Report: B2B marketplace sales to hit $130B this year | Avient debuts innovative resources for plastics recycling | Walmart+ members can now add on InHome delivery
Revenues from business-to-business marketplaces are projected to reach $130 billion this year, a dramatic increase from $56.5 billion in 2021, as buyers continue their pandemic-initiated shift to shopping online, according to Digital Commerce 360's upcoming B2B Marketplace 400 report. In a May 2021 survey by Digital Commerce 360, 57% of B2B customers said they had made more marketplace purchases during the pandemic, including 17% who said they made "significantly more."
Avient has introduced additives and a service to help manufacturers preserve color when using post-consumer resins in new plastic packaging. "Avient is fully committed to increasing opportunities to expand the use of recycled polymers, addressing any barriers that arise either during the recycling process or when customers want to incorporate PCR content into existing or new applications," executive Norbert Merklein said.
Walmart's InHome delivery service is now listed as an optional add-on to the Walmart+ membership program for an additional $7 per month, or $40 for a year. The change comes in response to customers' requests to combine their loyalty program subscription services options.
Infographic: Life cycle of a package How does the supply chain directly touch the customer at each stage? And how can retailers maximize their supply chains to meet the needs of today's consumers? This interactive infographic explores how the consumer experiences the life cycle of a package, from the order to shipment to delivery. Download the Infographic
Supply chain issues have eased, but another period of congestion and delays is expected, though businesses have become accustomed to longer transit times and rising costs. Peak ocean liner shipping season hits in August ahead of back-to-school and holiday shopping, potentially adding congestion, while uncertainty remains regarding negotiations between West Coast dockworkers and shipping companies.
Procurement professionals looking for new suppliers should evaluate vendors' commitments to technology, innovation and sustainability, writes Praveen Kumar Soni. Ensuring suppliers are financially healthy and have wide supplier bases and geographic footprints can also help reduce risk, Soni writes.
Business-to-business marketers can create more interesting content that makes prospects want to consume it and come back for more, explains Julie Revelant, owner of Revelant Writing LLC, in this podcast. "Regardless of the type of content, there should be a story behind every single thing you create," Revelant says.
Marketing leaders can improve employee performance by building a collaborative culture, being attentive to employee needs and investing in a good customer relations management system to make work easier, writes David Thompson. "Creating an environment in which employees feel accepted and celebrated will also create happy employees, which will then lead to happy customers," Thompson writes.
A full Senate vote on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act still hasn't been scheduled, although Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., says he is trying to garner enough support for its passage. The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors supports the bill, which would prevent companies from giving preferential placement to their own products over competitors' products on their platforms.
Leaders who have trouble keeping a "poker face" in times of stress should practice projecting a neutral expression, become aware of what triggers them and work to assume the best about their team instead of the worst, writes executive coach Anne Sugar. "If you get into this thinking habit, the tenor of your work day will change; your expressions will telegraph goodwill, and your team members will respond positively," Sugar writes.
Leaders can uncover their own blind spots by digging deeper in conversation with peers and direct reports and seeking out data and unique perspectives that can challenge their assumptions or calcified opinions, writes executive coach and author Robert Bruce Shaw. "The best leaders know that the questions they ask are as important as the answers they provide," Shaw writes.
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