Operations & Fulfillment

If there’s one thing warehouses don’t lack, it’s data. In fact, e-commerce giants such as Amazon.com ingest upward of 50 million data points per week. Management can now access every statistic they could possibly want. Every pick, every pack, every movement, every location, recorded. What’s the average pick speed? Who is meeting productivity goals? Where…

Retailers operating transportation and distribution fleets are asked, more often than ever, to evaluate a crowded telematics market before committing to a platform. Selecting a telematics provider has now become one of the most important technology decisions these retailers make, not because telematics itself is new, but because each platform offers a different mix of…

Supply chain inefficiencies can be easier to absorb when demand is strong and predictable. However, when demand shifts quickly or supply is disrupted, those same inefficiencies become much harder to manage. Consumer products companies are dealing with shoppers whose preferences can change quickly, pressure to keep products available across channels, and supply networks where disruptions…

The holiday shopping season has always required careful planning, but this year many retailers have started preparing much earlier than usual. Import volumes surged this summer as companies accelerated orders ahead of potential tariff changes and ongoing trade uncertainty. At first glance, it may appear that retailers are bracing for widespread shortages or another round…

Retail leaders aren't short on enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, but they are short on certainty about how to use it. A recent poll of supply chain and logistics professionals found that only 29 percent are currently deploying AI to support real, operational decisions. The largest group, 37 percent, describe themselves as actively exploring how AI…

Black Friday/Cyber Monday are less than months away. That means promotions are mapped, inventory is inbound, fulfillment systems are in motion, staffing plans are set, and carrier allocations are made. The season’s strategies have taken shape, but there’s still time to fine-tune last-mile execution. The beginning of fall marks the closing window retailers have to…

In the U.S. retail market, the customer experience increasingly depends on what happens after checkout. Consumers expect brands to deliver on promises around convenience and transparency, but meeting those expectations requires strong operational foundations behind the scenes. Recent research highlights that retailers improving their total experience aren't simply adding new capabilities; they're strengthening the fundamentals…

It's a Tuesday in October, and a shopper has a wedding on Saturday. She's found the dress twice — once at the boutique label she's been following on Instagram for months, once at Amazon.com, for the same price. A few years ago that wouldn't have been much of a choice at all. Today it's the…

Costco is expanding its same-day delivery network as it looks to grow e-commerce sales and compete with retailers such as Walmart and Target. The retailer last week launched collaborations with DoorDash and Uber to pick up online orders at U.S. stores and drive them to customers' homes. The partnerships give Costco more channels to reach…

Free shipping remains one of e-commerce’s strongest customer incentives, but the economics behind it are becoming harder to sustain. Deloitte found that 67 percent of retail executives expect to raise their free shipping thresholds in 2026, while Salesforce reports that free shipping remains the most important factor influencing where consumers across every income level will…