News and Trends

• Trade group economist warns shipping uptick may be temporary
  The amount of goods shipped by truck increased 1.3% in June, its second consecutive monthly gain since peaking in February, according to the American Trucking Associations. Despite the increase, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said tonnage could decrease in the fourth quarter of 2008 as well as the first quarter of next year if the economy weakens as predicted. CNNMoney.com/Associated Press (7/30) , Fleet Owner (7/30)

• HD Supply unit benefits from on-demand data integration
  Finding a high-quality, on-demand data integrator that did not penalize clients for growth was a big factor at HD Supply Facilities Maintenance when it had six months to get off The Home Depot system before being sold. To efficiently continue relationships with its 225 suppliers and 80 national customers, the wholesaler-distributor of maintenance and repair products opted to stick with a familiar associate. SearchCIO (7/29)

• Other News

• Cummins profit beats analysts' estimates for Q2
  Bloomberg (7/30)

• Q2 data indicate Building Materials Holding faces financial struggles
  Modern Distribution Management (7/29)

Best Practices

• Try comprehensive feedback for better diverse-group relations
  Team members in diverse groups often hide their weaknesses, only reluctantly show their true self-assessments and often become defensive when challenged. However, members can create beneficial interpersonal relationships and work well together by collecting and sharing 360-degree feedback, which comes from themselves, each group member, their employees and other co-workers. Harvard Business Review (7/2008)

• Employers step up to help employees grapple with finances
  Some workers are struggling with heavy debt, but as the economy gets tougher, employers are getting more proactive in helping their employees with their finances. Workshops, courses and one-on-one sessions with counselors are some of the ways to help. Society for Human Resource Management (7/2008)

Sales

• Audience holds nonverbal clues on how you're doing
  Speakers can learn much about how much of an effect they're having by simply watching their audience, this article says. Nonverbal messages abound in the crowd, such as chairs moving closer to a table during a talk, meaning people may be ready to move on. Selling Power (free registration) (7/23)

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by NAW SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Mid-year assessment of wholesale distribution sectors (TED Magazine)

• Lawsuit to cost Grainger $6 million (Industrial Distribution)

• Building a lean, mean distribution machine (Modern Distribution Management)

• Grainger buys 49.9% stake in Asia Pacific Brands India (Modern Distribution Management)

• Be honest when evaluating yourself (BusinessWeek)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Small Business Manager

• Outsourcing tasks can make small outfits more efficient
  Small businesses can benefit from outsourcing when the people in the organization are not skilled to perform a task or when there is a task that does not need to be done full time. Web site design, copy writing, data entry and answering the telephone are examples of tasks a small business could contract out in order to allow full-time employees to devote their hours to other work. Best Syndication (7/26)

Executive Life

• House panel tries to permanently ban cell phone use during flights
  The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved legislation that makes the current prohibition by the FAA and the Federal Communications Commission on using cell phones during flights a permanent law. "I do believe this is important that we don't make what is already a crowded and difficult environment for the traveling public and flight attendants" worse, said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who sponsored the bill. Houston Chronicle/Associated Press (7/31)

• Study: Connected living rooms are on the rise
  The growth in popularity of online video and social networking has helped fuel robust demand for Web-based technologies to be integrated into consumer TV sets, according to a study from ABI. The study goes on to highlight various vendors and organizations that have worked to blend the Web into home entertainment, including the Consumer Electronics Association's CE-2014 initiative, which provides standards for developing HTML-based user interfaces in a connected living room. TMC Internet Telephony (7/2008)

NAW Insider

• Brand new: Make your operations lean in challenging times
  Becoming lean in distribution is more important than ever in today's challenging economic market. Applying lean concepts makes sense because becoming lean means becoming a more effective distributor. And becoming lean will lead to higher profitability. Lean Operations in Wholesale Distribution focuses on the lucrative operations area and discusses steps distributors must take to design and manage a lean culture.

• Save on overnight shipping with DHL ShipReady
  NAW and DHL have partnered to offer a unique delivery service from DHL Express. Members can ship anywhere in the continental U.S. for one flat rate with no weight limits, extra fees or fuel surcharges. Receive two free envelopes with your first order by visiting the ShipReady site and entering the promo code NAWSR07.

Weekly Poll

• What's your primary shipping method?
  After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.

	Long-haul trucks
	Rail
	Boat/barge
	Parcel service (UPS, FedEx, etc)
	A combination of these

Vice President of Sales, West Region UNFI Rocklin, CA Quality/Operations/Procurement Supervisor Bearing Service, Inc. Corporate office, Livonia, MI Inbound Operations Manager - Distribution Center GRAINGER Jacksonville, FL

SmartQuote

You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there." --George Burns, American comedian