Articles

Fulfillment

Mike Glodziak

Strengthening Omnichannel Capability to Address Fundamental Shifts in Consumer Behavior

Q. What have the past few years revealed about consumer trends? A. With the rise of e-commerce came the demand for next-day or same-day shipping with a catch—no added cost. Consumers crave the instant gratification they would have experienced from going to the store, without leaving their house, and as large online retailers began offering […]

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Clark Cassell

Right-Sizing and Leveraging Fulfillment Automation

Q. How can right-sizing automation addresslabor shortages? Does it lead to increased employee engagement? A. Automation, when correctly applied, should have two benefits: performing tasks with fewer people, and increasing the value of (remaining) employee tasks. Consider automation as a tool, doing the heavy lifting with repetitive tasks and the heavy thinking that goes into […]

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Addressing Supply Chain Pain Points for Shippers

Addressing Supply Chain Pain Points for Shippers

Shippers must navigate a daunting array of complex challenges when operating in today’s often turbulent supply chain landscape. Potential pain points are rampant. Fortunately, shippers can turn to a variety of solutions and tools that can help drive capacity, control for rates, enable visibility, manage inbound and outbound execution of shipments, and improve the freight […]

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Old Processes Impede New Inventory Strategies

Old Processes Impede New Inventory Strategies

Few businesses use new technologies to tackle supply chain issues caused by the pandemic due to tighter costs and dependence on legacy work processes, says a recent survey from intelligence platform Verusen. This results in lost revenue and increased inventory costs. Global supply chain executives responding to the survey cite poor data quality, siloed materials […]

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Dashing Through Soaring Holiday Sales

Dashing Through Soaring Holiday Sales

E-commerce holiday sales will grow 11% to 15% in 2021 versus 2020, says Deloitte’s forecast, with e-commerce sales growing 34.8% in November 2020 to January 2021. E-commerce sales will keep growing as consumers continue to buy online across all categories, the report says. Deloitte predicts a 7% to 9% increase in overall holiday sales compared […]

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Currin McCarty

Deploy a Robotics-Driven Fulfillment Solution to Reach Peak Productivity

Q: 3PLs and retailers are planning for volume surges ahead of peak season. What is driving this? A: This peak season, as consumers regain financial confidence, e-commerce is expected to exceed a level of volume that exacerbated the supply chain the previous year. Warehouses are already experiencing painful labor challenges including high turnover and shortages […]

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Target Practices Faster Fulfillment

Target Practices Faster Fulfillment

Instead of using carriers to ship all its online orders, Target is building its own team of dedicated delivery personnel to get packages to customers’ doors even faster, helping the retailer compete with its e-commerce rivals, says a CNBC report. The new approach involves three companies that Target acquired: Grand Junction, Deliv, and Shipt. Target […]

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