Articles
Retail Logistics
Apparel Logistics: Stepping Out in Style
Brand owners and retailers try refashioned supply chains on for size.
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Walmart’s ShippingPass Has Ended. What Retailers Should Do Next.
The shipping wars between Walmart and Amazon are heating up. On Jan. 31, 2017, Walmart halted its ShippingPass delivery service in exchange for free two-day shipping—signaling their latest move against Amazon. As more retailers offer free shipping, today’s consumers now expect online purchases to be delivered “fast and free.” Evolving customer expectations for delivery are […]
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Tackling Retail Logistics: Build Your Team First
The retail industry is changing at a faster pace now than at any other time in history. We are only at the dawn of the new world order: connected retail. Supply chain is on the front lines of the ongoing revolution. When RILA and Auburn University recently surveyed retail supply chain executives, 98 percent rated […]
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3PLs & Carriers: At Your Service
Shippers don’t always measure the ‘softer’ aspects of the service they receive from carriers and 3PLs. But those metrics can make all the difference for your supply chain and your company’s brand.
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Getting Distribution Centers in Peak Season Shape
While the annual peak shipping season begins in August and lasts through the winter holidays, the work for supply chain and logistics distributors certainly doesn’t end come the new year. In fact, the National Retail Federation’s monthly Global Port Tracker report indicates that cargo volume for January 2017 is forecast at 1.53 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent […]
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How to Beat Amazon at the Retail and Supply Chain Game in 2017
In a recent omni-channel benchmark study, Retail Systems Research identified the top three omni-channel technology investments for retailers in 2017: Distributed Order Management – 46% planning a change, 14% with net-new budgeted projects Enterprise Content Management – 42% planning a change, 17% with net-new budgeted projects Enterprise Wide Inventory Visibility – 37% planning a change, […]
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Getting the Goods on Logistics this Holiday Season
E-commerce continues to be the growth engine in retail with a 15-percent increase in 2016, according to U.S. Department of Commerce (Q2 2016 versus Q2 2015). Online shopping drives logistics growth as almost every e-commerce purchase needs to be delivered to the consumer’s home. This has resulted in increased investment and jobs in the retail […]
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Accurate Product Data Drives Supply Chain Systems
Retail and consumer goods organizations spend a lot of money to deploy supply chain applications that will help them operate more profitably while delivering the ideal experience to shoppers. But the fact is software investments do not deliver on their potential unless the data they’re using is accurate. Accurate product data comes from well-crafted, consistent […]
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Trends—October 2016
Response to ELD Mandate: Yours, Mine, and Hours The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) deadline for truckers to install Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) is nearly one year away, on Dec. 18, 2017. Small fleets, however, seem to be taking this mandate less seriously than their larger counterparts, according to a survey of 400 carriers […]
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Three Returns Strategies for Improving Omni-channel Retail
Omni-channel retail involves much more than efficient order fulfillment. An easy returns policy is just as important—so much so that it can be the deciding factor for a purchase. That said, it’s one thing to enact a favorable returns policy, and quite another to execute it efficiently. Thanks to omni-channel expectations, shoppers want the ability […]
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Using Tunnel Scanning to Meet
E-commerce Challenges
The recent increase in the number of consolidation warehouses operated by e-commerce companies that receive orders from many different suppliers in relatively small quantities creates challenges from an ID reading perspective. The small size of their typical order means that consolidation warehouses usually do not have the leverage over their suppliers that would enable them […]
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Retail Logistics: When Fast Isn’t Fast Enough
To keep customers happy, retailers play a daily game of beat the clock. For some retailers, smart supply chain management strategies and 3PL partnerships keep the orders flowing. For others, well…time may be up.
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Is Your Warehouse Ready for Black Friday? Start Preparing This Summer
The world of a distribution center manager is changing rapidly. Whether you’re in a B2C or B2B world, it’s no longer about just keeping up with orders, it’s about establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage to deliver both profitably and seamlessly in response to your customer’s demands. And those are getting tougher by the day. […]
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Warehouse Makeover: Blueprint For Change
To meet new shipper and consumer demands, modern warehouse design plans are larger, taller, wider, brighter, smarter, and more flexible.
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Retailers Get Help With New DOT “Reverse Logistics” Rules
The U.S. Department of Transportation has finalized new shipping requirements aimed at retail stores that return hazmat products to a supplier or manufacturer for a refund. Because the hazmat products found in retail stores typically pose little risk to the public in small amounts, U.S. DOT has created a streamlined, simplified version of the hazmat […]
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WMS Gives the Gift of Visibility
Greeting cards are read. Gifts say, “Thank you.” SendOutCards’ WMS boosts visibility and optimizes fulfillment, too.
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Naughty or Nice—Which Retailers and Delivery Services Will Make the Grade this Holiday Season?
The holiday retail season is upon us, and already the first lumps of coal have been delivered, with retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Walmart experiencing unwanted downtime on their websites over the Black Friday weekend. And as we move away from Black Friday, and closer to Christmas day 2015, the pressure will shift from […]
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Whatever It Takes
So you’re a retailer, and out of stock on a particular item. Then, of course, a customer orders it. What do you do? When outdoor gear retailer Backcountry was faced with an out of stock that would disappoint a customer, an employee went shopping on a competitor’s website, purchased the item with a personal credit […]
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RFID: More Than Just a Better Barcode
Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) offers a multitude of benefits that can significantly reduce and eliminate waste in the extended supply chain. RFID, an automatic identification method using electronic tags that have a microchip and printed antenna, is a lot more than just a small improvement from barcode technology. Barcodes offer a status report at […]
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Optimizing the Holiday Supply Chain With Reliable ETA
Timeliness is top of mind during the holiday season. As Santa prepares for his ride around the world to give every child a gift by Christmas morning, manufacturers and retailers are also busy planning to meet increasing customer delivery demands during the holidays. Santa has his magic and his elves, but companies must find other […]
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