Category: Omnichannel

Complexity in the Retail Supply Chain!

International Expansion in Retail (Infographic)

As consumers the complexity in the retail supply chain is usually oblivious to us. We go to the store and pick up the goods that we want. Or we order goods online from our devices at home, in the office, or anywhere for that matter. We consume the items, returning them if necessary, unaware of all of the work that went into making those goods available to us.

A phenomenal amount of activity goes on behind the scenes to make this experience as seamless as possible. I am not saying that it always goes smoothly. Sometimes items are broken. They are late. Or there is some other issue.

But behind the curtain that is Retail there are a lot of people managing a lot of processes and dealing with a lot of complexity earnestly trying to make your goods available to you.

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Last Mile Delivery: Stop Shipping Air and Empty Boxes!

Raising the Bar! The Omni-channel Approach to Customer Experience!

When you order something Online there is great excitement in anticipation of opening your package when it arrives.  With any luck the company you have ordered from has provided a positive experience in the online ordering and payment process.  Now you are just waiting for the package to arrive.  You certainly don’t want them to stop shipping.

Most recently we ordered a couple of items online.  They were relatively small items and could easily fit in the palm of your hand.  Within a couple of days a large box arrived at the front door.   I wasn’t quite sure what it was because the box was rather big, big enough for a toaster or perhaps a couple of large board games.

I was surprised when we opened the big box, removed a bunch of crumpled paper and packaging material, and found the 2 small items we had ordered sitting on the bottom of this box.  The items could have fit inside a standard envelope.  Instead they were deliberately packaged in a box which could have held 200-300 of the items.  Why don’t they stop shipping air?

What a waste!

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Multichannel vs Omnichannel Fulfillment Solutions!

Which is Better? Amazon FBA or 3PL?
Unchaining Change Leadership

“Omnichannel” is certainly the prevalent phrase in the E-Commerce arena.  The expectation in an Omnichannel Fulfillment world is that a customer can order what they want, when they want, on whatever device they want, and have it delivered how they want.

The physical delivery part of the Omnichannel expectation can be very elusive.  Many companies claim that they are Omnichannel service providers.  But are they really?

How many E-Commerce Fulfillment options are there?  And how many do you provide in your company?

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Black Friday Readiness – Is Your Supply Chain In Trouble?

Get Ready for Holiday Now: Make It Boring (From A Supply Chain Perspective)!

The Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping extravaganza is almost upon us.  While it may seem like a long time for functions such as Marketing or Sales, for your Supply Chain the Black Friday push should be on right now!  Your focus must be on Black Friday readiness.

If you have products manufactured overseas for instance then if those products are not either on the ocean right now or en route over land to your Distribution Centres then you are already in trouble!  Black Friday readiness is critical.

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What is a Multichannel Distribution Management System?

Which is Better? Amazon FBA or 3PL?

Many businesses begin with single-channel distribution. That sole channel could be a brick-and-mortar store or an e-commerce website. In either case, all sales flow through one outlet.

The advantage of a single-channel distribution management system is simplicity. There’s only one channel to manage, one channel to stock, and one channel to market to customers. As a business expands, however, the single-channel model can limit growth.

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What are the Supply Chain Impacts of Amazon’s Whole Foods Acquisition?

Amazon and Uber Impact on Logistics!

Big news out of the grocery retail world as Amazon has announced its acquisition of major organic foods retailer Whole Foods Market – for an eye-popping $13.7 billion sale price that doesn’t look so massive given Amazon’s $136 billion sales volume in 2016.

Analysts across the retail industry are talking about the huge implications of this sale for a retail industry that many say is in the middle of a major meltdown, in part owing to Amazon’s massive growth in the eCommerce space. This foray into the grocery business is a big challenge to companies like Target, Wal-Mart, and others, and also a sign that reports of brick and mortar retail’s demise might be greatly exaggerated.

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Same Day vs Next Day Delivery … What’s the Difference? (Infographic)

Last Mile Delivery! What is your Strategy?

E-commerce has changed the game of how parcels are transported and delivered to customers with the expectations of same day vs next day delivery.

With the help of advanced technology, the days have become shorter. We no longer have to wait for the sun to rise and set a few times before we receive that box of meat pie that’s probably not safe to eat anymore.

What once felt as if a pack mule was used to deliver a package, now seems like a teleportation device is involved in the delivery.

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DIM Weight Pricing Explained!

Last Mile Delivery: Stop Shipping Air and Empty Boxes!

The 2014 holiday season marked the last Q4 end-of-year sales period where packages shipped based on actual weight. With the start of 2015, UPS and FedEx instituted a dimensional DIM weight pricing structure.

The US Postal Service has since adopted this pricing model, also referred to as DIM weight pricing. This has changed the way freight companies calculate shipping charges.

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Amazon by the Numbers! (Infographic)

How to Sell on Amazon! The Complete Guide!

Whether you love, hate or remain neutral on Amazon, one can only marvel and admire Amazon by the numbers which only appear to be accelerating.

The infographic from Fortna in this post from Jeff Ashcroft provides a startling picture of where Amazon is at currently and how they’re expected to handle over half of online e-commerce transactions with Walmart now only at 5% and growing!

Content provided by Jeff Ashcroft.

Competing against Amazon? You need a Blue Ocean strategy!

Amazon by the numbers article and permission to publish here provided by Jeff Ashcroft. Originally published on Supply Chain Game Changer on August 24, 2017.

Has Walmart Beat Amazon Using an Omnichannel Returns Strategy?

Customer Returns State … And What to Do Next! (Infographic)

Amazon has reigned supreme in e-commerce for years, but Walmart is well on its way to making the e-commerce giant a little nervous. Amazon acquired Whole Foods and dropped the price of Prime Pantry through Prime Perks. Amazon began looking into brick-and-mortar storefronts, hoping to capture a new slice of the omnichannel pie.

Walmart has a different approach, and in several ways, Walmart is positioning itself to best Amazon in e-commerce through an innovative, omnichannel return strategy. To understand the true scope of this accomplishment, supply chain leaders need to understand the precursor steps Walmart has taken.

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3 Challenges Facing Supply Chain in the Next 5 Years!

Imagining the Supply Chain of the Future!

We stand at the cusp of some interesting new possibilities for business. As such, we can expect some potentially drastic changes, and with them the need for smart solutions. We’ll take a look at a handful of the major challenges facing supply chain over the next half-decade, and how the industry is approaching these. 

It can sometimes feel as though our commercial landscape is in a constant state of flux. Whether due to frequent changes in technology, attitudes of consumers, or shifts in working practices, this can breed both an exciting sense of competition, as well as uncertainty. Supply chain managers are often at the forefront of these developments.   

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Omnichannel Customer Service Best Practices!

The Omni-channel Approach to Customer Experience!

The growing size of today’s consumer market sets the stage for entrepreneurs and companies of varying capacities to take part. The US consumer market alone was at $1.5 trillion in 2016. And this number is continuously increasing, including omnichannel customer service.

According to an article from AdAge, US Gen Y or millennials are also swiftly increasing their slice of the pie, spending more than $200 billion annually.

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The Christmas Retail Checklist – Get Your Store Prepared! (Infographic)

Innovations in Offline Retail! (Infographic)

Now that the record-breaking Black Friday is behind us, retailers small and large must place their focus over the coming weeks on preparing for the Christmas retail holiday shopping season.

According to a report by Gartner L2, nearly 85%of holiday sales in 2017 took place in brick-and-mortar stores. It’s therefore hugely important for retailers to make the most of this time to get everything ready to maximise sales over the holiday period.

If you’re unsure where to start, we recommend taking a look at this helpful infographic from the team at Colourfast Printing which offers a handy Christmas retail checklist.

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The Omnichannel Alphabet Soup!

From Click to Ship in 4 Minutes! Ultimate Principles for World Class Fulfillment!
Unchaining Change Leadership

At the start of my career, most brands and OEMs used a traditional two-tier distribution process through wholesalers and retailers to sell their products. There was no omnichannel alphabet soup.

“Advanced” companies passed orders via EDI. Brands knew little about their end-users, a far cry from today’s growing customer-centric approach with expanding arrays of channels and convenience options.

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Last Minute Supply Chain Preparation for Black Friday!

Get Ready for Next Holiday Now … Make It Boring (From A Supply Chain Perspective)!

Black Friday is almost here!

Retailers have been anticipating and preparing for this over the last year.  It has become the biggest online shopping period of the entire year with expectations for exponential growth over last year.

Further this period is so dramatically busier than at any other time of the year that it has an absolutely enormous impact on the Supply Chain of these companies.

In fact the readiness of the Supply Chain can make or break the success of Black Friday for most any company.

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