From the NAW Blog:
It’s 2019 and more than 197 million people visit Amazon each month to browse more than 12 million products, according to BigCommerce. The numbers go up every day. But distributors don’t need to be afraid of Amazon. They need to innovate and sell to customers the way today’s customers want to buy. It’s that simple.
A Caliper Talent Management Article:
Did you know that 64% of job applicants don’t respond to bad Job Descriptions? Learn how Caliper says to write job descriptions that work:
A Caliper Talent Management Article:
Are you still relying on annual reviews to manage Employee Development? Caliper shows you why coaching is the way to go.
EFC International is pleased to announce the addition of a new product line, Normont Motion Technology. Normont products include gas springs, dampers, and custom motion control solutions. The product line is complementary to EFC’s current motion control product offerings including components from ITW Motion such as rotary dampers, linear dampers, air dampers, hinge dampers and latches.
Normont is a leading manufacturer of industrial, automotive, and aerospace gas spring & hydraulic dampening solutions. These products can be found in numerous applications for automotive, truck, bus, heavy machinery, ATM machines, riding mowers, emergency vehicles, recreational vehicles and many other industries.
NAW’s archive of past webinars provides you with the best content from distribution's leading business and supply chain experts!
Discover these two on-demand webinars that feature first looks at NAW's brand-new study:
Innovate to Dominate: The 12th Edition in the Facing the Forces of Change® Series
Welcome to the Age of B2B Innovation
News from NAW:
In another of our many efforts to restore sound labor policy after years of pro-labor activism, NAW has joined in another amicus brief in a case before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In this case, the Board is considering whether inappropriate employee activity and conduct should forfeit the protection of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and whether handbook rules that prohibit that behavior should be permissible. Specifically, the Board is considering whether employee activity/behavior that is – among other things – profane, sexually explicit, racially insensitive, degrading, repugnant, bullying, uncivil, etc., should be considered protected activity. Click here to view the brief.
From the NAW Blog:
Over the last many years, distributors have faced down one challenge after another including the emergence of big-box retailers, disintermediation by manufacturers, the financial crisis of 2008 and more. Distribution survived because of the strength of their customer relationships and an ongoing commitment to gain efficiencies by investing in business systems and information technology. Faced with new disruptive threats, this trend is continuing as distributors invest in e-commerce platforms and a wide range of digital tools.
A new season of hiring means welcoming lots of new members to the team. Change can be challenging, so it’s important to focus on creating a long-term plan for your new hire’s success within your organization. This helps build an employee development framework for both you and the individual so they can make a smooth transition and feel empowered to take on their new role, while working toward their career goals and meeting organizational needs.
The summer and holiday months are a busy time of year for many employers. Many companies ramp up their hiring during this time to accommodate the influx of demand from consumers and travelers. As such, hiring managers receive a deluge of applications, and they need to have a strategy in place in order to get through the high volume of resumes in a timely and effective manner, while remaining thorough and without sacrificing standards. This year, for example, UPS estimates that they will bring on an additional 100,000 employees for the holiday season. The challenge becomes, how do you manage a high volume of candidates while maintaining the integrity of your hiring process? How do you think about and frame the conversation of professional development when it’s seasonal work?
An Update from NAW:
Last week the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued their notice of proposed rulemaking on updates to the current hours of service rules. Based on NAW’s initial assessment it appears that FMCSA agreed with many of the points NAW made in our submitted comments on October 9, 2018 (click here to read NAW’s comments).
We were all shocked and saddened to learn that Joe Greenslade passed away suddenly on Wednesday, October 23, at age 71.
Joe served as IFI’s Technical Director from 2007 until 2015. He was a fastener industry icon and highly respected and admired. Joe had a refreshing “can do” approach, an ability to build consensus, a knack for simple solutions, and a gentle, kind and jovial personality that endeared him to all. Joe thoroughly enjoyed working in the fastener industry and was always fully committed to completing anything he set out to accomplish.
NORWALK, CT - Fastener Fair USA, North America’s fastest-growing exposition for the fastener industry, will hold its third annual trade show and conference in May in Charlotte, NC, a major manufacturing hub. The event for the entire fastener supply chain runs May 18-20, 2020 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
We were shocked and saddened to learn last week that Joe Greenslade passed away suddenly on Wednesday, October 23.
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With the arrival of Fall and the turning of leaves, it’s time for Suzy Cravens to start thinking about cookies. “Not just any kind of cookies, but highly decorated cookies,” says Suzy.
It all started back in the 1990s, when Suzy, a self-professed crafter, sewer, baker, and all-around handy gal, decided to venture into the world of cake decorating to satisfy her creative whimsy. After taking several classes she started teaching cake and cookie decorating in her spare time. She also began a home cake decorating business which eventually led to her becoming quite well known in the area as the Cake Lady.
Joe served as Technical Director for the Industrial Fasteners Institute from 2007 until 2015. He was a fastener industry icon, having started his career in 1970 working for various fastener manufacturers before founding Greenslade and Company in 1978. He sold the company in 2007 and came to work for the IFI. In a recent conversation with IFI managing director, Joe said that working for IFI had been his dream job. You could tell he thoroughly enjoyed working in the industry, and he put 100% of his effort into anything he set out to accomplish.
Joe retired from IFI in 2015 when Salim Brahimi took over as Technical Director. Joe stayed on as a special consultant to IFI, maintaining the upkeep of the IFI Technology Connection software that he had developed and is relied upon by many companies today.
Gordon's family has shared the following information with NFDA:
Gordon, age 76, entered the presence of his Lord on October 19, 2019. He was born on July 7, 1943 to Gustave and Joan (Alkema) Vandermeulen in Grand Rapids, MI. Gordon married Elaine Brunz on June 20, 1965. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Elaine; children Jodi and Rob Hanlon, Quinn and Sydney; Grant and Jennifer Vandermeulen, Gideon and Nathan; brother Jim and Jill Vandermeulen; sister Judy Vandermeulen; brothers-in-law Wayne (Joyce) Brunz, David (Cindy) Brunz, Roy (Sue) Brunz; nieces and nephews.
Washington, DC (October 21, 2019) — Wholesaler-distributors are invited to join the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence and our sponsor PROS on Thursday, November 14, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET, for a live webinar: “Welcome to the Age of B2B Innovation.”
Anyone who has a calendar conflict and won’t be able to attend this live webinar, should register anyway. PROS will send registrants a link to view the webinar on demand. Register here.
NAW has just sent letters to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting that their agencies open an investigation into the General Services Administration’s (GSA) proposed e-Marketplace platform (Section 846) and Amazon’s unfair and anti-competitive practices and processes.
NAW believes that GSA should be fostering maximum competition at this stage of Section 846’s implementation. Even though GSA identified three credible e-commerce purchasing channels, GSA’s latest Request for Proposal (RFP), Commercial e-Marketplace Acquisition (October 1, 2019), confines its pilot test to only one model, that of the e-marketplace portal, the Amazon platform. All other e-commerce models have been excluded.
Effectively representing your interests in Washington is an ongoing, daily process involving many varied steps and actions. It is not always easy to see the full scope of this unless you are actually here in Washington. So, we list below some of the key legislative coalitions which NAW leads or helps manage, and actions the coalitions and/or NAW specifically have taken on those key issues. We also provide a sampling of the meetings in which we participate, regularly or for specific purposes, as part of our continuing effort to fight for the wholesale distribution industry in Congress and the regulatory agencies – in this case from May through September 2019. If you would like to see additional information on the issues mentioned below, please go to: www.naw.org
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