Watsco's online sales increased 17% last year and business-to-business e-commerce represents about 32% of the Florida-based HVAC distributor's total sales. "We have an immense technology advantage, and we are investing to grow that advantage," said CEO Albert Nahmad, adding, "These technologies are increasing [customer] engagement, reducing attrition and creating sustainable market share gains."

A partnership between KeHE Distributors and WeStock will provide insights on what brands consumers want and where they want them using first-party consumer data. If a brand has high consumer demand in a particular region or for a particular retailer, the likelihood of being discovered and carried by KeHE and its retail partners will increase.

Walmart is turning more attention away from its physical stores and directing it toward other revenue streams like online third-party seller fees, e-commerce and retail media such as its advertising platform, Walmart Connect, which grew more than 40% in the fourth quarter. "Delivery from a store has almost tripled in volume over the last two years...and, so, we're certainly leaning into this area with a lot of the investments that we're making," said Walmart CFO John David Rainey.

Since the early promise of delivery-by-drone hasn't taken off, retailers continue to struggle with the costly "last mile" of potential same- or next-day service. In this article, Greg Petro chronicles efforts from major players, such as Amazon, Target and Walmart, noting "the prospect of a return on investment seems murky at best."

Salespeople should worry less about price and focus on selling value, writes author and podcast host Paul Reilly, adding, "If you're not losing some business because of price, you're not charging enough." Businesses can profit by going on a monthlong discount fast, and sales reps should "justify your price by detailing how your value impacts the buyer," Reilly writes.

Business-to-business sales managers need to focus on buyers, use more channels, find ways to scale sales, rethink talent and cement change, according to McKinsey's "Big Reframe" report on B2B sales, which involved interviews with 50 sales heads. Erica Schultz, the chief marketing officer for Rain Group, creates an action plan for each of the five takeaways.

Workplace people management strategies increasingly will involve building digital skills, giving rewards and recognition, offering flexible work arrangements and allowing employees to work on projects they enjoy, say executives, who emphasize the growing importance of employee engagement and productivity. "Employees want more purpose from their work and how it's integrated into their lives," says Ben Hamer, future of work lead at PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia.