Fastenal has been able to manage supply chain challenges over the past few years by relying on employee expertise and strong partnerships with suppliers, according to Tony Broersma, senior vice president of operations for the industrial supply company. "At the end of the day, it's about making that supply chain as efficient and effective as possible," Broersma said. "We're all dipping into the same bucket from a profitability standpoint, so if we can make our supplier more efficient, they can pass those cost savings on to us and through us to our customers."

C-Facts will provide cloud cost-management services and a cloud optimization module to Ingram Micro partners and clients globally through a new five-year partnership. The solution offers real-time insights that can lead to cost savings and offer multi-cloud support.

Despite a 22% reduction in funding among internet of things companies in 2022, industrial IoT firms pulled in an average of $16.1 million per funding round, more than double the average funding in 2021, according to an Avnet Abacus analysis of Crunchbase data. "Despite venture capital generally cooling off due to current economic conditions, the research reveals investor confidence is higher than ever for the long-term prospects of companies developing products in the IoT," said Sara Ghaemi, Avnet Abacus' director of technical development.

Emerging artificial intelligence technology has become a viable tool for driver route planning and scheduling that frees up time with the added benefit of boosting hiring and retention, writes Ashok Viswanathan, Best Buy's director of digital supply chain and analytics. AI-based systems also can assist with demand and supply matching and handle the complex algorithms associated with truck driver arrival estimations, Viswanathan notes.

Businesses should focus on conversion rates, review bidding strategies and fine-tune keyword targeting to boost campaign returns, writes Fullmoon Digital Founder Derek Chew. Chew also recommends building systems for customer relationship management and exploring affiliate marketing.

Research by LinkedIn reveals changes in decision-maker roles have led to 86% of vendors experiencing delayed or canceled deals, which is why the platform has rolled out new B2B features based on its first-party data to help marketers identify the right leads and contacts. Kendra Clark explains the new tools available within LinkedIn's Relationship Explorer.

Strategic thinking requires knowledge of the business and sector, asking the right questions, and effective communication to achieve buy-in from others. "It's also about recognizing what you don't know and having the curiosity to explore unknowns," writes career coach Raju Venkataraman.

The key to retaining the youngest members of your workforce -- which surveys show 70% of them plan to quit their jobs this year -- is to offer job flexibility and respect and validation for their contributions to your company, says S. Chris Edmonds, founder and CEO with The Purposeful Culture Group. "When employees are treated with respect and are validated at work, loyalty increases, proactive problem solving increases, productivity grows and cooperative teamwork increases," Edmonds says.