Supply Chain

Many companies are now wondering about the long-term impact of coronavirus on the retail and e-commerce industry, and what lasting changes it may leave. Despite the doom mongering, many brick-and-mortar stores are doing very nicely online, and so are smaller e-commerce players, with average e-commerce businesses reporting a 15 percent increase in annual revenue since…

Amazon.com dominates the e-commerce arena with a market share of nearly 40 percent. However, despite its ever-strengthening grip on the digital world of retail, the e-commerce giant has made efforts to build a brick-and-mortar presence in the past few years — uncharacteristic of other retailers. Amazon has made highly publicized efforts to establish physical stores in…

On-demand manufacturing, also called cloud manufacturing, emerged over the past decade and is beginning to revolutionize the supply chain industry. Driven by the explosive growth of e-commerce and shifting consumer preferences, the global cloud manufacturing market is expected to reach about $112 billion by 2024, growing at an astounding 19.8 percent annually, according to MarketWatch.…

Brick-and-mortar stores were already evolving before the global pandemic accelerated the shift to e-commerce. More than ever, customers know what they need and are going directly to a store that has it, either to buy it or pick it up having ordered online. This consumer behavior makes inventory visibility more important than ever for retailers.…

While e-commerce sales were expected to reach $4.2 trillion by the end of 2020, a big part of that money goes to waste due to inefficient processes. Items get damaged, remain unsold, and end up in landfills, not to mention high return rates that have skyrocketed and are expected to reach a whopping $550 billion…

A crisis forces a change like no other. If retail enterprise debates centered around IT budget in pre-pandemic times, now it’s unequivocally for swift digitalization from customer point of sales (POS) to supply chain. The retail sector has learned some hard lessons from today’s uncertain business climate. However, some enterprises are ahead in their game…

The zeitgeist of 2020 retail commerce can be summarized in two words: survival mode. COVID-19 kept shoppers at home, away from brick-and-mortar stores, and encouraged many consumers to order online for the first time, adding their purchases to the already increased activity of users already confident in digital transactions. The pandemic increased e-commerce sales 44…

The 2020 holiday season wreaked havoc on businesses across the retail industry, from manufacturers and consumer brands to logistics, transportation and warehouse providers. Brick-and-mortar retailers went from planning "doorbusters" to managing new lockdowns to scrambling to create fulfillment stores in a matter of weeks. Seasonal delivery deadlines were moved up to meet the realities of inventory…

The retail sector has been faced with many challenges and obstacles over the past several years. One of the greatest of those challenges being radically shifting consumer demand alongside higher expectations. Due to this ever-changing landscape, department stores have struggled to maintain success with their traditional models. In fact, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,…

Amazon.com is easing third-party seller delivery requirements, CNBC reported. This is due to ongoing constraints on major shipping carriers as a result of the coronavirus. The e-commerce giant announced in August that starting in February 2021, members of Amazon's Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) program would be required to make deliveries on Saturdays, and meet one- and…