Distributors can preserve supplier relationships and avoid costly litigation and mistakes by reaching higher-quality agreements, writes Glen Balzer. This can be accomplished in eight steps, including conducting due diligence prior to negotiations and having legal and sales professionals review an agreement, Balzer writes.

Amazon Business could easily expand into regulated products, technical product recommendations and other areas in the distribution sector, so it's important for distributors to "carefully check their assumptions to assess the risk they face," write Groove Strategy Group's Michael Connerty and Joseph Putnik and consultant Jennifer Kozak. They list five steps to follow, including assembling a cross-functional team and gathering customer input.

Business-to-business marketplaces received more than $1.7 billion from investors through the end of September this year, writes Alex Moazed, founder and CEO of Applico, which just released its list of the top independent, product-focused B2B marketplaces. These sites "have invested in a variety of value-added services like B2B financing, logistics and fulfillment" and "have started to provide additional services that resemble what a traditional B2B distributor provides," Moazed writes.

Using an automated accounts payable system encourages suppliers to do the same -- as long as the system is easy to use, writes Shan Haq of Transcepta. Haq discusses how to ensure that automation doesn't cost suppliers anything, along with how to choose the right automation partner.

Distributors should choose an enterprise resource planning system that has integrated e-commerce functions and can work smoothly with other company systems, according to John Carrico of Epicor and Will Quinn of Infor. Quinn and Gina Parry of VAI also recommend choosing an ERP that facilitates automation, including via artificial intelligence-enabled tools.

The most effective business-to-business sales leaders "are rethinking skills, establishing new ways of working, and pushing cultural boundaries," a McKinsey survey shows, noting that 65% of customers prefer virtual interactions or digital self-service over traditional communication. High-performing sales leaders say they're evolving their teams' channel mindset and changing their personnel strategy.

Trying to sell a boring product requires turning the prospective client into a hero who uses that product for amazing achievements and helping the sales and marketing team adopt an Alfred-in-the-bat-cave vision of assistance, says Lisa Schwarz, senior director of global product marketing at Oracle NetSuite. Ridding the team of old, ineffective tools and sharing use cases can offer clarity to "mission-critical" work, writes digital media consultant John Boitnott.

Leaders who are struggling with a decision can convene a "clearness committee" that will commit at least a couple of hours to hearing about the problem and asking honest, probing questions without injecting opinions into the mix, writes Theodore Kinni, drawing on insights from Center for Courage & Renewal co-founder Parker Palmer. "Thus, the desired outcome of a clearness committee is not necessarily a specific solution; it is clarity about the problem for the person in the problem," Kinni writes.

Several factors could cause employees to head for the exits, including burnout, the high cost of child care and a desire for a real sense of belonging. Providing a sense of purpose and encouraging people to be their best selves can help boost retention.