News and Trends

• Sysco shuffles procurement executives
  Sysco Corp. has named Robert Howell VP of sourcing and supply chain services and promoted Christopher Shepardson to VP of sourcing, both effective July 1. Howell joined the food-service distributor in 2004 and was most recently assistant VP of category operations. Shepardson, a Sysco employee since 1990, previously was assistant VP of merchandising services. Purchasing.com (4/18)

• School Specialty to sell video production unit
  School Specialty is selling its video production company, School Specialty Media, in an effort to focus on its core products and service sectors. Reuters (4/18)

• Survey: Large firms to keep benefits, boost health initiatives
  A survey of 448 companies indicates that many large firms plan to continue to offer health coverage to employees but to invest in initiatives to improve employee health as a strategy for cutting costs. Despite a trend of companies trimming health benefits and rising co-pays, none of the large companies said they would cut health care benefits in the next three to five years. The Washington Post/Associated Press (4/19)

• Other News

• PT distributor sales continue strong growth following 2006 decline
  Progressive Distributor (4/21)

Best Practices

• How to approach an underachiever
  With only 14% of senior executives offering praise for their company's handling of poor performers, this author suggests having a talk with the underachiever, asking key questions about needs, training and other factors. Inc.com (3/1)

• Effect of emotions at the office
  According to research, the emotions conveyed by managers and executives can have a big impact on a company's morale and performance. Experts suggest working on cultivating a positive, but an authentic outward show of emotion and going beyond e-mail communication when conveying sensitive messages. Knowledge@Wharton (4/18)

Sales

• Column: The definitive e-mail template
  Poor responses on e-mailing marketing campaigns may not have to do with prospects, but rather with e-mails. Templates can help design an e-mail with just the right amount of information that will interest a possible client, but requires them to call for more details. Be sure to follow up with respondents to see why they called in order to make future campaigns more effective. AllBusiness.com (4/18)

Hot Topics

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

• McLane to build new distribution center (The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.))

• Nutritionists offer advice about eating around workouts (The Washington Post)

• Johnstone Supply nears completion of new distribution center (Reed/ACP Construction Data)

• Column: Frequently asked job hunting questions answered (The Washington Post)

• Debunking common food myths (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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

Small Business Manager

• Small business goes green
  Environmentally friendly practices, such as recycling, using biodegradable office products and driving hybrid company vehicles, are gaining popularity among small businesses. These are simple ways to bolster standing in the community and show customers how small businesses care about sustainability and the natural environment. MSNBC/Associated Press (4/18)

	The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) The May 14th postal hike can have a significant impact on your bottom line. What are you doing to protect your profits? Kevin Craine, author of "Designing a Document Strategy" presents a free online seminar entitled Six Tips to Beat Rising Postal Costs. This webinar is offered to NAW Magazine readers on April 26th at 2:00PM EDT. Register now! Sponsored by Billtrust. Interested in learning more about advertising in NAW SmartBrief? Contact Henry Murphey at (202) 737-5500 ext. 245 or hmurphey@smartbrief.com

Executive Life

• Fishing takes on new meaning on Isla Vieques
  With few people around and a sense of calm, fishing the shallow waters of Isla Vieques, located just off the eastern portion of Puerto Rico, takes on a distinctive Florida Keys vibe -- albeit from 50 years ago. Vieques is the Keys before all the people, the bigger and faster jet boats, the cutting-edge tackle and the overwhelming expectations. The New York Times (4/20)

• Study: Skim milk best for building muscle
  Drinking skim milk after lifting weights can help build twice as much muscle mass than drinking soy beverages or other proteins, scientists discovered. CNN/Reuters (4/19)

NAW Insider

• Maximize your salesforce's productivity
  Did you know that inside and outside salesforces are 30% to 40% of the typical distributor's operating expenses? Many distributors don't know that or how to measure sales productivity and whether they are becoming more or less productive. Let Restructuring the Distribution Sales Effort for Maximum Productivity guide you through the process from the traditional fully loaded salesforce cost structure to new salesforce models that promise higher profitability.

• Practice lean warehousing and eliminate wasted space and time
  This is the first book to apply the "lean manufacturing theory" specifically to the world of warehousing. Lean Warehousing discusses the "why of getting lean" and shows you how to eliminate wasted space and time in a systematic approach, so you have a leaner warehouse operation tomorrow than you do today.

Weekly Poll

• Has your company adopted any "green" practices?
  After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.

	We are very environmentally conscious
	We have some environmentally friendly policies
	We are discussing and developing ideas
	What's "green"?

There's no better way to find first-rate professionals with expertise in the wholesale distribution industry. Click here to display your open positions in NAW SmartBrief.

SmartQuote

Train yourself to let go of the things you fear to lose." --George Lucas, film writer-director-producer