
Supply Chain

Amazon.com announced today the launch of a new offering designed to help individuals build their own companies that deliver Amazon packages. With the offering, Amazon will provide an active role in helping interested entrepreneurs start, set up and manage their own delivery businesses, even with little or no logistics experience. Amazon will offer the couriers — who…
The prevalence of e-commerce giants has completely changed consumer buying expectations. Apparel, fashion and retail companies are all feeling the effects of the shift toward unified commerce and the pressure to deliver on consumer demands. Going beyond shipping, fulfillment and customer experience, consumers are looking closely at how a product is made, and making purchase decisions…
Today’s digitally empowered consumer wants retailers to offer more omnichannel fulfillment options, including choices in how and where they can buy merchandise. In The Future of Fulfillment Vision Study, Zebra Technologies surveyed more than 2,700 professionals in the global retail, delivery and logistics, and manufacturing industries to determine the extent to which retailers and their…
The linear models of many consumer goods supply chains are now shifting towards consumer-led, data-driven, highly complex supply networks. The consumer increasingly drives innovation from the heart of the network, demanding mass product customization, more accurate synchronization, and faster multichannel retail responsiveness. Going far beyond the abilities of the typical workforce and infrastructure, these shifts require instant visibility, quick decision making and increased flexibility. Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics automation have the potential to overcome these challenges and revolutionize consumer goods supply chains. For organizations willing to embrace this inevitable evolution, AI and robotics automation will enable innovation, ensure optimum service levels, and deliver growth at low cost. It will become a major source of competitive advantage.
This week, Home Depot announced plans to spend $1.2 billion over the next five years to speed up and improve its supply chain process. The Wall Street Journal reports the home improvement retailer is spending the majority of the budget on solutions to improve delivery of goods to homes and job sites as the rise of…
The Trump administration said on Monday that it would proceed with plans to impose a series of punitive trade-related measures on China in the next month, intensifying pressure on Beijing as trade talks between the countries continue. The White House said in a statement that the United States would move ahead with its plan to levy…
Target is testing a new product distribution strategy aimed at cutting down its replenishment cycle from days to hours while reducing overall inventory at stores, especially at small-format ones. Preston Mosier, Target's senior vice president of global supply chain and logistics field operations, made the announcement last week during a keynote presentation at the Retail Supply…
United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) told Reuters yesterday that it's in talks with at least one U.S. trucking firm to launch an in-home delivery service for large, heavy goods such as couches and treadmills, as the world’s largest package deliverer looks to cash in on one the fastest-growing segments of online retail. UPS and its…
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the world embarked on a journey toward connectivity and collaboration. The invention and burgeoning popularity of the internet brought together people from around the globe in both personal and professional spheres. Today, technology is still evolving and social platforms have continued to meet the increasing need for in-the-moment communication…
In this week's episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Caitlin Sullivan and Joe Keenan discuss the significance of announcements made this week by REI and Walmart regarding changes they're making to their supply chains, and specifically what's required of their product suppliers.