United Rentals has expanded beyond equipment rental into specialty rentals and fleet management services in recent years. The company has also focused on e-commerce, introducing streamlined rental processes while offering access to its Total Control performance tool through a new mobile app.

Ingram Micro is uniquely positioned to help small and midsized businesses thrive through financing options, technology and access to marketing and support resources, says Darren Gottesmann, director of US SMB sales. Separately, Ingram Micro introduced CloudBlue Connect, a platform that helps vendors and service providers save time by automating contract management, product information maintenance and other tasks.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are expected to take center stage in the world of cybersecurity in 2020. Louis Columbus of IQMS talked with five experts, who made 10 predictions about how AI will affect cybersecurity, including its use in both cyberdefense and cyberattacks.

Sales managers must be organized and skilled at planning in order to keep their teams on track, writes James Meincke. Other valuable skills for sales managers include the ability to communicate, recruit top talent and coach their salespeople effectively, Meincke adds.

Salesforce global Chief Marketing Officer Stephanie Buscemi talks about the importance of developing first-party data sets, giving customers control over their information and the power of user-generated content. "People aren't in the mood to be pitched...It's better if we let customers in a more unvarnished, authentic way, tell the story," she says.

When Fred Rogers talked, people listened and understood because he was always truthful, precise and gave people time to process his message, writes Chet Wade, a consultant who teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University. "What made Fred so effective was when he talked about bad things, he also talked about how to deal with them," Wade writes.

If you expect team members to read your mind, know what you need, share your vision and understand why they need to do things, you're setting yourself up for failure, writes John R. Stoker. "Taking the time to clearly identify your expectations, communicate them to others and check that you have been understood will improve your relationships and your ability to achieve the desired results," he writes.

This study brings together best practices from leading distributors and their suppliers that were developed through a consortium on Optimizing Channel Compensation. The resulting Channel Alignment Framework is the first-of-its-kind map that seeks to build optimal manufacturer-distributor channels. Distributors need to read this book and buy it for their manufacturer partners. Then they need to sit down with those suppliers and properly plan effective processes to get the supplier market access while meeting distributor investment needs.

Pharmacy costs make up nearly 30% of all health-care costs. NAW has joined the Gallagher Pharmacy Alliance to bring you the opportunity to save up to 29% on your pharmacy spend, if you self-fund your pharmacy benefits. Get a free savings analysis.

Mark Dancer says, "The threat of disruption and the opportunity for digital transformation are coming to distribution. The battle is already underway, and distribution needs your help. Distributors are aware of the challenge, and many are putting up modern e-commerce platforms and exploring the use of digital tools. But more is needed -- and you can help! This blog post is for the sons and daughters of distributors; it is food for thought for your Thanksgiving gatherings!" Read his post.