UNFI, Gordon Food Service turn to indoor farms for greens | Q&A: How Sunbelt Rentals views electric, hybrid equipment | Univar Solutions exec calls for changes in rail industry
United Natural Foods and Gordon Food Service are both opening more indoor farms operated by Square Roots to secure reliable supplies of microgreens, fresh herbs and leafy greens. Such farms are becoming more popular due to technological advances, concerns about climate change affecting conventional farming and growing demand for locally grown foods.
Sunbelt Rentals' test adoption of Bobcat's T7X electric compact track loader is a prime example of its efforts to establish a business case for lower-carbon equipment. However, Sunbelt has found that for many customers, a hybrid machine may have "less of a learning curve" than a fully electric system, says Brent Coffey, director of product line management.
Thrive leverages patent-pending machine learning to analyze inventory data, preventing up to 90% of dead stock and reducing lost sales by 50+%. Thrive integrates with ERP systems to manage unpredictability and changes in demand, with no software implementation needed. Free trial available.
Government initiatives, artificial intelligence and machine learning can all improve supply chain visibility and disclosure, helping companies meet ever-changing regulatory requirements and customer interests, writes supply chain management logistics expert Vikas Gupta. Such efforts "may attract investors impressed with a company's reputation for shipping on time or for meeting their ethical standards ... [and] give the company a competitive advantage," Gupta writes.
Streamline team collaboration and reduce costs In the contact center, it's in the collaboration layer where work gets done. Join experts from Slack, NeuraFlash and Salesforce as they explore features that help your retail service teams provide connected personalized service at every touchpoint. Register here.
Resist the urge to use a canned follow-up pitch with a potential customer, and instead infuse it with personality -- both yours and theirs -- to help win more sales, writes Lesley Pyle, founder of HireMyMom.com, whose advice for entrepreneurs is appropriate for sales leaders to share with their teams. Don't forget to do your homework ahead of time, and stay on top of pitches by using automated email delivery scheduling to send follow-ups at appropriate intervals, Pyle notes.
Half of US employees prefer to keep work and life separate and follow a strict schedule, while the other half prefer to blend work and life in a flexible schedule, writes Gallup's Jim Harter. Both types of employees can be engaged and productive, but it's important for employers to know if employees are "splitters" or "blenders," Harter writes.
Give your reports helpful feedback by following an ABC method by aiming to show you care about their performance, outlining behaviors you have observed and talking about the consequences of those behaviors, writes Lori Dernavich. "If they get defensive, keep going back to A (Aiming) to let them know that your aim is positive," Dernavich writes.
