Praxair Distribution has changed its name to Linde Gas & Equipment, three years after merging with Linde. Separately, Linde has begun operations at a hydrogen production facility along the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Genuine Parts' Motion division had third-quarter sales of $1.61 billion, a 14.5% increase from the year-ago period. Motion's profit and profit margin also increased from a year earlier.

A diversified sourcing process can improve a company's bottom line by reducing costs and bringing in new ideas, as well as supporting its social responsibility efforts, writes Daryl Watkins, senior director of procurement and supply chain consulting at GEP Worldwide. Watkins urges corporations to consider pursuing innovation opportunities with diverse businesses, building metrics to track progress and mentoring diverse suppliers.

The just-in-time mindset fueled by developments in technology has led to a lack of spare capacity in many areas of modern life, whether it's hospitals, truck drivers, hotels or computer chips, writes Daniel Gross. It may be time to reevaluate this approach to labor, space and products, Gross writes.

Sales leaders must use challenging times such as the "Great Resignation" to reassess and reinvent their business practices, writes David Brock. Not only must sales leaders bring humanity back to their interactions with customers, but they must actively seek to make work more meaningful for their employees, Brock writes.

Social media can be a great tool for salespeople, but they will only be successful with it if they take the right approach, writes Mike Schultz. Avoid pitching to new contacts right away, try to give more than you receive and keep your interactions positive and pleasant for best results, he suggests.

Team members can develop a sense of internal accountability when they are clear on their responsibilities, feel supported in how they do their work and are rewarded for their results, writes consultant and trainer Kammy Haynes, who offers eight areas to target. Accountability is "all about taking ownership of the decisions and actions you take to achieve a stated goal or objective," Haynes writes.

Popular ideas such as talent wins, management engineering and a "Global Village" worldview can be traps for unthinking companies that treat them as gospel rather than perspectives, writes Greg Satell. "We need to continually test our ideas, reconsider them and adapt them to ever-changing conditions," he writes.

Many distributors experience the paradox of watching marketplaces grow sales at explosive rates while seemingly seeing no sales erosion to Amazon Business, etc., themselves. How can this be? What is the nature of the threat? When will it affect you? Most importantly, what should you do about it?. Discover the answer to these questions and more on Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. ET by registering today!

This 4-part series will take you from AI-unsure to AI-adopter through a riveting compilation of live webinars, thought-provoking articles and actionable whitepapers! You will gain the intel you need to formulate new strategies and ensure that your company thrives through this era of technology transformation. Register for this month's upcoming webinar "Understanding AI and How it Works" and learn the basics of Artificial Intelligence and how to understand business conversations about it.

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