Grainger, Zoro unit post Q2 sales gains | SpartanNash hosts expo for independent grocers, suppliers | Amazon moves forward with some large logistics projects
Grainger reported second-quarter sales of $3.84 billion, up 19.6% year over year, along with quarterly net profit of $371 million, a 65% increase. Q2 sales for the distributor's online Zoro unit grew by 23%, due to growth in SKUs and registered customers.
Food solutions distributor and grocery retailer SpartanNash held its 2022 Fall Expo in Grand Rapids, Mich., last week, attracting more than 1,500 independent grocers and consumer packaged goods brands. Attendees discussed topics such as rising food prices, specialty merchandising, crisis response and marketing.
Amazon is pushing forward with certain large-scale logistics projects, having won approval for a $550 million, 3.1 million-square-foot distribution center in Niagara, N.Y., and developing even larger sites in Ontario, Calif., and Loveland, Colo. Amazon has canceled certain projects and announced plans to sublease some existing space, but experts say the company's broader logistics efforts appear to be continuing.
Most supply chain executives don't expect the supply chain to return to normalcy until at least the first half of 2024, according to a survey by Carl Marks Advisors and SupplyChainBrain. The Russia-Ukraine war and labor concerns are cited as the biggest threats to supply chain reliability.
Autonomous mobile robots can guide warehouse workers in their daily duties, while gamification can get workers more engaged and help them improve their performance, writes John Santagate, vice president of robotics and voice at Korber Supply Chain Software. The technologies, Santagate writes, "have the potential to streamline manual tasks; increase employee productivity; maintain on-the-job satisfaction; facilitate a safer, highly skilled working environment; and reduce overall error."
One-third of marketers think their content is boring, according to a Ceros study, but business-to-business marketers can make their content more entertaining by incorporating interactivity, writes Jamie Gier, chief marketing officer at content creation platform Ceros. Gier explains how, using examples from B2B brands, and advises marketers to embrace risk and value creativity.
Customer journey maps, metrics derived from data analytics and in-house digital initiatives are some of the factors that can combat eroding returns for digital marketers, write Christine Moorman, Jana Soli and Google executive Dennis Cardoso. They also suggest that companies integrate digital marketing principles across their entire organizations and build cultures of continuous learning.
Tim Ryan, the US chair and senior partner at accounting firm PwC, used an open-ended dress code -- trusting his employees to maintain professional appearances without detailed guidance -- as an example of how his "trust-based leadership" policy built a strong culture. "So my advice is to believe in your recruiting and believe in your talent pipeline, because when you trust them, they will do amazing things, and then constantly talk about what that trust yielded," Ryan says.
A strong sense of ethics and values is necessary for leaders, especially when they may be the only ones courageous enough to call out unethical behavior or other questionable practices in a company, write Bob Vanourek and Gregg Vanourek. "To be prepared to be a voice of one, you must set your moral compass by defining and living by your personal values," they write.
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