Out-of-stocks surge at Amazon amid panicked shopping

The e-commerce giant is out of some key goods and is extending shipping times as consumers stockpile amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 16, 2020

IGA looks to China operations for coronavirus guidance

Chinese supermarkets stretched to the limit by the crisis offer a glimpse of the challenges and solutions that grocers in the U.S. face.

By Sam Silverstein • March 16, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Inventory Management

Read how retailers and brand manufactures are rethinking inventory management as an effective strategy against tariffs.

By Supply Chain Dive staff

Gartner: What supply chain managers should know about control towers

Control towers are like the artificial intelligence of supply chain: Everyone wants to have it, but nobody quite knows how it works, writes Gartner VP Analyst Christian Titze.

By Christian Titze • March 13, 2020

Dollar General to double fresh distribution assets in 2020

After the first year of building capacity, the retailer is seeing the returns it was looking for in taking on the difficult and asset-heavy task of insourcing fresh and frozen distribution. 

By Emma Cosgrove • March 13, 2020

Patent Pending: Walmart's plan for reducing empty miles

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 • March 13, 2020

CDC chief: Certain materials critical to coronavirus tests​ 'now are in short supply'

Separately, the government announced funding for development of COVID-19 diagnostic tests meant to detect the pathogen in about an hour. 

By Greg Slabodkin • March 13, 2020

3 ways to manage coronavirus risk in the supply chain

Even as China operations come back online, the risk to global supply chains is far from over, panelists said at Modex as they offered tips to mitigate challenges.

By Shefali Kapadia • March 11, 2020

44% of supply chain pros have no plan for China supply disruption

There are signs companies are struggling with visibility and shipping out of China, but there is no indication this has resulted in U.S. factories shuttering, even temporarily.

By Matt Leonard • March 11, 2020

The changing face of warehouse change management

New technologies can completely alter a worker's daily job, requiring operations executives to take a strategic approach to managing labor through the change.

By Shefali Kapadia • March 10, 2020

Goldman: Coronavirus could reduce profits 3.6% for manufacturers

The estimate was based on an average production utilization rate of 50% for the month of February and a 30% reduction in Chinese demand over the next six months.

By Matt Leonard • March 10, 2020

What tech and metrics do you need for omnichannel?

A modern order management system will have most of the data needed to measure omnichannel success. However, some operations will require more creativity.

By Matt Leonard • March 9, 2020

Hy-Vee brings online order fulfillment back to stores

The grocer will shut down its four Aisles Online fulfillment centers the week of March 23, according to a company spokesperson.

By Jessica Dumont • March 9, 2020

Costco: It could take weeks to reach routine supply chain operations

The COVID-19 outbreak is affecting multiple parts of Costco​'s supply chain, not just its procurement and in-store operations.

By Matt Leonard • March 6, 2020

Burlington ditches e-commerce, streamlines inventory in push for operational agility

New CEO Michael O'Sullivan said he will demand more flexibility from supply chain teams to increase agility in case sales falter.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 6, 2020

Target's tech for store-based fulfillment operations is ready to scale

Machine learning and robotics will allow Target to fulfill digital orders from stores and avoid stockouts, executives detailed in an investor presentation.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 4, 2020

Coronavirus-driven online order spikes challenge grocery supply chains

Amazon Fresh and Prime Now have experienced significant delivery delays, while Instacart’s sales growth rate has increased tenfold over the past three days.

By Jeff Wells • March 3, 2020

US manufacturing hit by coronavirus but maintains growth

Although the purchasing managers index found the manufacturing sector just within growth territory, coronavirus-related complications are causing supply delays and longer lead times.

By Morgan Forde • March 3, 2020

Do more robots mean a safer warehouse?

Fulfillment robotics pledge to make workers' jobs easier, but whether those jobs are safer is open for debate — even among those making and selling the technology.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 3, 2020

Each industrial robot displaces 1.6 workers: report

China has seen the greatest decline in its manufacturing workforce since 2000, with 550,000 fewer people working in the sector as of 2016.

By Matt Leonard • March 3, 2020

Amazon launches faster same-day delivery with mini-fulfillment centers

The new centers will enable fulfillment, sortation and delivery under one roof, allowing Amazon to bypass the traditional middle-mile journey, a spokesperson said. 

By S.L. Fuller • March 3, 2020

Levi's CEO: Reducing China operations during trade war mitigating coronavirus impact

The company is also keeping an eye on the virus' spread to Europe where it could affect another key segment of its production and supply base.

By Morgan Forde • March 3, 2020

China manufacturing index dips below recession levels amid coronavirus response

Though demand weakened in February, the Caixin index showed new export orders were nowhere near the lows recorded in 2008 and factories have much to do when they resume function.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 2, 2020

FDA reports first drug shortage due to coronavirus impact

Supplies of the drug, which the FDA did not identify, ran short as a result of issues at a site that produces the active ingredient. Other options are available, the agency said.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Feb. 28, 2020

Walmart joins store and online buying after decades of siloed operations

The move to unify buying across delivery channels demonstrates that omnichannel options are widely available to the consumer, but they are still making their way through the organizations that orchestrate them.

By Emma Cosgrove • Feb. 27, 2020

Gartner: Circular supply chain investments must focus on reverse logistics

Seventy percent of supply chain leaders plan to invest in new technologies, from manufacturing to delivery, to achieve circularity by mid-2021.

By Morgan Forde • Feb. 27, 2020