Sonepar, which acquired 20 companies and increased staff by 2,100 people last year, saw a 28% increase in sales to nearly $35 billion, including $10 billion in online channels. The French electrical products distributor plans to take steps toward reducing waste and emissions and will invest $2.14 billion toward enhancing supply chain automation and $1.07 billion toward digital platform development.
Walmart is laying off hundreds of workers at five of its e-commerce fulfillment centers in California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas where it's reducing or eliminating some evening and weekend shifts. A Walmart spokesperson says the retailer made the move "to better prepare for the future needs of customers" and noted they'd try to find jobs for the workers at other facilities.
Modern Distribution Management (tiered subscription model)
(3/23)
Social Commerce 101: Evolve with consumers Join industry experts from Square and SmartBrief as they discuss how to take advantage of consumers' shifting shopping habits and tap into social media, especially as Generation Alpha, which views social media as a way of life, increases its influence in retail. Register now.
Visual commerce technology, which includes 360-degree image views, augmented reality and interactive 3D models, shows buyers how products can fit into their environment and can help lower the barriers to business-to-business sales and reduce return rates, writes Kathleen Lewarchik, Xngage's vice president of marketing. Lewarchik highlights how exploded-view diagrams have expanded beyond engineering into B2B e-commerce, writing, "Buyers can now see the entire solution, both holistically and individually, and order with them."
Economic uncertainty and conservative ordering among retailers are among factors tempering freight company expectations for a demand rebound during the second half of 2023. Stephens transportation analyst Jack Atkins agrees a full recovery is "looking increasingly less likely" and compares today's environment to the period following the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis.
Record producer Rick Rubin improves the music of the artists he works with by listening deeply and making suggestions instead of directing changes, a lesson leaders should take to heart, writes John Baldoni. "[E]xecutives have every right to make changes, even if employees do not like them," Baldoni writes. "However, the better choice is to enable others to see what you see so they can bring out the best in themselves."
Before going into a performance evaluation, identify how you want your direct report to think about their actions, how you want them to feel about their performance and what you want them to do to improve, writes Scott Eblin. "Help your team member understand the impact of their actions, whether they're positive, negative, or somewhere in between," Eblin writes.
