Distributors continue to face supply chain problems, necessitating "close communication with suppliers and customers," says Shane McCarthy of Lawson products.

Amazon plans to rebrand its Go Grocery locations to become Amazon Fresh sites, and also plans to shutter its Go Grocery in Redmond, Wash., according to GeekWire. Amazon says employees from the Redmond Go Grocery will be transitioned to a new Amazon Fresh store coming to nearby Bellevue, while another Go Grocery in Seattle's Capitol Hill area will stay open and be rebranded as Amazon Fresh.

Supply chain as a service can benefit health care and life sciences providers, retailers and contract manufacturers and distributors, writes Michael Dominy, a vice president at Gartner Supply Chain. Dominy takes a look at three supply chain as a service models that chief supply chain officers can use to increase revenue and optimize costs.

Industrial management and logistics companies are building more cold storage space to meet demand spurred by e-grocery sales and pharmaceutical distributor needs. Colliers will construct a 167,000-square-foot building in Kansas City, Mo., specifically for the food and beverage industry, while DB Schenker recently expanded an Indianapolis cold storage facility by 55,000 square feet.

Humor at the end of a sales pitch boosts the likelihood of a deal and its price point, research shows. "We go to work, and we stop laughing," says Naomi Bagdonas, who, with fellow Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty member Jennifer Aaker, discusses how to use laughter to foster connection, motivation and creativity in the workplace.

Business-to-business marketers say their top challenge is building and strengthening relationships with customers in a digital world, followed closely by connecting emotionally with customers to boost brand engagement, according to a report by B2B International. The top priority cited is delivering an excellent customer experience across the entire journey, and the report also lists highest-performing B2B practice areas, high-priority B2B marketing strategies and top B2B opportunities.

Being CEO can be a lonely job, with no manager to give "specific and genuine appreciation -- and correction," and too many CEOs turn to their board, their family or to inappropriate workplace relationships to meet this need, writes Patrick Lencioni. Instead, CEOs need to turn to their executive team for these needs, knowing that they can build stronger relationships "with the proper mix of vulnerability, authority and maturity."

Leaders have a mixture of positional, personal and expert power, and each of these powers can be improved with effort and time, writes Paul Thornton. "The more power you have, the more able you are to direct, influence and inspire people to make positive changes," he writes.

NAW and Distribution Strategy Group have teamed up on a seven-part free series called, "Adding Value in a Post-Pandemic World: New Leadership Strategies for Distributors." We focus on innovative ways for distributors to differentiate themselves from industry disruptors. Distributors will understand the challenges facing the industry, and will be armed with new modes of thinking and information to build robust strategies with staying power. Each part includes a free research report to download and a free webinar to watch live and on demand. Sponsored by Oracle Netsuite, Zoro, Conexiom 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."

NAW Institute author Pradip Krishnadevarajan writes, "In our book for NAW, Sales and Marketing Optimization: Developing Competitive Value Propositions in Distribution, we provide comprehensive, research-based best practices and tactics for improving sales and marketing at your distribution company. One key tactic we explore is the "I7 Training Framework." With this framework, distribution leaders get a strategic approach to sales force training that considers individuals' experience levels and capabilities." Read his post.