Distributors should be transparent in their internal communication so that employees know the truth and don't rely on rumors and fabrications spread via the company "grapevine," according to Mike Marks, founding partner at Indian River Consulting Group. "[I]f they start thinking about layoffs or all the turmoil in the world today, you may end up having good people that lose confidence and leave, and the employees who stay are the ones you didn't care if they stayed," Marks says.
Walmart has teamed up with Instacart to pilot a virtual convenience store called Walmart Now in the Toronto area. Customers can have groceries and other items delivered in as little as 30 minutes through the service.
Months of bottlenecks at US ports are now creating delays in the rail lines that move containers full of goods from waterfronts to retail warehouses. Some retailers such as Utah-based sporting goods merchant Black Diamond Equipment are spending more amid already-high freight shipping rates to move some of their cargo by trucks to speed delivery.
Enterprise profit management systems give companies a "very granular picture" of which customers are generating or draining the most profit, which can help improve profitability by redirecting resources to the most successful market segments, writes Jonathan Byrnes, founder and chairman of Profit Isle. EPM "yields an extremely powerful view of the company as it really is today -- where it is working, where it is not and why," Byrnes writes.
An increased focus on sustainability, purpose-driven marketing, a multichannel approach and diversity, equity and inclusion are major trends driving business-to-business brand strategies in 2022, writes Ascom Americas' Kelly Feist. "Layering information and tailoring it to audience segments along a buyer's journey has become the norm," Feist writes.
Panoramic and aerial videos, 3D animations and 360-degree images are a few of the visual techniques that brands can easily employ to capture consumer attention and boost campaign traction, according to Forbes Agency Council members. The Tangent Agency's Marc Becker also suggests testing augmented reality filters that give consumers a fun, interactive experience, spark sharing, and elevate individuals "from passive audience members to active brand ambassadors."
Identifying fears and then embracing them and transforming them into a powerful story to share with others can help leaders cope with their anxiety, write John Baird and Edward Sullivan. "When leaders take off their armor and embrace their fears, it inspires others to want to reciprocate," they write in this excerpt from the book "Leading with Heart: Five Conversations that Unlock Creativity, Purpose, and Results."
Workers older than 40 are about half as likely to get a job offer as younger employees are, according to a University of California at Irvine survey, and this can be blamed in part on unconscious bias about experience and expectations, says Insperity senior performance consultant Jill Chapman. Employers should seek a minimum amount of experience instead of a maximum amount and request only relevant work experience instead of an employee's entire work history, Chapman advises.
The NAW Billion Dollar Company Roundtables are an exclusive community of thought leaders from Billion Dollar distribution enterprises who congregate to network with noncompeting peers in multiple lines of trade on key issues. The companies invited into this community are from distribution firms at or above $1 billion in annual sales. Register today!
