Distributors across sectors expect growth this year, although the baseline expectation of 10% would be smaller than 2021's final figures, per Modern Distribution Management's 2022 Annual Distribution Industry Outlook. Many distributors expect higher prices and supply shortages to persist.

Online marketplaces such as Grainger's Zoro can help distributors distinguish themselves, create partnerships and discover new customers, writes Yoav Kutner, founder and CEO of Oro. "Start by thinking about your biggest and most important customers: are their digital buying needs currently being met, either by you or by your rivals?" Kutner writes.

Cargo theft patterns are changing, with locations such as warehouses and depots facing a growing share of the risk, according to a report by BSI and freight insurer TT Club. "There is little doubt that the problems of supply-chain disruption that are currently bedeviling the US freight transport system -- particularly that of container congestion at ports and inland hubs -- is creating increased opportunities for thieves," said TT Club's Mike Yarwood.

US port drayage rates will continue rising this year due to tight carrier capacity, reduced availability and port congestion, according to software firm BookYourCargo, which estimates that rates rose 51% between 2020 and 2021. "Los Angeles and Long Beach continue to be the most congested ports in the United States, due in part to the fact that 40% of imports are brought in through these terminals," BookYourCargo CEO Nimesh Modi says, adding, "The last two years have demonstrated some fatal flaws in our current supply chain system."

IT spending is expected to surpass pre-pandemic figures with growth of 5.1% and total spending of $4.5 trillion, reports analyst firm Gartner, which taps the enterprise software sector -- which includes cloud computing -- as the IT sector that will see the largest growth in spending: 11%.

Marketing tactics aren't evergreen and need to be updated regularly to propel businesses forward, writes Shrenik Gandhi, White Rivers Media's CEO. In 2022, marketers should refrain from hashtag overload, focus on educating and entertaining consumers instead of relying too heavily on memes, match the communication style to the brand personality instead of trying to "sound cool," and "listen to your customer's needs and shape your pitch to their cues" instead of "sounding pushy, generic and passive," Gandhi recommends.

Companies need structured processes and a dedicated customer deal desk to understand which customers are consistently profitable, where profit is lost and how contract terms can influence revenue and costs, write Jonathan Byrnes and John Wass. "The customer deal desk should be managed by a small, elite group reporting to the Chief Sales Officer and the CFO, as it is essentially creating and managing both the company's sales and profit strategies," they write.

So-called stay interviews can be useful tools for checking in with employees and identifying the factors that could either encourage them to remain in their positions or look elsewhere. These interviews should be in one-on-one settings and focus on identifying areas for improvement, writes Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic of ManpowerGroup.