Stacy Ward, Author at Modern Distribution Management

Get the Most Out of Remote and Reconfigured Work

To promote the best possible work environment while helping to slow the spread of COVID-19, experts recommend distributors:

Prioritize regular and consistent staff communication using a system that employees are already familiar with.
Know the bandwidth of your work-from-home staffers’ technology and adjust accordingly.
To keep employees who can’t work from home safe, consider splitting them into teams and scheduling them to work at different times.
Discourage the spread of the virus by periodically checking with your staff about their health and encouraging them to stay home if they are sick.

Technology

Data Privacy, Security and Remote Work in the Age of COVID-19

Many employees are no longer working under the security of their employers protected networks. This reality, coupled with cyberthreats trending upward, makes it a good time for distributors to review IT-related preparedness plans and policies.

Strategy

Distribution Industry Wins and Losses in COVID-19 Stimulus Package and Regulations

NAW Chief Government Relations Officer Jade West discusses the industry associations effort to promote distributors as essential businesses and ensure distributors are not cut out of the supply chain, as well as ongoing initiatives such as financial support for distribution businesses with more than 500 employees.

Operations

COVID-19: Distributors Work to Keep Pace with Demand

Distributors are responding to customer concerns and increased demand on staff in a variety of ways, including limiting new business to meet existing customer demand; open communication on shortages and supplier allocations, and discouraging panic by not accepting returns beyond normal usage patterns. Face the crisis with a sense of flexibility and resilience, experts say.

Leadership

Why it Pays to Be a Perpetual Rookie

Thanks to 29-year-old Tony Moores quest for continuous learning, Engineered Specialty Products has an incentive program that has increased productivity and improved efficiency in the warehouse.

Subscribers should log-in to read this article.

Leadership

How Distribution Can Draw in the Next Generation

Studies show the youngest generation entering the workforce start looking for a potential career path early in their education, and many are drawn to tech-based careers. MDMs Future Leaders Awards highlight young, emerging talent who are already thriving in the industry and provide examples of how distributors can attract such leaders to join their business.

Subscribers should log-in to read this article.

Leadership

‘Everything is Driven by Data’

The 40-year-old president of Surgical Product Solutions found a niche to fill in redistribution of surplus surgical supplies and is able to meet growing demand for thousands of SKUs by putting his expertise into a robust, data-backed platform.

Subscribers should log-in to read this article.

Strategy

What the Changing Role of the Master Distributor Means for the Industry

Like many functions in the realm of distribution, the role of a master distributor has become increasingly complex as lines continue to blur and end-user expectations force channel partners to rethink traditional models. Wholesalers are uniquely positioned to grow if they can figure out how to be more, says Consultant Mike Marks.

Subscribers should log-in to read this article.

Operations

5 Nontraditional Roles to Add Value

Introducing any of these jobs product manager, chief digital officer, sales enablement manager, trusted adviser and director of inventory has the potential to make your company more open to change, better embrace the customer experience and streamline operations to meet evolving business demands.

Subscribers should log-in to read this article.

Operations

The USMCA: What It Means for Distributors and Manufacturers

Distribution trade associations and groups such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) are calling President Donald Trumps signing of the USMCA a win for distribution.

Subscribers should log-in to read this article.

Cybersecurity

Cyberthreats Trending in 2020: 6 Steps to Manage the Risk

Technology

Protect Your Company from Ransomware With These Inexpensive Tips

Ransomware has evolved into a billion-dollar enterprise, affecting two-thirds of small to medium-size businesses in the past 12 months, the Ponemon Institute and Keeper Security reported in a recent study. Yet many in this group most often targeted by cybercriminals do not feel an imperative to make cybersecurity a priority. Blame it on the number of publicized attacks highlighting big companies, municipalities, or just about any organization in the healthcare sector and something even more prevalent: a false sense of security in data backup technology.

Subscribers should log-in to read this article.

Human Resources in Wholesale Distribution

4 Ways Distributors Can Cultivate a Culture of Innovation

Tenacity, curiosity and a healthy respect for data and the facts are among the attributes that distributors need to be a force for change.

Operations

The Workplace Attributes that Appeal to Gen Z

The latest generation is looking for an employer committed to environmental advocacy, inclusivity and equality, says Gen Z expert Corey Seemiller, Ph.D. In an MDM Q&A, she shares how distributors can create a culture that appeals to young workers. Read More.

Human Resources in Wholesale Distribution

What Do You Have to Offer the Next Generation of Employees?

Add recruiting to the list of processes that distributors should consider overhauling to successfully compete and engage the increasing numbers of Gen Z prospects perusing social media to find the ideal workplace.

Subscribers should log-in to read this article.