The consumer price index in March rose 8.5% year over year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, representing the biggest annual increase since 1981. The surge of inflation has been driven largely by sharp increases in gasoline, rent and food prices, with core inflation rising 6.5% during the same period.

C&S Wholesale Grocers is partnering with NielsenIQ Brandbank to create and share digital product content across C&S Wholesale's portfolio of more than 7,500 retailers. "Building their retailer portal into a shop window for their product assortment will only support wider distribution and, ultimately, shopper engagement for more products," said Roy Woodhouse, North America commercial lead at NielsenIQ Brandbank.

Logistics executives struggling to find the right inventory model should use a combination of "just-in-time" and "just-in-case" strategies to enable "multiple parallel supply chains" with levels customized for customer groups and product categories, write Jonathan Byrnes and John Wass of Profit Isle. They share how executives can ensure sufficient inventory while maintaining service levels and boosting profitability.

Logistics companies are taking advantage of robots-as-a-service arrangements, which have a small setup cost and offer flat-fee and per-transaction payment options. "Third-party logistics, omnichannel, apparel, pharmaceutical and electronics are all areas where the RaaS model works well," says Peter Chen, co-founder of Covariant AI.

Business-to-business buyers increasingly expect a business-to-consumer experience from suppliers, which requires digital capabilities that make buying easier and more personalized, writes Joe Harouni, commerce practice lead at Avionos. "To provide a personalized feel in a B2B commerce setting, suppliers need to have up-to-date information on all customer interactions across all channels," Harouni writes.

The metaverse offers business-to-business marketers a way to expand the reach of their company and virtually interact with prospects, particularly those decision-makers who are digital natives, writes Sarah Doughty, Merkle's senior director of strategy. Doughty offers advice on the foundation B2B companies should be laying to take full advantage of the metaverse as it evolves, including adding necessary network infrastructure and security measures to help mitigate potential cyberattacks.

Sales teams, just like actors, need scripts to create the emotion needed to connect with their audience, as well as training, competition and a way to measure their success, writes Accountability Now CEO Don Markland. "Establish a daily huddle to build energy, create focus and generate camaraderie," Markland adds.

Fear must be divided into two camps: the unhealthy fear of being attacked or punished and the productive "fear of competition, fear of bankruptcy, fear of being wrong and fear of losing," writes Ed Batista, quoting the late Intel CEO Andy Grove. Candor has its limits, but "some leaders tend to reward people who only bring good news -- which means they won't hear bad news until it's too late to do anything about it," Batista writes.

The pandemic-era exodus of employees illustrates what longtime professor Barry Schwartz has been saying for years -- workers want jobs that "add value to the world," not just money in their bank account. "If you look, industry by industry, the workplaces that end up at the top, within an industry, are the workplaces that are most attentive to what people care about in the workplace," Schwartz says.