Producer price index is up 10% from a year ago | Businesses seek more flexibility in shipping, supply chain | 5 ways for distributors to price value-added services
Wolseley Industrial Group, a Virginia-based business unit of Ferguson Enterprises, has changed its name to Ferguson Industrial. Wolseley Industrial officials began discussing the name change about two years ago, and it should help simplify operations and name recognition while encouraging growth, says Vice President Daniel Hogge.
The producer price index for final-demand products rose 0.8% in February on a monthly basis and 10% from a year ago, according to the Labor Department. Prices for goods, wholesale gasoline and food accounted for much of the gain.
Companies have become more willing to be flexible as they look for alternate ways to move, store and ship products due to supply chain disruptions, says J.J. Schickel, CEO of Omni Logistics. The use of data to achieve supply chain visibility and meet environmental, social and governance goals also is growing, Schickel says.
Distributors have five main options for pricing value-added services: free, new fee, freemium, limited to certain customers, and fixed volume of a free service, writes Ian Heller of Distribution Strategy Group. Heller notes that the freemium and limited-customer versions have more benefits for both distributors and customers.
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Distributors can improve sales and profitability when products are in short supply by using insights from data to recommend alternate items, make salespeople more efficient and let customers compare products before buying, says Tony Pericle, founder and CEO of ProfitOptics. Salespeople should also provide detailed information when suggesting alternate products, Pericle says.
What trends will move digital commerce in 2022? Listen as Pivotree experts share their predictions for 2022 across supply chain, eCommerce, and data management. Find out when and how supply chain woes could ease up, the trends expected to accelerate, and 3 areas of CX to focus on. Watch the webinar.
Negative feedback from a 360-degree review should be seen as useful data on your performance, even if you decide against some of the recommendations, writes Ed Batista. "You need not grant their request or agree with their point of view, but you can empathize with it," Batista writes.
A report by Lever reveals that employers looking to attract and retain workers during the Great Resignation need to offer career flexibility, internal mobility and understand the motivations of employees. Insights from the report include that 65% of Generation Z workers intend to stay in their current role for less than a year; 33% of all employees say they believe they are not encouraged to change departments or roles; and while 48% say pay is the biggest motivator, 39% prefer having a sense of purpose.
