Jim Tierney

Executive Roundtable: Agility, Speed, Realtime

| Jim Tierney

Our roundtable participants were Chris Bradley, CEO of Cuddledown; Paal Gisholt, CEO of SmartPak; Guy van Rooyen, president of Donna Salyers Fabulous Furs; Susan Landay, president and CEO of Trainers Warehouse; Matt Glerum, president of TravelSmith Outfitters; Phyliss Mosca, president of Ulla Popken; Steve Voigt, CEO of King Arthur Flour Co.; Vicki Updike, president of Miles Kimball Co.; Margot Murphy Moore, CEO of 1-800-HOMEOPATHY; and Russ Gaitskill, president and CEO of Garnet Hill.

New UPS Freight Service Between U.S. and Mexico

| Jim Tierney

UPS announced UPS CrossBorder Connect, a ground freight service between the United States and Mexico designed to significantly ease heavyweight freight supply chain challenges for companies investing in cross-border trade.

R.R. Donnelley Acquires Equity Stake in CoffeeTable

| Jim Tierney

CoffeeTable offers a discovery-based tablet shopping experience for consumers to browse and shop across multiple retailers and provides a comprehensive set of data analytics to help drive retailers’ multichannel marketing strategies.

2 Tips for Managing Freight Costs

| Jim Tierney

Controlling and managing freight costs can be a real struggle for smaller companies, says Marie Lapetina, director of operations for Design Master Associates. LaPetina offers two tips for small merchants to consider when managing their freight costs.

2 Tips for Identifying Winning Products

| Jim Tierney

George Mollo, president of consultancy GJM Associates, says that only two to three of every 10 new products are potential winners and contribute to profit. Mollo wants to help merchants improve their batting average by adding one new product hit a week. One more new product hit a week separates the average player from a potential Hall of Famer, Mollo says.

Tips on Distribution and Fulfillment

| Jim Tierney

Buzz Van Santvoord, a consultant with multichannel operations and consulting firm F. Curtis Barry & Co., wants to help any company that runs a warehouse or distribution center. Here are Van Santvoord