Walmart aims for 'zero waste' to landfills by 2025

The retailer is looking up and down its vast supply chain to stop contributing to landfills in Canada, Japan, the U.K. and U.S. in less than seven years.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 15, 2018

In an age of inflation, managing working capital is king

Low inflation and interest rates have led to lax management of working capital, but as commodity prices rise some belts may tighten and affect actors across the supply chain.

By Craig Guillot • Aug. 14, 2018

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from Supply Chain Dive

Here’s how companies are navigating rising costs, network changes and logistics disruptions across global supply chain networks.

By Supply Chain Dive staff

Automated inventory management is becoming a 'key battleground'

Whether it's RFID or robots, taking humans out of the inventory process will soon be standard practice, according to a new report which discusses the benefits in dollars and cents. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 14, 2018

Sam's Club to retrofit closed store into e-commerce fulfillment center

The retailer plans to convert a total of 12 shuttered stores into online distribution hubs, as it continues to expect e-commerce sales growth.

By Shefali Kapadia • Aug. 14, 2018

Walmart changes online return policies, lowers shipping rates

More Amazon marketplace sellers hope to diversify by selling through Walmart, and making returns cheaper could stoke that.

By Daphne Howland • Aug. 10, 2018

Has e-commerce changed back-to-school shopping?

The second-largest shopping season of the year requires retailers to adapt their logistics and fulfillment strategies and perfect their omnichannel strategies.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Aug. 10, 2018

Boeing invests in 3D-printed parts in wake of supplier shortfalls

The use of 3D printers can produce metal parts faster and cheaper, allowing manufactures to keep up with growing demand.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 8, 2018

Whole Foods launches curbside pickup for Prime members

The service, available in Sacramento and Virginia Beach, will allow shoppers to pick up groceries ordered via the Prime Now app.

By Krishna Thakker • Aug. 8, 2018

Why 70% of facilities may deploy wearables in 5 years

Tech worn on workers can cut down on errors, improve efficiency and unlock employee potential.

By Jen A. Miller • Aug. 7, 2018

4 types of autonomous mobile robots, and their warehouse use cases

Numerous types of autonomous robots are roving warehouses today, with common goals: Drive efficiency and save labor costs.

By Craig Guillot • Aug. 7, 2018

Lack of capital biggest barrier to automation adoption

While automation carries many soft benefits for companies, it could take months or years before ROI is realized.

By Shefali Kapadia • Aug. 7, 2018

Northwestern plans AI, robotics initiatives for retail

The university will launch a Retail AI Lab and Retail Robotics Initiative to boost training, research and pilot projects on modern technologies.

By Edwin Lopez • Aug. 7, 2018

Walmart to test grocery-picking robots

Alphabot, specially built for the retailer, will work with employees at the Salem, New Hampshire, store to speed fulfillment of pickup orders. 

By Jeff Wells • Aug. 6, 2018

Tariffs, production shifts create 'unfortunate condition' for Harley-Davidson

Shifting demographics and trade regulations have forced changes on the "115-year-old great American company."

By Shefali Kapadia • Aug. 2, 2018

Logistics companies, Asian nations reap benefits of trade war

While some companies are struggling to figure out the best approach to overcome disruptions created by tariffs, other companies may be reaping the benefits of this turmoil.

By Rich Weissman • Aug. 1, 2018

Zara taps into stores for e-commerce fulfillment

The fast-fashion retailer sped up production and supply chain logistics years ago.

By Daphne Howland • Aug. 1, 2018

Wheels up: How Delta uses RFID to ensure a smooth supply chain

Delta's foray into RFID for logistics began in 2012 — and has yet to lose steam.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • July 31, 2018

Are companies turning inventory faster?

A majority of the top supply chains defined by Gartner both this year and last year turned products more quickly in 2018, but that did not always define improvement.

By Edwin Lopez • July 31, 2018

How an 11-day truck strike in Brazil hurt Unilever's top line

The consumer goods retailer saw its revenues fall 0.6% and sales decline up to 9% due to the strike.

By Edwin Lopez • July 31, 2018

Oracle launches new store-driven inventory service

The new cloud-based platform aims to give retailers and their associates greater visibility into warehouse and store network inventory.

By Dan O'Shea • July 30, 2018

Returns: Record-breaking Prime Day's aftermath

Suppliers and retailers must prepare for a surge in consumers returning goods — or risk products turning into "dead money."

By Craig Guillot • July 26, 2018

BOPIS 'superconsumers' spend $40 more in stores

New research from OrderDynamics identifies a group of the most active online shoppers as aggressive users of all channels, including brick-and-mortar.

By Dan Alaimo • July 26, 2018

How Mercy Health consolidated its supply chain

Facing rising costs and inconsistencies, health systems are strengthening efficiency by vertically integrating their supply chains.

By Nicole Ault • July 24, 2018

Process improvement — not cost savings — drive AI adoption

The use of robotics and artificial intelligence is an "inevitable evolution," and businesses who ignore it will quickly fall behind the curve. 

By Shefali Kapadia • July 24, 2018

'Tally' robot learns to read RFID

Simbe Robotics' CEO said retailers asked him for the improvement to the front-of-store inventory bot, which before could only use computer vision.

By Edwin Lopez • July 20, 2018