Supply Chain

Between the Baltimore bridge collapse, Red Sea conflict and Panama Canal drought, the supply chain has been in the spotlight because of the global pandemic and shutdown, international conflicts, major weather events and more. Addressing Challenges Customers need assurances from businesses that merchandise will arrive when promised. In an increasingly competitive landscape, businesses need to…

Supply chains are at the beating heart of businesses in delivering products to the end customer. In retail organizations, efficient supply chains can have a transformative impact on operations. To improve efficiency, retailers need to have full visibility of their inventory, and this is where RFID can play a leading role. A Lack of Automation…

Businesses are constantly having to navigate unexpected issues with their shipping processes and the real consequences that come to their bottom line. From upstream disruptions such as havoc in international waters that clog ports and upend access to goods, to downstream disruptions like inclement weather that mess with on-time-delivery (OTD) rates, the supply chain as…

Recent news coming out of the supply chain industry shows how major players are continuing to make moves when it comes to their fulfillment and distribution processes, particularly around implementing more automation. While these advancements are great for trimming store-to-home delivery costs, industry professionals are asking themselves what this means for the future of the…

Online retail and e-commerce providers are struggling to meet shopper expectations amidst ongoing inflation, higher costs and lingering supply chain woes. A new independent survey that queried nearly 2,000 global shoppers found that 88 percent of U.S. and 79 percent of U.K. shoppers said that online retailers delivered poor experiences at least once in the…

Every month brings new evidence of how dramatically consumers’ growing preferences for sustainability are reshaping their shopping habits. A new study by NIQ found that 69 percent of global consumers say that sustainability and ESG concerns have become increasingly important to them over the last two years. Another study of U.S. consumers found that 66…

Consumers want convenience, personalization and value — it’s what pushed the U.S. retail market to a record $5.13 trillion in 2023. As inflation subsides, what shoppers want and how they spend will keep playing a big role in how the market evolves. Retailers need to keep pace with a more connected, savvy and discerning customer…

Research from Morgan Stanley suggests that inventory restocking may face sustained headwinds as companies respond to persistently high interest rates. The report indicates shippers are increasingly reluctant to rebuild inventory, preferring instead to run leaner operations even at the expense of being late on orders. Meanwhile, the enduring drought in the Panama Canal and the escalating conflict in the Red…

Whether we all realize it or not, there has been a shift in the force. We're changing our stripes as a consumer-based society. Where once choice was primarily driven only by factors like quality, price, brand affinity, and even endorsement, now other, larger existential factors are impacting how we make purchase decisions — namely, how…

The retail supply chain is undergoing a major transformation, driven by the rise of e-commerce and the increasing complexity of global supply chains. In Gartner's 2023 Top Supply Chain Technology Trends report, "actionable AI" was named the No. 1 trend. This reflects the growing recognition among retailers that artificial intelligence is essential for modernizing and…