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Operating in Style

After working for several years in the field of styling and fashion, Joelle Desaulniers created the eponymous JOELLE Collection. The Quebec-based company offers unique dresses, sweaters, jumpsuits, and jewelry, among other items, through a thriving online business and a boutique in Trois-Rivieres. Another boutique in Place Ste-Foy is slated to open later in 2023.

Increasing E-Commerce Efficiencies Block by Block

Consumer expectations continue to stack up, and pressures on e-tailers are mounting. Here’s how companies are building efficiencies and constructing e-fulfillment strategies.

March 1, 2023 | February 2023 | Retail | Technology

VERTICAL FOCUS: Home Improvement

Building Smarter Homes Consumers love their smart home devices. Spending on smart home hardware that includes individual devices, such as automated lighting systems and controllers, grew in 2022. It surpassed $30 billion worldwide, up 15% over 2021 spending, according to an ABI Research market data report. Manufacturers have taken notice. The largest consumer technology and […]

February 28, 2023 | February 2023 | Retail | Retail Logistics

GOOD QUESTION: What’s your biggest supply chain takeaway from peak season?

With peak season 2022 in the rear view, readers and industry insiders reveal key lessons and insights.

NOTED: Supply Chain Highlights

Good Works J.B. Hunt Transport Services awarded $55,000 to 55 classrooms as part of its Adopt-a-Class program, which provides schools with resources to obtain learning supplies and other essentials. Atlanta-based Americold and Feed the Children worked with the Mayor’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs-Welcoming Atlanta to distribute 8,000 ready-to-eat meal kits to students throughout December […]

February 8, 2023 | January 2023 | Logistics | Retail | Supply Chain

VERTICAL FOCUS: Pet Supplies

Biofuels: A Pet Peeve A proposed EPA rule has the pet industry howling. The rule would establish required Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes and percentage standards for 2023, 2024, and 2025 (see chart). The EPA also recommended a series of modifications to strengthen and expand the RFS program. The pet food industry’s response was swift […]

Retailers Come Closer to Home

E-commerce companies are reworking the twists and turns in their distribution networks to get closer to their customers and speed delivery times by shortening the last mile.

February 3, 2023 | January 2023 | Last Mile Delivery | Retail

Walmart Takes to the Skies

Retailers continue to look for new ways to meet consumer demand for fast delivery. Many, including Walmart, are banking on drones. For a cool $3.99, Walmart customers who live within one mile of a participating store can now have thousands of eligible products delivered to their home via same-day drone delivery. Walmart expanded its DroneUp […]

January 31, 2023 | January 2023 | Retail | Transportation Management

2023 Supply Chain Predictions: Plan Ahead & Get Organized

Supply chain leaders share predictions, tips, and notes to help you tackle the business challenges ahead.

Automation: From Benefit to Necessity

Even prior to the pandemic, consumers were demanding. Since the rise of e-commerce, end users expect the ability to order what they want, when they want it, via the channels they want. Brands are adapting to this demand by offering curbside pickup, third-party delivery services, direct-from-social media purchasing, and a variety of other channels to cater to different consumer preferences.

December 6, 2022 | December 2022 | E-commerce | Retail | Retail Logistics

Turning the Tide on Turnover

The pandemic’s effect on inventory turnover was significant, but more recent data suggests that the situation may be improving for e-commerce brands.

Logistics Technology: The Unsung Hero of Convenience Commerce

As consumers embraced online ordering during the pandemic, e-commerce sales ballooned from $571.2 billion in 2019 to $815.4 billion in 2020—a 43% jump—according to a recent Census Bureau retail survey. Although online sales have cooled since the initial pandemic-driven fervor, consumers continue to drive convenience commerce, with e-commerce sales increasing 6.7% in Q1 2022. More than 20% of consumer spending from January to March occurred online.

How to Develop a Customer-centric Supply Chain

Supply chain variability creates hurdles to customer satisfaction. Prioritize the consumer experience by integrating flexible technologies and processes in your supply chain design.

10 Tips: Matching Inventory To Demand

Demand is a constantly changing variable in any supply chain. Each time the demand tides change, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers must align inventory levels to meet customer expectations. Here are tips for doing it successfully.

November 11, 2022 | Inventory Management | November 2022 | Retail | Retail Logistics

How Macy’s Avoids Inventory Glut

Retailers across the country are struggling with inventory pileup due to 2021’s massive supply chain delays. Unloading these previous-season goods has become a top priority for the upcoming holiday and winter season. But Macy’s is singing a different tune: the retailer managed to avoid most of this inventory glut, and reported to the Wall Street Journal that more than half of its offerings for the holiday season will be new.

October 21, 2022 | E-commerce | Last Mile Delivery | Retail

You Can Add Value to Your Brand Through Last-Mile Delivery

Retailers in a post-COVID world know better than anyone that growing their business by diversifying what they offer is a surefire way to solidify customer loyalty. In today’s highly competitive retail environment, delivery as a brand extension is a critical differentiator.

October 20, 2022 | Careers | Retail | Retail Logistics

Anne Meyrose: Filling the Gap

Anne Meyrose is vice president, logistics control tower with Gap Inc., the apparel company behind the Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap, and Old Navy brands.

October 15, 2022 | Last Mile Delivery | Retail | Retail Logistics

Are Bad Deliveries Ruining Your Last Mile? Here’s How to Flip the Script

While the chaos of supply chains has been tamed from its pandemic peak, new disruptions are being forecast and the holiday shopping season will only compound those issues.

August 31, 2022 | E-commerce | Retail

Order Management System+Online Store=The Best Customer Experience

A majority of buyers say they will abandon a brand after just one negative experience. Retailers must look at the entire purchasing process—from browsing and checkout through delivery and returns—as every interaction is crucial to developing a lifelong customer. Here are some pre, during, and post-purchase solutions an order management system (OMS), working in tandem […]

July 31, 2022 | Retail

The Music Man

Phil Rich brings strategy, patience, fundamentals, focus, positive feedback, corrective direction, and celebration of achievements to everything he does—from playing guitar to flying planes. One way or another, Phil Rich was destined for a music career. His military service included nearly seven years as a guitarist and sound engineer in the Navy Band. Back in […]

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