As coronavirus spread through Asia, Atlantic Natural Foods prepared for US impact

With a facility in Thailand, the company had foresight about how the pandemic could sweep across the world and affect the food industry.

By Lillianna Byington • April 7, 2020

PVH may 'pack and hold' inventory until next spring

The company, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, hopes to regain the ability to sell at full price next year rather than dump goods to into the off-price market. 

By Daphne Howland • April 3, 2020

H&M pledges to accept orders in production from suppliers

The move demonstrates a rare level of concern for the health of garment manufacturers, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 31, 2020

Lululemon leverages RFID, supplier relationships to manage inventory amid coronavirus demand drop

On top of advantageous technology investments, Lululemon has several inherent qualities that give it a somewhat easier path through the COVID-19 crisis most non-essential retailers are facing, executives described. 

By Emma Cosgrove • March 30, 2020

Ocean carriers blank sailings on Transpacific, European routes as importer demand drops

Maersk announced three new blank sailings this week that would have served trade on European, Mediterranean and Transpacific routes.

By Matt Leonard • March 27, 2020

What procurement managers should expect from a 'bullwhip on crack'

Slight variations in demand at the retail level grow larger until they reach the manufacturer. This bullwhip effect is playing out in real-time in the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Matt Leonard • March 26, 2020

Nike optimizing supply and demand daily to weather coronavirus storm

Previous investments in digital tools will allow the company to snap back whenever consumer demand returns while keeping and paying employees, executives said Tuesday. 

By Emma Cosgrove • March 25, 2020

Amazon suspends deliveries of nonessential goods in France, India, Italy

Third-party sellers on Amazon's marketplace that do not use Amazon fulfillment and logistics services to process and deliver orders can still ship to customers, but delays may result. 

By Morgan Forde • March 24, 2020

The apparel industry had an inventory problem before coronavirus. What now?

With such an unprecedented set of restrictions and uncertainties, universal recommendations are hard to come by for "nonessential" retailers and wholesalers, but some trends are starting to surface.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 24, 2020

Food manufacturing will stay healthy during coronavirus, trade groups say

Leaders of the Consumer Brands Association and the American Bakers Association say their members are rising to the challenge and see no shortages of the basics.

By Megan Poinski • March 24, 2020

McKinsey estimates stock-outs for automotive, retail supply chains by end of March, April

Just-in-time and traditionally low-inventory supply chains could be in danger in the coming weeks as supply out of China continues to be slow and U.S. and EU factories begin to postpone production.

By Morgan Forde • March 19, 2020

Costco brings big and bulky delivery in-house with $1B acquisition

The retailer has contracted out large-parcel deliveries to Innovel over the past five years. But as its main client, Sears, began to decline, Costco saw an opportunity to buy. 

By Morgan Forde • March 18, 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

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

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

House of Representatives launches Congressional Supply Chain Caucus

The bipartisan caucus will focus on policies to address supply chain challenges related to manufacturing, trade, delivery and resiliency.

By Morgan Forde • March 6, 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

H&M pilots supply chain service Treadler to improve industry sustainability

Treadler aims to guide smaller clothing brands through sustainable product development, sourcing, production and logistics. 

By S.L. Fuller • March 4, 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

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

Wayfair is all in on logistics

Executives insist 2020 is the year Wayfair's logistics investments will show their worth.

By Emma Cosgrove • 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