ADI Global's investment in digital has been driven by a desire to improve sales effectiveness and efficiency, starting by moving orders out of email and continuing with business intelligence platforms that are also available to suppliers, says Stu Tisdale, vice president of strategy and commercial excellence. The distributor also integrates marketing information into its customer relationship management software and call centers, Tisdale says.

Cardinal Health is promoting sustainability by moving most of its computing operations to the cloud, says Chief Information Officer Brian Rice. Meanwhile, AmerisourceBergen is cutting carbon emissions with a lightweight "cocoon" for storing temperature-sensitive drugs without the need for air-conditioning, says Chief Information Officer Mark Spykerman.

Fleet operators have begun looking to electric trucks to reduce emissions and maintenance issues, compared with conventional diesel vehicles, but challenges include the high initial expense, infrastructure needs and uncertainty about potential resale value. Paul Rosa, Penske Truck Leasing's senior vice president of procurement and fleet planning, noted there are range and payload restrictions and says the necessary infrastructure is at least two years out.

Inflation will increase the risk of supply chain disruptions this year as companies carry more inventory in lieu of costlier risk mitigation measures, write Chris Cunnane, Steve Banker and Clint Reiser. They also predict that companies will have to make logistics jobs more appealing and that artificial intelligence-based tools will become more common in trucking.

Tech influencer Evan Kirstel outlines eight key social media strategies for business-to-business marketers. These include expanding reach with influencers, connecting with audiences via livestream audio, building communities of brand fans and focusing on organic content on LinkedIn.

Salespeople must balance customer-centric behavior with sales velocity to be successful in today's sales environment, writes Colleen Francis. Use internal data to ensure a healthy sales pipeline and efficient selling techniques while striving to become easier for customers to work with, Francis writes.

Sarcastic or rude co-workers make communication more difficult, and while you can't force them to change, you can protect yourself from taking offense and can try to remember bullies often are insecure, Liz Kislik writes. Kislik outlines how these strategies have worked for some of her coaching clients.

Many organizations focused on short-term digital transformation priorities last year, but they will need to think further out into the future to succeed, Anurag Shah of Newgen advises. Shah writes that it's imperative to incorporate six roles, including a chief digital officer and the compliance teams.

The NAW Executive Summit is back in-person January 25 - 27, 2022 and it will be bigger and better than ever before! Learn more about the NAW 2022 Executive Summit.