United Natural Foods earned $67 million in its fiscal third quarter, up from $48 million a year ago, on revenue of $7.24 billion, up from $6.63 billion. The food distributor said inflation and new business contributed to the revenue growth.
Fastenal had total sales of $589 million last month, a 23.5% increase from a year ago. Daily sales growth slowed to 17.6%, but the distributor's daily sales total of $28 million was the highest amount so far this year.
Three indicators of supply-side pricing have stopped rising and have begun to ease, suggesting inflation might be on the verge of easing. North American fertilizer prices, the spot rate for shipping containers and semiconductor prices are falling.
Trucking, parcel delivery and warehousing companies together added 32,900 jobs in May, a decrease from 44,700 in April and mirroring overall slowing growth in the US job market, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trucking businesses accounted for the addition of 13,300 jobs in May and over 70,000 jobs in the past year, which experts say could be the result of companies offering higher salaries for new recruits and independent owner-operators joining bigger trucking firms as employees.
Distributors need to come up with creative solutions to supply chain disruptions so "our future supply chains can be more balanced, both efficient and resilient at the same time, while becoming more collaborative rather than just transactional," writes consultant Howard Coleman. Those solutions should include rethinking the role of the supply chain manager and sharing real-time data about product demand with suppliers, Coleman writes.
Curiosity is especially important for leaders who need to build a rapport both with customers and their peers in the office, writes sales expert David Brock. "As we look to filling any leadership role in our organizations, as we look at any selling role in the organization, curiosity is a critical skill," Brock writes.
Sales teams can become more nimble if they have tools to track customers, the resources to meet customer needs and provide value as well as processes for quick decision-making, write PK Sinha, a co-founder of ZS Associates, and company associates Arun Shastri, Sally Lorimer and Namratha Agarwal. "Instead of managing by 'command and control' dictated by organizational priorities, the new model is driven by customer needs," they write.
Constant conflict at work should be a sign for leaders to look inward for management errors, workplace consultant Marlene Chism writes. Addressing issues promptly, rewarding initiative and ensuring an employee isn't trying to represent others can ease conflict and improve teamwork, Chism explains.
Leaders who acknowledge their embarrassment over something they did or said will have a chance to clarify their intent and provide a model for how others can react in uncomfortable situations, writes Ed Batista. "You signal your awareness that a norm has been violated, and you unify your self-presentation, which in turn reduces everyone's anxiety and confusion," Batista writes.
