Associated Wholesale Grocers next year will become the primary wholesale supplier for Coburn's, an independent grocery retailer with stores in Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Associated Wholesale Grocers will open a division in Minnesota and build a warehouse at a yet-to-be-determined location.

Warehouse operators that want to use autonomous forklifts should consider how they will work with other parts of the warehouse and how they can be used safely, writes Koyel Ghosh of Allied Market Research. Ghosh also notes that robotic forklifts primarily run on electricity, rather than gas or diesel.

Distribution centers should make greater use of automation, digitalization and robotics to handle the supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, says Zebra Technologies executive Donato Montanari. When adopting these technologies, "start with something small that can be quickly implemented and easily measured," Montanari recommends.

This infographic from Email Tool Tester outlines statistics, advice and insights to help marketers improve email marketing performance. Insights include that welcome emails have the highest open rates, 87% of business-to-business marketers use email to disseminate content, and incorporating headers, emojis and visuals can enhance performance.

Business-to-business marketers should practice the art of deep thinking to truly get into the minds of their customers, writes Ian Tomlin, chief marketing officer for US Tech Solutions. Tomlin advises actively making time for the "big questions," the ones leaders normally postpone as they "feel a sense of guilt -- like they should be acting, doing, keeping busy or investing time in their team."

Curious leaders use questions to improve their team's work, find out what needs attention and get to know people better, writes Dan Rockwell. He outlines five ways to practice curiosity with your team.

Take the next 90 days to seriously track, measure and reflect upon your leadership, including whether you're having enough conversations and how meaningful they are, writes Wally Bock. "When the day is done, take some time alone to review your notes and record in your journal how you did that day," Bock writes.

Through NAW's new exclusive Margin Protect for Distributors solution, we, with our partners at Gallagher and Liberty Mutual, can make true impact on distributors' bottom line. Give this video a quick look and hear directly from NAW, Gallagher, and Liberty Mutual leaders about what makes this program a complete game-changer for the distribution industry. Learn more.

Through the education alliance between the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence and Texas A&M University's Industrial Distribution Program, NAW offers this cutting-edge educational program that is customized to distributors. Learn more.

According to J. Michael Marks, NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence Fellow "Being on the defensive is only a strategy if you want to lose more slowly. Distributors that are willing to play offense will pay attention to three key trends in terms of customer expectations." Read his post here.