Avnet reported earnings of $3.7 million on $4.53 billion in revenue during the fiscal second quarter. CEO Bill Amelio noted that the company's Net Promoter Score has nearly doubled in the two years ending October 2019.

Driverless forklifts, warehouse drones and other robotics are already improving warehouse efficiency as part of a global market expected to see compound annual growth of 11.6% from 2017 to 2023, according to Allied Market Research. Robots are also helping to manage inventory and physically transport certain goods within warehouses.

Alan Brown examines how 3D printing is allowing manufacturers to develop rockets, vehicles, buildings, boats, ship propellers, bridges and aircraft tooling. The large-scale applications include demonstrations of 3D printing and viable products that use the technology to support the bottom line.

Freight spending increased by 3.4% in 2019 despite declining by 2.7% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, according to a US Bank report. The fourth-quarter decline was representative of fewer truckloads being shipped as well as lower trucking rates, the report said.

Lead nurturing programs will only be effective if sales teams can properly segment their customers and educate them according to their industry, needs and other factors, writes Lisa Heay. Improve marketing content by focusing on each customer's challenges early in the process and ensure that emails are visually appealing and feature a clear purpose, Heay writes.

Corporate innovation requires a variety of talent profiles and roles, with people able to generate and manage opportunities, handle new business and dive deep into functional problems, according to research and a book by Babson College professors Gina O'Connor and Andrew Corbett. Sitting above all this should be a council "of senior leaders responsible for governing the strategic innovation function and advancing new businesses that will ensure the company has a promising future," writes Karl Klaussen.

Real companies are finding real solutions and practical steps to attracting and keeping their best employees with "Optimizing Human Capital Development." You've got to have the right arsenal to keep your top performers and build your competitive advantage. Grounded in research and a data-driven approach with 18 leading distributors, this study includes 25 sets of talent best practices, 16 action steps and 62 real-world distributor examples. Read the table of contents and introduction.

With modern organizations moving away from the traditional hierarchical structure to embracing more project-based operations, working in teams is no longer an alternative choice for employees, but an essential consideration to ensure successful business outcomes. HRD Researcher, Scholar and Author Jia Wang looks at the five key components that affect team effectiveness, and what types of people distributors need to bring on board. Read more.

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