Restaurant distributors can be unfairly blamed for the food selections that restaurants make, when the reality is that Sysco, US Foods, Gordon Foods and other distributors are key components of the supply chain and offer value-added services, writes Bob Yesbek. Guy Weber from US Foods details some of the company's kitchen expertise and data analytics offerings.

Avnet CEO Phil Gallagher discusses the company's 100th anniversary, its roots in New York after World War I, as well as the ongoing potential of the internet of things, the state of supply chain in 2021 and what he's learned since becoming CEO in a pandemic. "I think that the things I've learned, or continue to learn, is transparency, built trust, empathy, be responsible, and you had to balance all of that with our employees while still running a business," Gallagher says.

SpartanNash is enhancing the perks available to shoppers subscribing to its Fast Lane program, offering a 50% discount on delivery and additional price breaks on selected in-store items, including 5 cents off on gas this month. The program, which costs $49 a year and includes free curbside pickup, also offers "access to our team of dedicated personal shoppers, great benefits and exclusive savings," says SpartanNash's Brian Holt.

After launching drone delivery last fall to get at-home COVID-19 test kits to customers around Las Vegas, Walmart has invested in Virginia-based DroneUp. Walmart has partnered with other drone service providers around the country and did not reveal the amount of its DroneUp investment, but US CEO John Furner said the retailer believes in drones as a last-mile solution and that "[c]onducting drone deliveries at scale is within reach."

As data centers evolve, only the most "innovative, flexible, scalable, and efficient" will survive, writes Michael Sumastre. Migration to the cloud is a special challenge, Sumastre notes, because present data center technology "may already be legacy or incompatible" and thus vulnerable to security breaches.

Salespeople often fail to clarify the point of sales calls, leading to vague, unhelpful conversations that fail to move prospects toward a purchase, writes David Brock. Setting goals and an agenda before meetings can help salespeople put forth a more focused effort and improve their results, Brock writes.

Great managers aren't identical, but they're likely to encourage employees to raise suggestions, debate their merits and ultimately run with initiatives, including across departments and functions. These are just a few of 25 traits offered by leaders across seven categories, including "Challenge folks with kindness" and "Celebrate and up-level the small moments."

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."