SpartanNash's supply chain overhaul includes rebalancing distribution centers, opening micro-fulfillment centers and optimizing inventory, with expected annual cost savings of $25 million to $35 million. Executives say the plan is beginning to pay off, with a 7% year-over-year increase in warehouse order throughput in the first quarter of 2022, followed by a 9% jump in the second quarter.

Supply chain bottlenecks, which have plagued the globe since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic more than two years ago, are moving to inland distribution hubs as pressure at ports eases. Companies are increasingly using shipping containers and trailers to store goods and tying up the equipment for long periods, causing a shortage of logistics equipment and slowing warehouse operations.

Distributors that are considering a new enterprise resource planning system want one that can integrate with new technology and is interoperable with different systems, according to an Epicor survey. Nearly 85% of respondents use a hybrid ERP, and six in 10 say theirs is at least 50% based in the cloud.

Marketing consultant Pam Didner talks in this podcast about how business-to-business marketers can map the customer journey, a process that should always be evolving and should be a collaboration with sales. Didner explains how mapping the journey starts by placing yourself in the customer's shoes and asking questions, and offers advice on what she says are the only two metrics needed to measure success.

A temporary, part-time fractional sales manager can help regular sales managers and their teams brainstorm, inspire and strategize, as well as devise game plans to keep the company moving forward, cloud consultant Dan Hurt writes. Hurt offers additional benefits and things to consider before bringing someone on board.

You can become the person everyone goes to when they need encouragement and motivation by seeking to understand those around you and being there for them when they face challenges, writes Dan Rockwell. "A go-to person provides unique value by seeing things that aren't obvious and hearing things that go unsaid," Rockwell writes.

Leaders can avoid merger fatigue and misalignment during an acquisition by holding frequent town halls to keep employees informed and temporarily pausing integration efforts when necessary, write Plante Moran partners Kim Doyle and Stan Hannah. "Leaders should ensure they are fully optimizing the available talent, allowing more employees to 'buy in' the new culture and to give the process an interdisciplinary feel," they write.

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!

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