Brenntag ranked highest on ICIS' Top 100 Chemical Distributors list for 2020 with $14.49 billion in sales, followed by Univar Solutions and Tricon Energy. Brenntag also reported first-quarter pre-tax profit of $169.4 million on sales of $3.81 billion, both down from the year-ago period.

Veritiv earned $21.3 million in the first quarter, a record for the period, on sales of $1.6 billion, which were down 8.7% from the year-ago period. Profits were "driven by continued packaging sales growth and operational efficiencies implemented across the company," CEO Sal Abbate said.

Insight Enterprises reported first-quarter profit of $43.2 million on revenue of $2.2 billion. The technology distributor also announced that President and CEO Ken Lamneck will retire at the end of the year.

Distributors can meet their growth goals by using data analytics to confirm they have sufficient customer retention and supplier alignment, writes Senthil Gunasekaran, co-founder of ActVantage. He also recommends accurately assessing internal capabilities to identify gaps that should be filled.

The pandemic has forced many inside salespeople in distribution to work remotely, but companies are increasingly determining whether such employees can work at home or should be based at a corporate office, Andrew Horvath writes. He lists factors to consider based on the requirements of a salesperson's role.

Paul Stoddart, global marketing chief at Epicor Software, offers seven lessons for business-to-business marketers, including the need to listen to customers and communicate the unique value offered in a language they understand. Base brand strategy on company strategy, craft the right narrative and move away from transactional marketing to build personal, long-term relationships, Stoddart advises.

Creativity will flourish if a manager encourages autonomy and acts as a safety net rather than a restrictive tether, writes Matt Casey. "I would sooner make 10 mistakes and produce 10 good things than make zero mistakes and produce two good things," he writes.

Create connection with your team by being curious, consistent and respectful while spelling out your expectations and vision, writes John R. Stoker. "Taking a moment to consider your behavior will help improve your relationships, grow respect and increase your awareness so you can make any needed changes and improve the quality of your results," he writes.

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.

The pandemic is nearly over and it's time for distributors to apply the lessons from the last 14 months so they can grow their businesses faster in the future. Join NAW and Distribution Strategy Group for our free webinar on May 19 at 2 p.m. ET. We surveyed distributors and we'll share what they told us about their sales in the pandemic and what they're forecasting for 2021, their work-from-home policy, how their website and digital tools performed, which digital capabilities they'll invest in, and much more.

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