Walmart, Schneider Electric team up to help suppliers transition to renewable energy

The initiative aims to educate suppliers and help them through conversion — a process Walmart's Senior Director of Sustainability said can be daunting.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 15, 2020

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

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

Walmart pilots drone delivery for groceries with Flytrex

The test program will deliver grocery and household items from Walmart stores to homes in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

By Matt Leonard • Sept. 10, 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

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

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

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

McKinsey: Fashion industry needs deeper supplier collaboration to cut emissions

More than 70% of apparel and footwear emissions originate in the supply chain before most brands take possession of finished goods, according to the firm.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 27, 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

Direct-to-consumer sales could be the next big thing in the US retail market

The rise in online shopping is pushing brands to try the direct-to-consumer strategy.

Aug. 27, 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

Target cuts digital fulfillment cost per order 30% as same-day demand skyrockets

The growth and maturation of same-day services, along with updates to the e-commerce order fulfillment process, led to increased efficiency, according to COO John Mulligan.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 19, 2020

Reopening draws down inventory, but volatility expected for remainder of year

The total business inventories-to-sales ratio echoes trends seen throughout the pandemic: Apparel retailers are struggling to bring customers in while grocers are having a difficult time staying stocked.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 18, 2020

The strategy behind turning department stores into warehouses

Rumors are circulating about Amazon converting vacant department store space into fulfillment centers — a move experts say would round out its omnichannel approach.

By Jen A. Miller • Aug. 18, 2020

Stockouts hold Walmart back as e-commerce booms

CEO Doug McMillon said consumers briefly returned to the stock-up behaviors they displayed early in the pandemic, as COVID-19 cases spiked in pockets of the country.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 18, 2020

JD Logistics opens automated warehouse for bulky items, launches 1-hour delivery

Roughly one year after JD Logistics broke even, executives reported record sales volumes have improved efficiency and the service is now turning a profit. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 17, 2020

Analyst: Target's investments in store-centric fulfillment pay off

Retailers that invested in omnichannel strategies and inventory visibility were in the best position to quickly pivot to curbside pickup, ship from store and other methods to capture sales with stores closed, according to D.A Davidson.

By Shefali Kapadia • Aug. 17, 2020

Lowe's plans to add 50 cross docks, 4 fulfillment centers in pursuit of omnichannel supply chain

The addition of warehouses moves Lowe's away from a store-based home delivery model, which EVP of Supply Chain Don Frieson acknowledged is inefficient. 

By Shefali Kapadia • Aug. 12, 2020

Stores went dark. Online orders tripled. How Joann used its OMS to cope.

The retailer de-stressed its technology, and employees, as online traffic tripled typical holiday volumes. 

By Jen A. Miller • Aug. 11, 2020

Retail suppliers are still under strain — and it could hurt everyone

Stores are open, but vendors face longer payment terms and financial uncertainty, which could hit retail shelves just as the holidays ramp up.

By Ben Unglesbee • Aug. 10, 2020