Order Fulfillment

Target announced this week that it will spend $100 million to build a larger network of supply chain hubs to speed up and lower the cost of delivering online orders. The retailer plans to have at least 15 of the facilities, dubbed sortation centers, by the end of January 2026. It already has opened nine…

E-commerce is fast becoming the lifeblood of the retail economy. In 2021, the e-commerce industry generated $5.2 trillion worldwide, with a 56 percent increase expected by 2026. With statistics like these, it's no surprise that e-commerce has become a driving force for businesses of all sizes. However, serious blind spots threaten that profitability. Entering the next…

Amidst skyrocketing digital advertising costs and uncertain macroeconomic conditions, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that once relied primarily on social advertising to drive customer acquisition are now seeking new ways to reach consumers. Companies like cosmetics maker Jones Road Beauty are shifting ad spend from early DTC mainstays Facebook and Instagram to platforms like TikTok that drive…

In an era of omnichannel dominance that has been fueled by evolving customer preferences, the dynamics of fulfilling customer orders has changed. Some retailers are fulfilling orders from a distribution center, while others fulfill orders from their stores. And some are doing both. With multiple options, ongoing disruptions and ever-changing consumer demands, how does a…

Throughout the pandemic, we witnessed a massive surge in e-commerce and acceleration in digital transformation by many companies that had been, up until then, slow adopters. Online ordering for everything from groceries to toilet paper to fitness equipment and home office furniture became the norm — and has only recently slowed down after businesses were finally…

When it comes to e-commerce fulfillment, there are key metrics you should be thinking about when aiming to make good on promises to your customers. There's one metric in particular that many brands might not be putting at the top of their list, but they should. It’s the “perfect order” metric — a collection of key…

E-commerce sales rose steadily the first half of 2022, with sales increasing 2.7 percent between Q1 and Q2. But even with the coming holiday sales surge, that trend might not continue. In fact, some reports predict that the number of online orders this holiday season will be down 5 percent compared to 2021. Why? And…

Adapt or fail. That's a choice retailers are often forced to make given the pace of change in the world today — especially when it comes to logistics. It's more important now than ever for retail leaders to ensure critical aspects of business, like their fulfillment operations and last mile delivery, are streamlined. Fortunately, this…

Each and every day automation is changing the way in which we operate. Retail distribution and fulfillment centers understand this firsthand, as they're increasingly integrating automated solutions into their day-to-day operations as consumer demand continues to increase. A recent report from Futurum Research interviewed industry leaders and executives to gather their thoughts on the challenges…

Despite inflation chatter dominating economic discussions, U.S. container imports in August 2022 (the most recent data) were 2,529,042 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which is up 18 percent from pre-pandemic August 2019. This is the first month since August 2020 that there has not been record imports vs. the previous year.  With the holiday shopping season fast…