US Foods has announced that Dave Flitman will be its next CEO, starting Jan. 5. "Dave is a highly accomplished executive who brings an impressive combination of CEO, supply chain and commercial experience and a proven track record of driving operational excellence, profitable growth, shareholder returns and a people-centric, high-performing culture," said Bob Dutkowsky, executive chair at US Foods.

German chemical company Brenntag SE said it's considering whether to acquire Univar Solutions, a specialty chemical distributor based in Illinois. However, Brenntag said discussions are still in the early stages, so "it is currently not foreseeable whether there will be any kind of transaction."

Supply chain obstruction stemming from the pandemic appears to have passed its peak, with global container volume declining 8.6% in September, according to Container Trade Statistics. Chinese container exports to the US fell almost 23% from August to October, according to Descartes Datamyne, while US freight transportation costs have plunged.

Legacy freight brokers are increasing their use of automation and digitized transactions to compete with newer companies, as well as older ones' in-house digital brokerages. Declining freight demand, fears of a recession and increased consolidation are also expected to spur significant changes in the US trucking sector.

Using the data you already have can help identify areas to focus on, projects to postpone and ways to improve systems such as procurement and marketing, writes Rajan Sethuraman, CEO of LatentView Analytics. "Untapped data assets, particularly first-party data from customers, can be used immediately to make some of these mission-critical decisions," Sethuraman writes.

Contextual content production should take up 60% of 2023 budgets for digital marketers, experts suggest, with the remainder going toward media purchases. Other recommended strategies include focusing on brand awareness, influencer marketing and continuous testing.

A good Manager's Operating System consists of 10 characteristics that can help a leader maintain a smooth team operation and culture, including trust, clarity, context, connection and communication, writes Art Petty. "A healthy working environment -- one where people are excited to engage and operate at their best in pursuit of something meaningful is the output of a bug-free, interoperating set of programs that make up the Manager's Operating System," Petty writes.

Forty-one percent of job postings in the US include a requirement for a college degree, a drop from 46% at the beginning of 2019, per the Burning Glass Institute. A tight labor market is contributing to the trend, and companies such as IBM, Walmart, Delta and Google are taking advantage to hire workers based on their skills rather than their education.