H-E-B jumps into micro-fulfillment

The Texas grocer has tapped Swisslog to build an unspecified number of automated centers to fulfill pickup and delivery orders.

By Sam Silverstein • Sept. 15, 2020

Amazon to hire 100K after 6 months of capacity building

For Amazon's first-ever peak season in a pandemic, the company is focused on safety first, capacity second and shipment speed third, according to CFO Brian Olsavksy.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 14, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Warehouse automation

Robotics and AI are two of the many tools warehouse operators are using to improve productivity.

By Supply Chain Dive staff

Are you ready for this peak season's last-mile operations?

Holidays, sale days, and online shopping fests could be worrisome for retailers and e-commerce sellers.

Sept. 14, 2020

Peloton doubled production capacity, but supply won't catch up until 2021

Executives anticipate Peloton will be in capacity-building mode for the foreseeable future and dismissed any notion that it could overshoot demand with the ongoing manufacturing ramp-up.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 11, 2020

American Eagle stages materials with suppliers to keep inventory lean

For the fall and holiday seasons, the apparel retailer is bringing in a smaller assortment, based on which suppliers require smaller upfront buys to maximize flexibility.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 10, 2020

Pandemic complicates supplier audits, increases modern slavery risk in Asian manufacturing hubs

Verisk Maplecroft's Modern Slavery Index reveals extreme or high risk in manufacturing centers such as Bangladesh, China, Myanmar and India.

By Matt Leonard • Sept. 9, 2020

UPS to hire 100K seasonal workers to handle parcels for peak

UPS' holiday hiring targets match the number from the last two years amid very different circumstances and a much lower degree of certainty.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 9, 2020

Nestlé invests $30M in Closed Loop fund to expand sustainable packaging use

The deal provides the manufacturer with access to food-grade recycled plastics it can use for packaging in products such as Coffee Mate and Stouffer's.

By Jessi Devenyns • Sept. 9, 2020

5 charts show CPG inventory challenges

Stockouts plagued retailers and manufacturers in the early days of the pandemic. Recovery has not been the same across product categories.

By Matt Leonard • Sept. 8, 2020

3 ways to fight stockouts in the pandemic

Historical data isn't worthless, but it won't work alone in times of unpredictable demand. 

By Jen A. Miller • Sept. 8, 2020

Whole Foods expands 1-hour pickup to all stores

As e-commerce demand soars during the pandemic, some grocers are automating pickup, adding off-premise lockers and carving out more dedicated space in stores and parking lots.

By Jeff Wells • Updated Oct. 23, 2020

FedEx opens Foreign Trade Zone in El Paso, Texas, as trade war and pandemic increase shipper interest

The deferral of duties is especially attractive as consumer demand for some items has dropped, allowing shippers to hold onto inventory without paying duties until demand returns.

By Matt Leonard • Sept. 4, 2020

Campbell expects supply constraints through November after pandemic pantry-loading

Campbell's supply chain has ramped up productivity at existing facilities during the pandemic — particularly in soup, which the CEO said would be largely caught up in time for "soup season." But other products are still behind.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 4, 2020

Tyson to pilot 7 medical clinics near meat plants

The program comes as the coronavirus has continued to spread in plants, despite mitigation efforts such as placing barriers between employees, providing protective gear and giving temperature checks. 

By Lillianna Byington • Sept. 4, 2020

Macy's accelerates fulfillment network consolidation as focus shifts to omnichannel

With Macy's store revitalization plan on hold and losses mounting, the company is leaning on supply chain transformation to improve profitability.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 3, 2020

Ball plans new aluminum plant to counter can shortage

Traditionally lean supply chains industry-wide have made ramping up U.S. production challenging for canmakers, some of which are importing cans to keep up. 

By Matt Leonard • Sept. 3, 2020

Timberland pledges sustainable materials sourcing, circularity by 2030

The apparel and footwear maker said it will source 100% of its natural materials, including leather, rubber, cotton, wool and sugarcane derivatives, from regenerative agriculture in the next decade.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 2, 2020

HelloFresh opens 2 new distribution centers

The meal kit company is leasing facilities in Georgia and Texas to help meet growing demand in the Southeast and Central Texas.

By Jessica Dumont • Sept. 1, 2020

In-store pick and pack starts with inventory visibility

Nearly three-quarters of retailers consider it a challenge to implement an in-store accept, pick and pack process for online orders, according to a survey of retailers by Forrester.

By Matt Leonard • Sept. 1, 2020

American Eagle takes on pandemic fulfillment challenges with warehouse sort robots

The robots pick orders from bins and place them in a put wall, allowing retailers to handle high e-commerce volumes while maintaining safe distances between workers.

By Craig Guillot • Sept. 1, 2020

Patent Pending: Walmart's plan for trailer prioritization at loading docks

Supply chain innovators apply to patent what they see as important tools for the future. Sometimes they're brilliant. Sometimes they're funny.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 28, 2020

Ware2Go, Google partner on 'free and fast' e-commerce shipping

Based on an e-commerce customer's ZIP code, their proximity to nodes in Ware2Go's fulfillment network and real-time inventory availability, Google will automatically display whether an item is available for free one- or two-day shipping.

By Morgan Forde • Aug. 28, 2020

Ulta to evaluate store fleet with omnichannel operations in mind

The retailer is expanding its ship-from-store program to 100 stores to increase fulfillment capacity and speed while "leveraging store labor and inventory," executives said.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 28, 2020

Walmart: More than 2K suppliers are participating in Project Gigaton

A reduction in supply chain emissions is particularly important to meeting sustainability goals, because Scope 3 makes up nearly 89% of Walmart's total emissions.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 27, 2020

Less stringent cold chain requirements could give Moderna's coronavirus vaccine an edge

A rival shot from Pfizer and BioNTech needs to be stored at colder temperatures and doesn't last as long in a refrigerator, which may limit its use.

By Jonathan Gardner • Aug. 26, 2020