Articles
E-commerce
Click & Collect Not Clicking Yet
Fewer than half of retailers responding to an OrderDynamics survey provide shoppers with access to basic inventory visibility. Of the 2,000+ worldwide retailers participating in Omni-2000 Research: Global, only a surprising 38.1 percent show basic inventory visibility on product pages. A strict like-for-like, year-over-year comparison finds a 30.7-percent decrease in active online inventory visibility. This […]
Read MoreWalgreens Launches Home Delivery Program for Prescriptions
Drug store chain Walgreens will now expand home deliveries for prescriptions nationwide. The company plans to partner with FedEx to deliver prescriptions as soon as the next day for a $4.99 fee, and it also is providing same-day deliveries in several cities including New York, Chicago and Dallas. The Deerfield, Ill., company started offering deliveries […]
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Things are Looking Up for Multistory Warehouses
Multistory warehouses used to distribute e-commerce orders are popping up in densely populated U.S. metro areas, but conditions for developing the structures aren’t as ideal in the United States as in Asia and Europe, finds a CBRE report. The commercial real estate services firm’s analysis finds that New York City, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Los […]
Read MoreHoliday Shipping Guidance for 2018: Analyzing FedEx 2017 Holiday Ship-By Dates
To better understand when shippers should send their packages during the holiday season, GrandCanals, a provider of analytics-driven fulfillment, launched an AI-powered website, where companies can view holiday ship-by predictions for 2018, updated nightly. These predictions are determined by artificial intelligence and consider both historical and current shipping trends across the GrandCanals Delivery Performance tracking […]
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Post Office Dings E-Commerce?
Two recent and important developments will impact domestic and international e-commerce shipments. The first one concerns the U.S. Postal Service’s relationship with Amazon. Let me set the stage. The Postal Service lost $2.7 billion in 2017. U.S. taxpayers guarantee the perennially stressed postal worker retirement fund. And first-class mail receipts are off by $1.8 billion […]
Read MoreHow Shippers Can Relieve Consumers’ Delivery Anxiety
Delivery anxiety is the anxiety consumers feel when they don’t know when they are going to receive their order or when shipping costs push the total order cost too high. It ultimately causes the consumer to abandon the shopping cart, and possibly order the product they so desperately desire elsewhere. Removing delivery anxiety, your single […]
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Growth in the Line of Beauty
To serve its rapidly growing customer base in mainland China, Feelunique—Europe’s leading online beauty retailer with more than 32,000 products and 500 brands across makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrances—is set to open a distribution hub in Hong Kong in partnership with SEKO Logistics, a third-party logistics provider based in Itasca, Illinois. The cross-border online retailer […]
Read MoreKeeping up with B2B Fulfillment Demands this Holiday Season
According to a recent report by CBRE, the average U.S. warehouse is about 34 years old. While this may seem relatively “young” compared to other infrastructure still in operation within the U.S., in our digitally transformed world, any 34-year-old technology is practically a senior citizen. What’s more, within retail, the last five years has seen […]
Read MoreE-commerce Shipment Costs to Rise
Two recent and important developments will impact domestic and international e-commerce shipments. The first one concerns the U.S. Postal Service’s relationship with Amazon. Let me set the stage. The Postal Service lost $2.7 billion in 2017. U.S. taxpayers guarantee the perennially stressed postal worker retirement fund. And first-class mail receipts are off by $1.8 billion […]
Read MoreWhat’s Ahead for Retail Technology? Ask the Crystal Ball
What technology developments can retailers expect in 2019? Here’s some perspective from Adam Silverman, senior vice president of marketing for Theatro, and a former Forrester analyst with 20 years of industry experience. 1. E-commerce software will evolve into commerce software that powers both online and offline commerce. As retailers look to replatform antiquated point-of-sale (POS) […]
Read MoreNew DHL Survey Reveals Expected Cyber Monday Growth for Businesses & More
Forty percent of e-commerce businesses would rather experience a TV malfunction during their favorite Thanksgiving Day football game than contend with shipping issues on Cyber Monday, a recent DHL survey found. DHL distributed a poll to U.S. e-commerce businesses, including its customers. The survey, which had more than 14,000 responses, reveals major challenges, priorities, and […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Scorecards: A Tool for the Times
Advanced technologies like blockchain and AI have captured widespread interest with the benefits they promise to bring to logistics operations. But, for all the promise these appear to hold, there are proven enhancement-focused tools already available – in particular, scorecards – that supply chain managers should take full advantage right now to ensure optimized performance […]
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Rethink Fulfillment During Peak Season
Peak season is a great opportunity to determine where your warehouse priorities should lie. Here are the biggest stories to watch this holiday season. From fast to accurate. Amazon Prime’s free two-day shipping sent shockwaves through the fulfillment industry. Reaching peak productivity and keeping up with Amazon became a major topic of discussion. But it’s […]
Read MoreGreat(er) Expectations: Meeting E-Commerce Consumer Demands
Consumers prioritize convenience, experience, and quality when making online purchases, according to an annual e-commerce study conducted by third-party logistics provider Dotcom Distribution. Data from more than 1,400 online shoppers indicates a shift from previous years, when consumers placed higher value on gift-like packaging and fast delivery. Results also demonstrate a change in how consumers […]
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Shipping and Delivery: How to Get it Right
Thanks to the rise of e-commerce and heightening customer expectations, shipping and delivery have become key drivers of overall customer satisfaction. An e-commerce company’s ability to meet customer expectations can be a source of competitive differentiation. Executing against the wrong strategy—or not having a strategy at all—is a recipe for higher costs and lower customer […]
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Store Delivery Keeps Retailers in the Game
Multi-channel retail and fulfillment is typically based on the assumption that customers choose a main way to connect, whether physical stores or a website. Many retailers manage each channel separately with different teams, budgets, processes, tools, reporting structures, and revenue goals. In multi-channel retail and fulfillment, stores have their own stock and sell directly to […]
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Nina Luu: Banking on Data
Nina Luu is CEO and co-founder of Shippabo, a cloud-based supply chain management solution headquartered in Los Angeles. Responsibilities: Leading shippers, logistics experts, and technologists in creating cloud-based supply chain solutions. Experience: Co-founder, IGH Global Corporation; marketing director, Evergreen Herbs Education: B.S., business administration, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, 2005. One year after college, I […]
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Returning Experience
The war between the retail/e-commerce customer experience and increasing costs is heating up, thanks to the impact that rising transportation prices are having on the retail process. That trend plagues e-commerce players and retailers, both large and small. For example, in July 2018, spot market trucking costs were up 30 percent year-over-year, according to DAT. […]
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Returns in the E-Commerce Retail Supply Chain – MD Logistics
In recent years, a rise in e-commerce sales has led to an increase in the amount of items returned. This increase in returns creates a challenging situation for retailers and an opportunity for their 3PL providers. Q: How does the reverse logistics process work? A: 3PL providers engineer returns solutions that are specific to their […]
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