Target's CIO retires after years of facilitating supply chain innovation

McNamara encouraged in-house innovation that enabled automation along the supply chain. A new CIO at Target needs to focus on three key pillars.

By Roberto Torres • Sept. 2, 2021

Walmart aims to hire 20K supply chain workers ahead of holiday season

The retailer is looking to fill permanent full-time and part-time roles amid shipping constraints as businesses compete for labor.

By Maria Monteros • Sept. 1, 2021

Burlington's sourcing costs are up 78% over 2 years due to pandemic supply chain disruptions

Company executives laid out three reasons why supply chain costs are leading to high prices — and why they think price hikes won't last.

By Edwin Lopez • Sept. 1, 2021

JD.com ramps up omnichannel approach as it looks beyond e-commerce

The Chinese e-commerce giant is sharing some of its gross profit with merchants involved in its omnichannel fulfillment program, "but at the same time, it helps us save the fulfillment costs," CFO Sandy Xu said.

By Max Garland • Aug. 31, 2021

A tale of two dollar stores: Dollar Tree contends with freight, Dollar General mostly shrugs off costs

The $1 price point means limited options for mitigating expenses as supply chain congestion leads to extraordinary cost increases.

By Ben Unglesbee • Aug. 31, 2021

Gatik opens Texas hub for autonomous middle-mile deliveries

The AV company, known for delivering goods for Walmart, will deploy box trucks in response to heightened e-commerce demand.

By Max Garland • Aug. 31, 2021

What retail executives are saying about widespread supply chain bottlenecks

From air shipping to ship charters to price increases, industry players are managing chaos at ports and throughout the global production network every way they can.

By Ben Unglesbee • Aug. 26, 2021

Home Depot improves inventory depth with focus on high-velocity SKUs

Some companies are chartering ships to secure inventory. Others are shifting SKU priorities. Home Depot is doing both.

By Max Garland • Aug. 24, 2021

Target to open 4 new sortation centers, adding capacity and speeding delivery

Shifting the sortation process from the backroom and stores to a dedicated facility will help free up space and time within retail locations.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 20, 2021

Retail freight proves a doorbuster for trucking

The continued inventory stock-up will keep trucking busy until consumer picking starts to wane. Shippers are trying to lock down lanes they need by contracting with dedicated fleets.

By Jim Stinson • Aug. 19, 2021

Walmart charters ships to ensure freight capacity, inventory for peak season

One ship leasing company referred to the charter market as "red hot" as it has signed 40 new charters so far this year.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 18, 2021

Dollar Tree advertises worker safety in warehouse hiring push

Dollar Tree's nationwide hiring event aimed to fill positions at the employer's 26 distribution warehouses, according to a company spokesperson.

By Kate Tornone • Aug. 17, 2021

Industry group releases contactless delivery standard to increase safety, reduce dwell

The Consumer Brands Association found contactless delivery practices, like using electronic bills of lading, reduced average dwell time from 66 minutes to 23 minutes.

By Max Garland • Aug. 10, 2021

'You can pay or you can wait': How retailers are navigating a shipping crisis

Consumer demand came raging back this year. The supply chain wasn't ready for it, and now retailers, brands and consumers are paying the price.

By Ben Unglesbee • Aug. 3, 2021

5 charts show Amazon's growing logistics network as it puts inventory closer to consumers

Amazon doubled down on its commitment to expand supply chain capacity on its latest earnings call. And in 2020, its capital expenditures were more than three times greater than those of Walmart.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 2, 2021

Tractor Supply plans to add 3 distribution centers in 5 years, accelerate supply chain investments

The new facilities will play a part in Tractor Supply's goal to offer one-day delivery to 99% of its customers by leveraging stores and distribution centers.

By Edwin Lopez • July 30, 2021

Shippers struggle to land carrier space despite preparing for peak early

The looming capacity crunch and other challenges throughout the order-to-delivery process mean retailers not already preparing for peak will have a bumpy holiday season, experts say.

By Max Garland • July 29, 2021

Walmart offers its omnichannel capabilities to other businesses

The retailer has partnered with Adobe to give small and mid-sized retailers access to its pickup and delivery technology.

By Maria Monteros • July 29, 2021

Retail stores on track to use one-third of their space for e-commerce fulfillment by 2023: report

Swiftly rising e-commerce is projected to push 34.8% of global retail online in the next two years and 40% by 2025, according to research from Edge by Ascential.

By Daphne Howland • July 28, 2021

Bed Bath & Beyond taps Ryder in bid to speed replenishment times

The two distribution centers Ryder will operate are strategically located near dense population hubs on the two coasts and will allow inventory to quickly reach store locations.

By Shefali Kapadia • July 27, 2021

Guess sources more from India, Bangladesh to avoid tariff risks in China

The retailer is leaning more on suppliers from Bangladesh and India as tensions between the U.S. and China linger and tariffs persist, including among fashion products.

By Max Garland • July 26, 2021

Retailers leverage open calls to add diversity, sustainability to supply chains

Faced with empty shelves over the past year, companies like Kroger, Lowe's and QVC are looking for new or more local suppliers that meet their needs.

By Jen A. Miller • July 22, 2021

Instacart collaborates with Fabric to offer automated fulfillment service

The partnership is the first phase of the e-commerce company's “next-generation fulfillment initiative” that moves order picking and packing out of store aisles and into dedicated spaces.

By Jeff Wells • July 22, 2021

Walmart plans to automate 25 distribution centers with Symbotic

The retailer aims to improve the storage density, pallet density, throughput as measured in cases per hour, system availability and order accuracy of its replenishment system.

By Matt Leonard • July 20, 2021

Pandemic changed rail's product mix as e-commerce grew intermodal volumes

Large retailers and third-party logistics providers leveraged railroads to diversify their transport risk and get around labor constraints in the trucking market during the pandemic, according to a study by Northwestern University.

By Edwin Lopez • July 15, 2021