During a panel discussion at the National Association of Wholesale-Distributors' 2022 Executive Summit, executives from Graybar, Motion Industries, ORS Nasco and MEDCO, and Benco Dental discussed critical workplace issues including cybersecurity, communicating "the why," technology's continuing influence and the importance of talent. The executives also predicted that hybrid work will supersede remote work and in-office work as the standard.

An Informatica survey finds that 79% of businesses get their data from over 100 sources, making it difficult to generate business value. Technologies such as AI can automate data management, improve an organization's data maturity and reduce time spent dealing with data complexity.

Certain warehouse management systems are helping sellers cut down on shipments by facilitating order consolidation that allows multiple orders to be sent in a single package. Custom-sized boxes and plastic alternatives to boxes also are becoming popular, while reduced packaging can help shippers with items that are returned.

Contrary to popular belief, many B2B companies are succeeding with full-service e-commerce platforms, including for major purchases, this McKinsey analysis states. B2B sales leaders should respond by creating complete e-commerce ecosystems that serve customers at every step of the buying journey, the authors write.

Use leading questions to drill down on possible solutions during collaborative meetings with buyers, allowing buyers to become part of the eventual solution, advises Colleen Francis. "You want to, rather than dumping a ton of information on a buyer, collaborate with them and co-create the solution," Francis writes.

Carbon Design founder Scott Gillum explains how "survivorship bias" leads business-to-business marketers to focus their attention and budgets on the wrong strategies, such as marketing tech investments that don't pay off long-term. "Searching for, assessing and acquiring new tools offers hope and can feel like you're making progress," Gillum writes, but notes, "The answer to improving performance lies in the insight from the missing data."

Workplace trust takes several forms, including between leader and team and within teams themselves, writes Kimberly Archer. "Trust will require you to develop softer skills, like authenticity, humility, honesty, and self-awareness, alongside the technical skills traditionally demanded in leadership roles," Archer writes.

Virtual meetings can be improved by making room for constructive conflict, small-group brainstorming and time for socializing, says Leigh Thompson, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. "If we can solve conflict, we can, in some sense, solve virtual communication," Thompson says.