Avantor is acquiring Masterflex, an Illinois-based manufacturer of products used to make vaccines, for $2.9 billion in cash. The purchase will augment Avantor's efforts to produce COVID-19 vaccines.

Sustainability is driving changes in supply chain strategy, efficiencies and technologies, as well as how success is measured, according to Jean-Marc Ollagnier, CEO of Accenture in Europe. "While stakeholders have diverse expectations, sustainability offers a way to manage conflicts because it is one commitment they are all likely to share," Ollagnier writes.

Transportation management systems increasingly enable users to access multiple freight-related apps in a single location, writes Ben Ames. "We get requests all the time for new solutions -- there are lots of mobile apps and telematics -- so our task is [to figure out] how to allow them to come into our ecosystem," says Robert Brothers of TMS vendor McLeod Software.

Distributors can overcome common revenue management challenges by addressing "analysis paralysis," focusing on a smaller number of opportunities that will provide the most value and adopting a shared service administrative model, writes Michael Stanisz of Revenue Management Labs.

Sales teams should view guided selling as "an integrated and interdependent buyer/seller-centric process" that gleans insights from artificial intelligence and other technology, writes Wanda Roland, vice president at Capgemini. The pandemic-influenced changes in how and where B2B buyers purchase are forcing sales teams to adapt, Roland writes.

Conflict arises when it's unclear who can make decisions or if choices related to that decision aren't in alignment with goals, writes Marlene Chism. "Better decision-making means better choices, and better choices means better conflict management, and better conflict management means higher productivity and less stress," she writes.

Interchange rate increases and changes to rate tiers implemented in April are the largest in a decade, according to Bloomberg News. The fees target payment types common in the wholesale distribution industry. Stream the "Restructured Rate Tiers and Increased B2B Card-Not-Present Transaction Costs" podcast from Unified Payments Group to learn more.