Operations: Page 2

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. 08, 2020

Whole Foods to offer pickup from nearly all its stores before October

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 • Sept. 08, 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. 04, 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. 04, 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. 04, 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. 03, 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. 03, 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. 02, 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. 01, 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. 01, 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. 01, 2020

Column

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

AstraZeneca taps contract manufacturer to scale vaccine production

The agreement is part of AstraZeneca's efforts to aggressively pursue manufacturing and supply partnerships across the globe ahead of the vaccine's potential launch.

By Kristin Jensen • Aug. 26, 2020

Hormel struggles to rebuild inventory after pandemic production pauses

A vertically integrated supply chain, usually a cost-savings driver, meant disruption to production of certain brands within the company was more keenly felt in the supply chain.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 26, 2020

Warehousing, manufacturing employment below pre-pandemic levels as peak nears

Employment in manufacturing dipped 10% year over year in April and 5% in warehousing during the same period.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 25, 2020

How Sephora flexed its warehouse network to prep for an e-commerce onslaught

The beauty retailer's annual spring promotion led SVP for Supply Chain Mike Racer to elevate throughput as a measure of readiness years before the coronavirus pandemic hit. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 25, 2020

Kind will exclusively source almonds from bee-friendly farms by 2025

The brand is asking its suppliers to reserve 3% to 5% of their farms for pollinator habitat in hopes of curbing the high levels of honey bees that die each year.

By Lillianna Byington • Aug. 25, 2020

Sponsored by Opendock

What behavioral psychologists know that you should too

Making an effort to show employees how truly valuable they are is critical to your company's success.

DHL to hire 7K associates, increase automation in prep for peak

The carrier expects this to be one of the "most unpredictable fourth quarter ever" as the pandemic increases uncertainty for many of its customers. 

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 24, 2020

Stocked out: Why cleaning product supply chains struggle to meet demand

The disinfectant and cleaning product supply chain relies on a just-in-time approach, making it difficult to radically move the output meter in a short timeframe.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Aug. 20, 2020

Split shipments hit Kohl's profitability in Q2

Store closures locked inventory in locations optimized for pre-pandemic store demand and not e-commerce, which grew 60% year over year in the quarter. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 20, 2020