Articles
Retail
Reaching a Point of No Returns
Online shoppers can no longer take free returns for granted. The number of UK and European retailers offering customers free returns in at least one international market dropped from 55 percent in the first quarter of 2017 to just 28 percent in the latest benchmark report from research firm ReBOUND. Most brands are still not […]
Read More
Tim O’Brien: Exuding Star Power
Tim O’Brien is senior director, supply chain, with Purchasing Power, a specialty e-commerce retailer that provides goods and services to customers who make payments through payroll deductions. He has held this position since October 2012. Responsibilities: Transportation and logistics, including carrier and 3PL relationships, vendor compliance, and onboarding. Experience: Director, e-commerce shipping strategies and vendor […]
Read More
Collaborative Supplier Management: The Key to Beating Holiday Fever
The holiday season—and accompanying spike in product demand—is no longer confined to the end of the year. With holiday celebrations in at least eight months each year—from Valentine’s Day to Easter and the Fourth of July—and nearly every product category from candy to clothing and home furnishings affected, retailers need to fine-tune their e-commerce strategy […]
Read More
Solved: Creating an Omnichannel Approach for a Sporting Goods Maker – Crane Worldwide Logistics
The Challenge The client is a leading global designer, manufacturer, and marketer of consumer products in the global outdoor and sporting goods market with distribution through wholesale and e-commerce retail chains. The client faced: Dependence on a primary wholesale business model for the majority of its revenue. Increasing global demand for its products (9.8% CAGR […]
Read MoreE-commerce Retailers Target Germany
Germany is the most important European future market for U.S. brands expanding their e-commerce business (see chart), according to Internationalizing Your Brand in 2017, a study of e-commerce retail decision makers commissioned by Arvato and conducted by the Worldwide Business Research Digital agency. Companies that focus consistently on omnichannel and offering convenient, flexible, and reliable […]
Read MoreFashion Supply Chain: What to Where
While most fashion and apparel executives are optimistic about the 5-year outlook for the industry, the percentage fell from 92.3 percent in 2016 to 71 percent in 2017, a record low for the United States Fashion Industry Association’s annual Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study, which surveyed executives from leading fashion and apparel brands, retailers, importers, and […]
Read More
Engaging Customers Through AI
Retailers will rely heavily on technologies such as live chat, Facebook Messenger, and Amazon Alexa for customer service, according to a new research study from Linc and Brand Garage. How AI Technology Will Transform Customer Engagement highlights the overwhelming emphasis retail executives are placing on automated platforms to improve customer communication, with 87 percent of […]
Read More
Best Practices for the Gift of Successful Holiday Sales
For some retailers, holiday sales can represent up to 27.4 percent of annual sales, and in 2017, overall retail holiday sales are expected to increase from 2016. Debra Glassburn, Partner, Columbus Consulting, offers these tips to help retailers make the most of the 2017 holiday season and leverage every sales opportunity. Understand historical trends. Having […]
Read More
The Calm After the Storms
Among the lasting effects of catastrophic natural disasters such as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma is a positive one: Knowledge. It’s an understanding of what companies need to do in the wake of a disaster, which efforts worked and which failed, and how to be better prepared. How Walmart, FedEx, and other big companies have adapted […]
Read More
E-Commerce Commentary: Three Ways Shippers Can Improve Customer Satisfaction
The Amazon Effect continues to weigh heavily (pun intended) upon the supply chain. Consumers expect to receive packages at their homes within a few days—or within a day—of placing an order, and the demand for lightning-quick fulfillment coupled with the myriad of small-order additions has led to a complex operating environment for supply chain leaders. […]
Read MoreThird-Party Refurbishers Help Get
First-Quality Goods to Market
Ideally, every step of your supply chain runs like clockwork, without interruption. You want to keep operations, transportation, and distribution ticking along precisely. A significant interruption can deliver a serious blow to the timeline—and the bottom line. But life happens… An overseas shipment of suits gets soaked with saltwater, plunging the distribution center into a […]
Read More
Supply Chain Be Nimble,
Supply Chain Be Quick
To deliver a seamless and positive customer experience, retailers must adopt an omnichannel mindset and ensure supply networks are nimble enough to quickly respond to consumer demand, regardless of where or how shoppers interact with their brands. Omnichannel retail is synonymous with speed—shorter product lifecycle, quicker turnaround on promotion, and faster delivery expected by customers. […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Commentary: Prepare for Mobile Commerce
E-commerce, m-commerce, and now app-commerce. Mobile commerce is expected to become a $250-billion market by 2020, with an increasing number of sales being done via smartphone apps. According to the 2017 UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper, shoppers make 25 percent of online purchases with apps, a number expected to spike quickly in coming years. […]
Read MoreWhat Retail Apocalypse?
Retailers Open 4,000+ Stores in 2017
U.S. retailers are opening 4,080 more stores in 2017 than they are closing and plan to open more than 5,500 more in 2018, according to a new report from research and advisory firm IHL Group. The report, Debunking the Retail Apocalypse, was released on August 30, 2017. The research reviewed more than 1,800 retail chains […]
Read MoreAmazon Closes Whole Foods Acquisition: 3 Experts Weigh In
Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market closes today August 28, 2017, and the deal’s impact will be felt immediately. Whole Foods Market will offer lower prices starting today on a selection of best-selling grocery staples across its stores, with more to come. In addition, Amazon and Whole Foods Market technology teams will begin to integrate […]
Read More
How Reduced Packaging Waste is Key to Sustainability
Aiming for a green supply chain not only reduces costs but also is socially responsible. Shippers are turning to innovative solutions to reduce packaging waste and emissions as key components of their sustainability efforts. More customers than ever choose to purchase from sustainable companies. In fact, 91 percent of global consumers expect companies to do […]
Read More
Recent Industry Disruptions Challenge, Improve Retail Logistics and Supply Chain – WSI
American consumers are now living in an era of supply chain domination, in which we sometimes sacrifice privacy for convenience, or a few extra dollars for speed. Amazon drones drop small packages on our doorstep the same day. Meals arrive on urban doorsteps via tiny robots moments after placing the order. Naturally, the retail industry […]
Read More
Developing Innovative Delivery Services That Delight Customers
To compete in today’s retail landscape, companies must differentiate themselves to meet consumer demands and drive brand loyalty. Many retailers are reassessing every aspect of their supply chains—including their delivery services—and implementing digital processes to ensure superior consumer experiences. Many consumers are willing to pay more for a better shopping experience. In recent years, retailers […]
Read More
Solved: Satellite DC Quickly Fulfills Orders – Unyson
Unyson helped a customer simultaneously increase service for time-sensitive shipments while decreasing costs.
Read More
E-Commerce: The Great Retail Equalizer
From small, local businesses to national giants, merchants fashion e-commerce strategies to attract and delight consumers in an ever-more competitive market.
Read More