United Natural Foods deploys electric trailer units | Berkshire eSupply previews distribution buying-selling group | US Foods product rollout could help restaurants save on labor
California-based United Natural Foods plans to add 53 electric trailer units to its fleet and retire 53 diesel-powered units. The company estimates the move will save 135,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually.
Stop leaving easy money on the table The easier you make it for customers to transact with you, the more frequently they will transact with you. It all starts with customer service. This free extract shows how to build a 'best in class' customer service team AND free up your salespeople for 11X more selling conversations. Get the ebook
COVID-19 has repeatedly disrupted the US shipping trade over the past year-plus, and many West Coast ports have more incoming traffic than they can handle. Shipping a container between Asia and the US has become more expensive, which in turn affects prices, inventory and the US trade deficit.
FedEx is working with robotics startup Nuro to test its autonomous delivery vehicles for last-mile deliveries in Houston. FedEx has also been testing its "Roxo" last-mile delivery vehicle since 2020 as part of an effort to keep up with the pace of e-commerce orders.
[Webinar] 6 key steps to becoming data-driven In order to effectively drive insights, today's business world requires modern data architecture. Learn the six most important steps that any organization must take on their road to becoming data driven. From architecting a solid data foundation to creating a flexible user experience, industry experts will provide a step-by-step guide to achieving your data-driven reality. Register now
Business-to-business marketers rely most heavily on LinkedIn (86%) as part of their social media marketing strategy, followed, respectively, by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Vimeo and other channels that include Pinterest and Snapchat, according to SageFrog. Instagram is gaining steam with 60% of B2B marketers using the platform in 2021 versus 30% in 2020, while YouTube use rose from 20% to 56%.
Business-to-business companies can enlist public relations expertise to help boost third-party validation and foster trust with prospects, writes Kathleen Lucente, founder and president of Red Fan Communications. Take a multichannel approach to thought leadership content, using trade publications, events, social media and more to boost your brand's reputation, Lucente advises.
Investing in technology for business growth While the process of evaluating your digital technology can seem daunting, you don't have to rip everything out and start from scratch — an incremental approach can be the best one to take. This Epicor whitepaper covers the roles of the cloud and e-commerce in distribution technology, plus get tips to chart your own digital roadmap. Download now
Bad meetings have many causes, one of which is not understanding what type of decision needs to be made and, thus, not knowing how much debate and what kind of debate to encourage, writes Lori Dernavich. Once you know that, continue to streamline meetings by inviting only necessary people, providing materials ahead of time and designating who fulfills each of four key meeting roles, Dernavich writes.
Transform your retail business with AI Retail, due to its fast moving, trend powered, and fluid nature coupled to an extended logistics chain, relies heavily on making smart predictions. Thankfully, AI and machine learning advancements have presented an exciting range of opportunities that can help retailers make predictions in hopes of serving customers in better, more sustainable, and profitable ways. Get the report
Suppliers are increasingly selling direct, customer demographics are skewing younger and many distributors are struggling to keep up. Distributors are grappling with fundamental changes in the expectations of their supply chain partners. Suppliers continue to report frustration with their distributors' poor digital capabilities. Join NAW on June 29 at 2 p.m. for this free, live webinar with Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein of Distribution Strategy Group, who will recommend actions distributors should take to address this growing channel conflict. Register today.
Designed for C-suite executives, these roundtables provide actionable strategies that will increase your company's competitive advantage. Companies belonging to this community are from distribution firms between $100 million and up to $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.
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."
