blog post for NAW, "For distributors in many industries, receiving special cost support from their vendors is critical to winning price-sensitive, end-customer or project business while maintaining profitability. In industries such as electrical, plumbing/HVAC, automation, power transmission, vendors commonly provide distributors with lower costs than their everyday, standard into-stock (SIS) costs. These special lower cost levels are commonly delivered via Special Price Agreements or rebates." Read his post.

Designed for C-suite executives, these NAW roundtables provide actionable strategies that will increase your company's competitive advantage. Companies belonging to this community are from distribution firms that exceed $1 billion in annual sales. You'll engage in thought-provoking conversations with your peers and hear from industry experts on topics that will ultimately increase your profits! Register today.