North Dakota-based electrical distributor Border States has made Megan Friedrich vice president of sales enablement. "I am excited to serve our shared services organization, deliver exceptional customer experiences and help our customers achieve their growth goals," said Friedrich, who will be in charge of sales, marketing and customer experience in her new role.

Amazon's new Risk Aware Delivery program, launched earlier this month, is intended to reduce driver errors at stops with multiple delivery locations such as apartment complexes or mailrooms, especially with packages that can include special delivery notes that may go unseen by standard grouping practices, according to a corporate memo obtained by Supply Chain Dive. Amazon says the program should help remedy some of these issues and plans to formally roll out the program on April 17.

Logistics companies have grown in the past few years and many are turning to technology to streamline operations, increase supply chain visibility, manage employees and integrate IT services, writes Rajesh Kumar, Ramco Systems' senior director of transportation and logistics practice. "A key component for realizing the potential of future prospects is the integrated capability of technology that supports their operations," Kumar writes, adding that "[t]his capability helps [logistics service providers] to be operationally efficient, reduce costs, improve margins, achieve paperless operations and elevate customer experience."

Getting sales teams off to a good start requires clearing the decks to make their jobs easier, ensuring open communication with you and not ignoring accountability, writes Loyd Ford of Rainmaker Pathway Consulting, or RPC. The best sellers learn from their managers and also go above and beyond through creativity and forward progress, Ford explains.

Every leader should be able to tell two stories -- how you got to be where you are and where you are going, writes Wally Bock, who recommends listening to and collecting the stories of other people and making them your own, giving credit where credit is due. "Try telling the story to a few people to drive it into your memory so that it's available when you need it," Bock writes.

Leaders need to realize they are never the smartest person in the room and should surround themselves with people who can do the tasks they're weak at to create a decentralized culture that empowers everyone, says Duncan Angove, CEO of Blue Yonder. "Then you can drive empowerment without sacrificing accountability and efficiency and all the good things that come from centralization," Angove says.

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