Home Depot is building on its successful Pro business by providing customers with an "interconnected shopping and quoting experience" on its business-to-business website, President and CEO Ted Decker says. The company also is adding more B2B salespeople, while making it easier for Pro customers to use self-service e-commerce and communicate with associates.

Distribution professionals can advance their careers and help their companies by pursuing a specialized Master of Industrial Distribution degree or a more general Master of Business Administration, writes Andrew Vernon, program manager for the MID program at Texas A&M University. Vernon notes that many MID students already have an MBA, but those without one can still benefit by building on their work experience and learning to "think more strategically."

US businesses imported 2.53 million 20-foot equivalent units last month -- a 3% year-over-year increase, a 15% jump over July 2019 and the fifth-highest volume on record, according to logistics technology provider Descartes. "A number of factors -- such as a slowing economy, inflation and high fuel costs -- have not had the anticipated impact [of] slowing down US container imports," Descartes said.

Those concerned with artificial-intelligence-powered machines taking over the world should actually concentrate on data privacy issues, writes Yacov Salomon, Ketch's chief innovation officer. Data used to train AI programs "lingers on, embedded in and potentially extractable from the finished AI product," Salomon writes.

Instead of leading a team to think of sales in terms of a bottom line, advise them to help customers understand the potential for improvement, change and growth, blogger David Brock advises. "For sellers, if we are not helping our customers navigate their buying process successfully, we will not make a sale," Brock asserts.

Business-to-business marketing's role is now even more pivotal to provide today's "aloof, and increasingly independent" buyers with the experiences and content they need to not only make purchasing decisions but feel confident to stick with your brand for the long haul, writes Jason Ball, founder of Considered Content. Customers "should be able to source richly informative, educational content -- from guides and case studies to research and instructional videos" from your brand that centers around their needs, Ball writes.

Investing 20 minutes a day or less in journaling in the morning and the evening can help executives plan their day, evaluate what's working and what's not and measure progress toward their goals, writes Art Petty. Petty offers 20 prompts to get started and reasons why this exercise is about more than just keeping a diary.

Offering skills development to team members and assuming the effort can run on autopilot is likely to lead to dissatisfaction all around, writes Alaina Love, CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting. Love explains why a high-performing team framework is necessary and what it should include.

Are you looking for professional development programs to help you retain and develop your key personnel? If yes, then the NAW Certificate in Distribution Professional Management program will help your leaders reach their highest performance levels. Learn more.

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