Operations & Fulfillment

In today’s complex omnichannel retail environment, margin pressures are no longer a temporary headwind but a structured reality that isn’t going away. Rising labor costs, volatile freight rates, tighter delivery expectations, and the growing complexity of selling across multiple commerce platforms are forcing brands to rethink how their back-end operations are designed and managed. One…

In episode 507 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Charlie Beer, chief operating officer at Naturepedic, the leading certified organic mattress and bedding company. Naturepedic was started over 20 years ago when the founder rejected conventional crib mattresses containing industrial foam and chemicals, leading to better products like organic cotton (0:55). Since then,…

Well before the war with Iran began, retailers were facing an impossible tangle of challenges, from supply chain volatility to upticks in theft to stubbornly high rates of staff turnover. Recent geopolitical tensions have merely added insult to injury, in particular by gravely exacerbating what was already a growing liability in the sector: namely, the…

Amazon.com has begun offering all businesses access to its logistics network, regardless of whether the business sells on the e-commerce giant's marketplace. In a press release, Amazon announced that it was opening its freight, distribution, fulfillment and parcel shipping capabilities to all businesses across all industries, including retail, healthcare and manufacturing. "We’re confident we can…

Retailers are moving fast on artificial intelligence. Research from Eversheds Sutherland and Retail Economics suggests that around nine in 10 retail decision-makers are exploring AI agents, and roughly a third are already deploying them in areas like chatbots, forecasting, and personalization. Yet the majority of leaders still report limited returns from those efforts. The issue…

Before signing on the dotted line, many last-mile carriers promise perfection. However, strong partnerships aren't built on flawless service guarantees. They're built on how quickly issues are resolved, how clearly teams communicate, and how both sides take accountability when something goes wrong. Because, inevitably, something will go wrong. A winter storm shuts down major hubs…

Products from Ace Hardware are now available on Uber Eats nationwide as the hardware cooperative becomes the latest retailer to dive into on-demand delivery services and Uber Eats works to recast itself from the "Eats" part of its brand. The two companies announced the partnership Tuesday, saying it would allow customers who already shop locally…

A brand posts a TikTok video about its new perfume and watches it take off overnight. Thousands of orders pour in and it looks like the breakthrough every founder works towards. Then the fulfillment team realizes there’s an issue. Orders are open to both domestic and international buyers, but shipping the product overseas will cost…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a theoretical line item in retail supply chain and fulfillment discussions. It's real, it's advancing rapidly, and it's fundamentally reshaping how retailers forecast demand, manage inventory, and deliver to customers. From automated decision-making to advanced recommendation engines, the technological landscape is evolving quickly. Yet, as these systems become more…

Retail and consumer packaged goods (RCPG) companies have entered a definitive phase where operational precision is no longer a competitive advantage but the baseline for survival. In 2026, the industry is grappling with a stark consumer polarization. On one side, a value-seeking segment is trading down and scrutinizing every penny; on the other, a premium…