Supply Chain

Retail started the year from a position of strength, with holiday sales exceeding $730 billion. Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) was a distribution advantage for physical retailers, and direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) brands and mainstay Amazon.com were meeting their delivery promises. However, with COVID-19, this all came to a screeching halt. States shut down physical stores and…

The retail industry has seen significant damage as a result of unprecedented supply chain disruptions, wavering consumer confidence, and technological gaps for those making the leap from brick-and-mortar to digital storefront. Many retailers had just started to return to normalcy earlier this year, following a two-year trade war — and a promising Phase One deal…

Home Depot announced Tuesday that it will open three distribution centers in the Atlanta area over the next 18 months to keep up with rising customer expectations for fast order deliveries, which have only been amplified since the pandemic. Home Depot has scrambled to meet customers’ demand for speed and convenience. It began rolling out curbside…

While retail industry innovation efforts may be paused during this unprecedented time of social distancing and economic turmoil, a study involving blockchain, radio frequency identification (RFID), and global data standards provided a glimpse into the potentially remarkable capabilities of emerging technology to help solve supply chain challenges. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the Auburn University…

During the most recent Women in Retail and Total Retail Virtual Lounge, Ran Reske, founder and co-CEO of Resident, a house of direct-to-consumer brands in the home goods space, including Nectar and DreamCloud, participated in an interview during which he discussed what the company is doing to ensure its brands rise above growing market competition, how the events…

Around the world, countries are taking gradual steps toward a return to normalcy amidst efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19. One of those key steps is the easing of restrictions on retailers. This follows months of store closures, which made e-commerce the primary sales channel for many businesses practically overnight. Looking ahead, we can…

On April 7, 1818, Brooks Brothers opened its first store in New York City. Fast-forward to more than 200 years later, Brooks Brothers, one of the oldest U.S. retailers, still operates today. As the lines between physical and digital worlds became blurred, new customer demands emerged — with Brooks Brothers alongside those trends. As stated by…

Retailers need technology that helps them meet customer expectations while providing a seamless shopping experience across all channels. To achieve these goals, many retailers are leveraging robust omnichannel-enabled, high-yield fulfillment operating models that can help them make a high-yield decision at every point in time, considering promises to customers and stores, inventory positions, time and labor constraints, and other external environmental factors.

When a consumer thinks of retail purchasing in the current economic climate, there’s a very good chance they’re comparing their experience to Amazon.com or other titans of the industry. But how do those retailers keep their customers delighted and coming back for more? They exercise strict control over their supply chain. The Customer Experience Increasingly,…

The retail supply chain has experienced some dramatic evolutions over the last 10 years to 15 years. What started out as a straightforward process for getting goods from a warehouse or a distribution center (DC) and out onto the retail floor has become a central focus for companies managing a complex supply chain, including e-commerce,…