Warehouse Management

A new law in New York will require companies that operate distribution centers to be more transparent about their work requirements, aiming to protect warehouse workers from possibly unlawful quotas. Gov. Kathy Hochul last week signed the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, which is modeled after a similar, first-in-the-nation law signed in California last year. The New York…

Retail warehouse space during the holiday season is absolutely essential. The busiest time of the year typically sees retailers increase their inventory three to four times normal just to meet consumer demand. This year’s inventory glut created a tricky situation for the retail market. U.S. retailers saw a record $732 billion of inventory in 2022,…

E-commerce sales rose steadily the first half of 2022, with sales increasing 2.7 percent between Q1 and Q2. But even with the coming holiday sales surge, that trend might not continue. In fact, some reports predict that the number of online orders this holiday season will be down 5 percent compared to 2021. Why? And…

Each and every day automation is changing the way in which we operate. Retail distribution and fulfillment centers understand this firsthand, as they're increasingly integrating automated solutions into their day-to-day operations as consumer demand continues to increase. A recent report from Futurum Research interviewed industry leaders and executives to gather their thoughts on the challenges…

With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, many retailers still remember the onslaught of product returns from the 2021 season. Now as the decorations are about to come back out, business owners are looking to reinforce their operations in case of a repeat of last year. Statistics from the National Retail Federation (NRF) showed that…

Supply chains and logistics have seen seismic shifts forward in recent years. In 2020 alone, companies fast-tracked the digital transformation of their internal operations — and their customer and supply chain interactions — by three years to four years. The digitization of third-party logistics (3PL) providers began in the mid-90s, but the pandemic fueled progress…

The news cycle is confusing. We hear warehouse vacancy rates are at a 27-year low. Then we read that new warehouses are being developed at record rates and that Amazon.com is shedding excess space. At the end of the day, the lived experience of most retailers and merchants is that capacity is tight — and expensive.…

The COVID pandemic reshaped the world of e-commerce and, concurrently, consumer expectations. With most brick-and-mortar stores temporarily shuttered, consumers moved online en masse and found a revamped online shopping experience. One report found that the pandemic accelerated the global shift to e-commerce by five years. But now, as the world returns to “normal,” online retailers…

We've all noticed many of the things we buy are in short supply. From our favorite foods to furniture, items that once seemed to be in abundance on store shelves or online are out of stock and often come with lengthy waitlists. Pandemic-induced supply chain plagues — like chip shortages, labor shortages, and backlogged cargo…

From the manufacturing of goods to shipping to last-mile fulfillment and delivery, the entire supply chain has seen its challenges over the last few years. It's difficult for everyone directly involved to relieve the stresses being put on the cogs that keep the machine running. With the increase in consumer demand for at-home deliveries during…