Liz Shrum joins NAW as chief communications officer | Digi-Key to offer range of Schneider Electric products | Krasdale Foods opens new CTown location in Scranton, Pa.
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors has hired Liz Shrum, an experienced media and communications professional, to be its chief communications officer. "Wholesale distribution is the backbone of the American Supply Chain, and I am thrilled to lead NAW in telling the stories of these incredible family-owned businesses and how they are delivering for America," Shrum said.
Persistent bottlenecks at West Coast ports have led US retailers to switch to ports on the East and Gulf coasts, with some retail executives expecting the shift to last in the long term. In the first half of 2022, container volume rose 22% year-over-year at the Port of Houston, the top port on the Gulf Coast, while East Coast ports saw a 9% increase.
Food distributors and retailers could prevent food waste by using smaller microfulfillment centers and insulated containers to shorten the amount of time food spends in transit and keep it at the right temperature, writes Carl Wasinger, founder and CEO of Smart Warehousing. In addition, machine learning "can forecast models to predict inventory, transport time, consumer demand, and spoilage probability," Wasinger writes.
Avoid confusion among sales representatives, ineffective digitization and reports, and misaligned messaging by ensuring your sales team is set up to divide and conquer, writes Chris Nag. Five key roles to divvy up based on individual strengths include engagement strategist, content curator and power user, according to Sales Hacker research.
The best sales managers can pinpoint potential in employees and challenge them to reach and exceed their goals, David Brock writes. Such managers exude enough confidence in their team members to slash through bluster, pushback and failure and chart a path to each person's achievement, Brock writes.
Learning how to ask good questions that focus on learning rather than assigning blame, and using self-inquiry to uncover blind spots, can help leaders become more effective, writes Marilee Adams, CEO and founder of the Inquiry Institute. "Your questions invite the best thinking, collaboration and engagement as well as a sense of psychological safety for your colleagues and teams," Adams writes.
Overlooking the toxicity of team members can cause greater problems later, writes Steve Farber, who recommends leading with empathy and realizing that most toxic behavior is unconscious and may arise from personal problems or challenges. "No matter the root cause of the issues, it is vital to remind everybody that your overarching goal is to create a positive and productive work environment," Farber writes.
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!
