Logistics M&A Volume Reaches 20-Year High
2007 was a big year for mergers and acquisitions in the transportation and logistics sector. ...
Newgistics Acquires Cornerstone Shipping Services
Returns-management system provider Newgistics on Feb. 11 acquired Milan, IL-based small-package shipping software supplier Cornerstone Shipping Services. The combined company will be known as Newgistics....
Warehouse KPIs: Who’s In Your “Fav Five?”
As a distribution professional, you have several key performance indicators you are always aware of. The operations and fulfillment field includes many KPIs--quantifiable measurements that reflect the success factors of an organization. But which warehouse KPIs are in your “Fav Five?” Here are mine, in descending order. ...
The Lowdown on Bottom-Line Ergonomics
At almost every seminar I teach or attend I get asked, “How can I justify investing in the agents’ work space?” When I was managing contact centers, this was a very “iffy” situation. But the field of ergonomics has since blossomed, and the return on investment has been significantly substantiated....
Preparing for Inevitable Supply Chain Disruptions
Dozens if not hundreds of possible threats to your supply chain that could significantly disrupt the flow of your merchandise so it is NOT at the right place at the right time--when your customer is ready to buy. ...
Putting a Cap on Calls Resolution
You know why you should strive for first-call resolution, and if you read our last article (http://multichannelmerchant.com/opsandfulfillment/advisor/first_call_0129/index.html), you know how to do it. This week we’ll focus on limiting the number of calls to or from a customer it will take to resolve any problem or issue....
8 Things An ELS Vendor Will Never Tell You
A daily battle goes on in distribution centers and manufacturing plants all across the country between unmotivated workers and the supervisors that lead them. The supervisor wants them to work harder but typically isn’t sure how to make that happen. ...
In Praise of 3PLs
No doubt about it, 2008 will be a challenging year for business. With the Fed forecasting inflation rising between 1.7% and 1.9% in 2008 while GDP grows at a sluggish 1.8-2.5%, companies will need to be tightening their belts and looking for ways to make a profit anyway they can. ...
Miles Kimball Meets Seasonal Fulfillment Challenges
For gift catalogers, the holiday season is the busiest time of the year in the distribution center. We decided to check in with some mailers to see how their operations fared for the final months of 2007. Tim Little, vice president of operations for Oshkosh, WI-based gifts and housewares merchant Miles Kimball spoke with MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT’s senior writer Jim Tierney....
Liquidation Tactics for the Holiday Hangover
Many retailers fell well short of holiday sales plans that were fairly conservative to begin with. What does that mean? Challenges from 2007 are extending into this year during the final phase of the product life cycle: markdown and liquidation of unsold merchandise....
The First Call Should Do it All
“Just put me through to someone who can solve my problem!” I was done--totally fed up with the lack of customer service I was receiving. ...
Tale of Two Facilities , Part Two
Last week we discussed the comparison of two distribution centers of the same corporation who followed the same approach to process improvement and labor management, but with very different results. ...
Social Media and Customer Care Managers, Part 1
The critical news for the customer care industry is that word-of-mouth marketing has found a brighter beam on the radar screens of marketing professionals in recent years with the growth of new and social media. ...
Will DHL Stay the Course in the U.S.?
With at least two major investment banks pushing for Deutsche Post to pull DHL out of North America, multichannel merchants may be wondering about the fate of DHL Express US....
Health Issues Plague Offshore Call-center Staff
American consumers--and Europeans for that matter—often get testy when they find their calls have been transferred to a contact center based in India. And they tend to unleash their fury and frustration on the call agents, which, according to a recent story in the Washington Post, has resulted in a rash of stress-induced ailments among India-based phone reps....
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