WESCO reported third-quarter net profit of $105 million, up from $66 million in the year-ago period, on total sales of $4.73 billion, a 14.1% increase. Organic sales were up 13.6%, showing growth beyond the distributor's acquisition of Anixter last year.
Arrow Electronics earned $290 million in the third quarter, up from $166 million in the year-ago period, on sales of over $8.5 billion, up 18%. US sales increased by 33%.
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Shippers will encounter strong contractual truck freight pricing into next year as demand remains strong and capacity remains tight, according to a survey of small fleets and owner-operators by Bloomberg and Truckstop.com. "We believe contractual pricing may increase in the mid- to high-single digits next year because of limited driver availability and the prospects for robust demand created by economic recovery and a prolonged inventory-replenishment cycle," Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Lee Klaskow said.
Data analytics and digital supply chain technology can help remedy short-term problems, especially as the holidays approach, while strengthening supply chains in the future by forecasting demand, writes Jim O'Donnell. "Moving forward, data analytics and decision-making capabilities, to the degree that they can allow companies to make faster decisions, are going to actually play really well in a resource-constrained supply chain," IDC practice director Simon Ellis says.
Distributors can apply concepts from agile manufacturing to their sales operations to better respond to current demands, writes Gary Clark, president and co-founder of OneSolution. "[T]he basic characteristics of agile sales include being able to make decisions regarding managing costs, innovation and sales strategy in a manner that gives you both speed and flexibility," Clark writes.
Business-to-business marketers predict 14 trends that are here to stay. These include the use of intent data, storytelling, LinkedIn audience targeting, expert influencers and memorable experiential activations.
One-on-one meetings can be more effective by telling employees one key question you plan to ask but otherwise letting them set the agenda and do the talking, writes Dan Rockwell. "People feel valued when you prioritize time with them," Rockwell writes.
