Online sales and web-enabled vending machines accounted for 60% of Grainger's revenue in the third quarter, for an estimated 11.2% year-over-year increase for such electronic sales. The company will continue to increase the product assortment available through its Zoro e-commerce brand, adding "10 million items over the next three to five years," said CEO D.G. Macpherson.
Amazon reported a 24% increase in third-quarter sales, but profit growth slowed amid higher costs associated with the growing one-day shipping service. The e-commerce giant, which added close to 100,000 employees in the three-month period, is forecasting fourth-quarter sales between $80 billion and $86.5 billion.
You Deserve an Apple Watch Series 5 We're giving away 2! To enter the drawing, simply complete our brief industry survey about your 2020 inventory and supply chain planning initiatives for competing in today's complex wholesale environment. Respond today; entry deadline is 11/1.
Business-to-business companies often view innovation as the development of new technology, but what's more important is offering value to customers and making it easy for them to get the products they need, says Larry Keeley, president and co-founder of Doblin. "A rule of thumb for all types of innovation is to get a smaller number of bigger ideas," he says.
What is the key to customer experience? It is more important than ever for today's manufacturers and distributors to be able to deliver the seamless experience customers want — and ERP can get you there. Download this new report to learn how digitized processes and unified data improve overall business performance and boost customer satisfaction.
Gatekeepers are often blamed when a prospect fails to buy a product, but salespeople shouldn't rely on a single point of contact with an organization, writes Colleen Francis. Instead, salespeople should use LinkedIn, company websites and other resources to find multiple points of contact to reach prospective clients, Francis suggests.
B2C companies are using content to connect with their customers like never before. So what can the B2B industry learn from these marketing tactics? Access the report to learn how to effectively engage your customers with content.
Setting strategy is one thing, but too many organizations struggle to overcome resistance to the new strategy and successfully execute it, writes Art Petty. He offers three tips for success, starting with winning people over so that they support the strategy with their emotions, not just their actions.
NAW Institute Fellow Mark Dancer and Mike DeCata, President and CEO of Lawson Products, will have a lively and informative discussion about how distributors can lead in the age of B2B innovation, defeating disruption and reinvigorating our business economy through digital transformation. Register for NAW's Nov. 14 "Welcome to the Age of B2B Innovation" webinar, sponsored by PROS. Can't attend? Register anyway and we'll send you a webinar replay link.
Register today for the NAW 2020 Executive Summit: INNOVATE TO DOMINATE, January 28-30, 2020! Our program will provide for you a road map to innovation. You'll ignite your innovative mindset as you peer into the future of wholesale distribution, explore marketplace platforms, and examine the points of view of today's business experts and next-generation distribution entrepreneurs who are creating new business models to satisfy industry and customer needs, and create new demand. Get all the details and register today!
Billion Dollar Company CEOs, CFOs, operation executives, CHROs, CLOs, and CIOs attend these roundtables to benchmark solutions and strategies from distribution executives who are at the top of their game. The companies invited into this community are from distribution firms that exceed $1 billion in annual sales. Participating in this 24-hour, results-focused business meeting is one of the best ways to learn from your C-suite peers in distribution -- who aren't competitors! Register today.
