Fastenal reported $239.7 million in profit on sales of $1.51 billion, with sales flat and profit slightly up from a year earlier. Fastener sales increased from a year ago, while safety products declined, reflecting changes in pandemic-related demand.
Modern Distribution Management (tiered subscription model)
(7/12)
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Distributors that operate their own e-commerce marketplaces can provide additional value to customers and target niche audiences, according to industry experts. However, such marketplaces could drive prices down and may have a hard time competing with third-party options such as Amazon and Alibaba.
Internet of things sensors can keep vaccines at the proper temperature, and along with blockchain, it can verify their authenticity until they are administered, writes Marcus Jeffery. Blockchain can also protect the vaccine cold chain from hackers, Jeffery writes.
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Mobile apps can improve the customer experience while generating sales and boosting profit margins, writes Nick Brown. A good mobile app will be easy for users to share with friends, allow for multiple payment methods and feature appropriate push notifications.
Frank Cooper III, global chief marketing officer and senior managing director at BlackRock, outlines three actions he believes marketers should take right now -- align reputation and brand, employ artificial intelligence, and think like a creator. "If you can design content that actually adds value to people's experiences, where you understand deeply the context that they're in, and what they want within that context -- you become a creator," Cooper writes.
Successful business leaders seek out mentors, surround themselves with energetic colleagues and are open to critical feedback, writes Robert Reffkin, founder and CEO of Compass. "If you actually take that feedback, the people who gave it become invested in your success, and this simple fact is at the core of relationships I've built with dozens of mentors in my life," he writes.
Eye contact remains an important skill, especially as people return to offices and in-person meetings, writes John Millen. "Some research indicates that eye contact should range anywhere from 30 to 60 percent during a conversation, depending on the context," he writes.
According to Pradip Krishnadevarajan, Co-author of Seven NAW Institute Best Sellers "Many distributors struggle to manage their sales teams effectively. They oversimplify the sales management function, failing to recognize that every salesperson is unique and requires a customized approach." Read his post here.
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