National Cooperative Bank's annual list of 100 co-ops by revenue includes Wakefern Food at No. 4, Associated Wholesale Grocers at No. 5, Ace Hardware at No. 7 and Do-it-Best at No. 12. The list was topped by Cenex-Harvest States, or CHS.

Wakefern Food's fiscal 2021 sales of $17.8 billion were down 2.7% from the previous fiscal year but up more than 7% from fiscal 2019. Also, the company recently marked its 75th anniversary.

Full autonomous driving for commercial vehicles is progressing for highways scenarios, but challenges still remain with simulation, data management and standardization, which put a priority on SAE "Level 2-plus" technologies. "When you're in an off-highway environment, you may not know what your boundary conditions are, you may not know what obstacle detection you're looking at, depending upon the decisions that have to be made," said Michael Puroll, chief engineer and system architect at AM General.

Smaller companies can streamline operations, increase automation and alleviate labor shortages at their distribution center yards by using yard management software, writes Ben Ames. Cloud-based platforms can connect YMS with other logistics applications to simplify data transfer, Ames writes.

Distribution salespeople can use artificial intelligence tools to facilitate consultative selling, generate better insights from client data and reduce costs, all of which are important in a hybrid sales environment, writes Benj Cohen of Proton. "[I]t is necessary to educate team members on the importance of digital tools and provide proper training and support," Cohen writes.

Business-to-business marketers should consider subscription-based services to boost customer loyalty and engagement, writes Agency Management Institute CEO Drew McLellan. Personalize subscriber offerings for what's important to specific customer groups, such as quarterly reports forming part of a payment package, and encourage membership signup with free trials, McLellan advises.

Formal corporate mentoring programs are more successful when they have a specific duration, challenge all parties to learn and grow, and provide opportunities to engage with senior leaders, writes Alaina Love. Love shares a client's fears from a bad mentoring experience and how that person's next employer avoided those mistakes.

Team decisions can be improved in quality and timing when everyone involved understands the criteria behind the decision, such as cost, risk or how long implementation will take, writes Kevin Eikenberry. "You can set decision criteria upfront for a specific decision or have a set that you run many decisions through to help create better results," Eikenberry 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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