Wholesale inflation jumps 11.3% year over year in June | American Tire Distributors sells Canadian assets to tire distributor | Fastenal reports 53% jump in Q2 e-commerce sales
The producer price index rose by 11.3% in June compared with June 2021, the highest monthly increase since March, according to the Labor Department. Energy prices increased by 54% year over year, while prices excluding energy and food grew by 8.2%.
Warehouse robots are increasingly being designed to work with and around humans, with companies such as Walmart, Amazon and Kroger joining the movement toward more automation to speed up operations and reduce labor costs. Surveys from the Material Handling Institute predict that warehouse robotics will grow by at least 50% through 2027.
Logistics and supply chain teams should use advanced technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and digital freight order and transportation management systems to connect operations and improve responses to disruptions, writes Terence Leung, senior director of solutions marketing at Blue Yonder. By using such tools, "[t]he logistics team is not left to struggle alone to mitigate disruptions, but instead acts as part of a unified effort to achieve the best possible service and cost outcome for all trading partners," Leung writes.
Brands that leverage storytelling in their business-to-business content marketing can produce meaningful connections with customers, write Paul Cash and James Trezona. Stories make data more compelling, while boosting the brand equity, they write.
Managers can ramp up the success of sales staff through sales enablement, a process that takes time to put in place. Sales training expert Mike Kunkle recommends starting with "The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement," identifying the collaborative players across departments and using the building blocks to determine next steps -- and he also shares three scenarios when a sales enablement team can't help.
The "tension between the known and the unknown" is what gives jazz its liveliness, and the ability of the musicians to collaborate and improvise holds valuable lessons for leaders, writes Nicolai Tillisch. Describing a Herbie Hancock concert, Tillisch notes how each musician listened intently to each other, working together to anticipate what was coming next, just like the best leaders.
Hiring processes have become too lengthy and intensive, not always resulting in the best choices, write Atta Tarki, founder of ECA Partners; Tyler Cowen, co-author of "Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World;" and Alexandra Ham, founder and CEO of TalentCompass. They recommend using fewer interviewers, identifying one decision-maker and creating a culture that recognizes those who find the best employees.
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