Articles

E-commerce

Easing E-Commerce Pain Points

Easing E-Commerce Pain Points

Although key logistics capabilities are needed to build and maintain successful e-commerce operations, few brands excel at them, according to a study from Geodis and Accenture Interactive. The study highlights: E-commerce acceleration: Brands estimate that e-commerce in 2020 will represent nearly half of their sales. Before COVID-19, companies were making 34% of their sales online. […]

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What’s the Holiday Sales Scenario?

The holiday retail season will play out in one of two ways—a relatively stable year-over-year sales increase of 0% to 1%, or a jump of 2.5% to 3.5%—both of which are lower than prior years, according to Deloitte. Scenario one: Consumers experience growing anxiety about their health and finances. This reinforces the current high savings […]

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Consumers Set Their Sights on Visibility

With COVID-19 disrupting the traditional retail model and more consumers expecting to find, buy, and receive products wherever and however they desire, the need for retailers to optimize and elevate their supply chain capabilities is imperative for maintaining sales and brand loyalty, finds a survey by enVista. Other key findings in the survey include: 87% […]

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5 Must-Take Actions to Prepare for the 2020 Holiday Season

This year has been, and continues to be, unprecedented. Not since the Second World War have global supply chains been so dramatically interrupted. And given the integration of these global supply chains (thanks to the marvels of the integrated circuit) and advances in modern transportation, the disruption caused by COVID-19 is, arguably, unprecedented in modern […]

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Keith Biondo

The World Is Your Warehouse 3.0

In a column I wrote 20 years ago called "Millennium Musings," I used the phrase "make the world your warehouse." It took two decades, but it appears that we may be on the cusp of that actually happening, not just in developed countries, but across the entire world. How? Enter Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, […]

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Vertical Focus Retail-Oct

Vertical Focus Retail-Oct

Weaving Blockchain into Data Sharing Blockchain can solve the errors and inefficiencies that exist in data exchange between suppliers, retailers, and other stakeholders in the retail supply chain, according to results from the Chain Integration Project proof of concept. If retailers want to incorporate blockchain into their supply chain, the study recommends these steps: 1. […]

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3PLs Play Pivotal Role

Order volumes increased by 81% for third-party logistics (3PL) providers supporting e-commerce since the lockdown began, according to data from 3PL Central‘s customer base. These are the highest order volumes per 3PL ever, on par with Black Friday in 2019. 3PL warehouses fulfilling e-commerce orders experienced a consistent increase in order volume week over week. […]

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Getting Out of the Woods

Getting Out of the Woods

COVID-19 radically changed the workplace and how supply chains operate. Shippers that scale their technical infrastructure and put the customer first will thrive, says a study by Reuters Events and CalAmp. Other key findings include: Preparedness: Shippers say their logistics solution providers are managing the uncertainty of customer demand, scoring them an average of 72/100. […]

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Retail Responds

Retail Responds

Retailers faced steep fluctuations in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many have been forced to close or adapt to accommodate social distancing. To improve their supply chain resilience for future disruption, retailers must invest in flexibility, visibility, and automation, according to a study by WMG, the University of Warwick, and Blue Yonder. Key findings […]

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