Supply Chain

Retailers Wary of Impact That China Tariffs Will Have on Their Businesses
May 29, 2018 at 12:56 pm

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 levyโ€ฆ

Target Testing New Product Distribution Strategy
May 14, 2018 at 12:26 pm

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 Supplyโ€ฆ

UPS May Deliver Bulky Goods In-Home
May 3, 2018 at 4:47 pm

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 worldโ€™s largest package deliverer looks to cash in on one the fastest-growing segments of online retail. UPS and itsโ€ฆ

Stop, Collaborate and Listen: Retail Needs a Brand-New Invention
April 20, 2018 at 2:13 pm

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 communicationโ€ฆ

Retailers Putting Pressure on Their Product Suppliers
April 13, 2018 at 12:10 pm

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.

REI Rolls Out Rigorous New Sustainability Standards for Suppliers
April 11, 2018 at 11:30 am

REI announced this week stricter rules for its product suppliers. The Seattle Times reports suppliers that canโ€™t or wonโ€™t meet REI requirements in areas such as manufacturing labor safety and fairness, chemical usage, environmental impact, and animal welfare wonโ€™t be considered for its store shelves. REI's prefers all 1,000-plus brands it currently works with toโ€ฆ

3 Ways Automation Can Streamline the Supply Chain
April 3, 2018 at 10:43 pm

The retail industry often serves as a principal driver of supply chain innovation, with companies continually looking for ways to get products to consumers faster and more efficiently. The key to a happy customer experience at a brick-and-mortar or online store lies in an effective and reliable supply chain. Automating certain supply chain processes canโ€ฆ

3 Reasons Brands Should Re-Evaluate Their Retail Distribution Agreements
March 27, 2018 at 11:37 am

With the rise of e-commerce giants like Amazon.com projected to make up 50 percent of U.S. e-commerce revenue by 2021, online retail has changed the industry landscape significantly. Online stores and Amazon storefronts allow for retailers to forego the overhead costs of owning a physical store and rake in a majority of their sales withoutโ€ฆ

Automate Processes for Better Inventory Forecasting
March 5, 2018 at 9:54 am

โ€œWhat decisions can technology manage better than humans?โ€ should be the question that drives your internal operational process. For example, is there a way to automate internally transferring inventory already in your supply chain to locations in need? What about building orders to supplier minimums or logistics constraints? Can allocation of insufficient quantities be takenโ€ฆ

Unlock the Potential of the Personalized Supply Chain
March 1, 2018 at 12:52 am

The so-called โ€œretail apocalypseโ€ is completely overblown, but it does indicate that the retail industry is undergoing a transformation, driven by changes in the way consumers shop across all touchpoints. While it's true that e-commerce has certain advantages over traditional brick-and-mortar, physical stores have their own benefits, which aren't as easily replicated by the likesโ€ฆ