Watsco spent $46 million on technology in the 12 months ending March 31, a year-over-year increase of almost 28%, as its e-commerce customer pool increased by 19%, and e-commerce sales topped $2 billion. The growth comes as other heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration distributors commit more resources to and generate more sales from e-commerce.

Automated storage solutions in the cold storage sector can reduce the need for large warehouses, conserve energy and curb waste due to human error, writes Dan Labell, president of Westfalia Technologies. In particular, automated storage and retrieval systems strengthen inventory management, while improving food safety, by reducing the risk of contamination, Labell writes.

Business-to-business marketers looking to compete in e-commerce must address four stumbling blocks: a frustrating user experience, technology complexity, B2B-specific solutions and buyer expectations, writes The Mx Group's Matt Binz. "Companies only get one shot to make a lasting impression with B2B buyers," Binz writes. "By creating intuitive, engaging, personalized experiences, the e-commerce solution can meet return-on-investment expectations."

Michael Barber, senior vice president and chief creative officer at Godfrey, talks in this podcast about what business-to-business marketers should be focusing on when it comes to email marketing. Barber explains why engagement takes priority over list size and how to drive that engagement through creative content that adds value to prospects.

Leaders who head a company's agile center of excellence should focus on five factors to accomplish their goals, including being clear about their role, seeing the opportunity in disruption and using data and automation wisely, according to a McKinsey analysis. "There was a broad consensus that the way to balance long-term thinking with the shorter-term exigencies of the transformation was to constantly recenter the company -- and its individual divisions -- on its fundamental objectives," the authors note.

Diana Lee, CEO of Constellation, reports deleting about a thousand of the more than 1,200 emails she receives a day by eliminating those that aren't personalized or urgent. "Having structure will help you get into a rhythm and reduce stress around constantly needing to read emails," Lee says.

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