More pickup for price hikes
Unlike the current housing market of high inventory and falling prices, paper supply is going down and prices are heading up. Several mill closures and reduced demand are two key reasons why the cost of paper is escalating....
Merchandising 2.0
As much as we hear these days about Web 2.0, e-commerce isn't the only facet of multichannel marketing to advance. The best retailers are taking their merchandising strategies to new and higher levels — a sort of multichannel merchandising 2.0 — in which channels neither mirror nor compete with one another, but support one another in driving company objectives....
Tooling around on PTS
Shopping for industrial tools online can be a major production especially if a site is not up to snuff. Production Tool Supply sells such complex items...
Prime real estate
Boden, the British apparel cataloger, was nearing annual sales of $100 million in the United States. But it had to ship every order from its Leicester,...
Batten down the hatches
The people at Orient Expressed thought they were ready for anything. We knew that we would be able to contact each other in the event of a disaster, says...
Inside storage and inventory control
Distribution center storage and inventory control may not seem like the sexiest parts of a multichannel business. But unless you have the product in stock...
Lillian to get even more personal
It's no secret that Lillian Vernon takes pride in personalization. After all, the venerable gifts and housewares cataloger was founded 56 years ago around...
Home, sweet home merchants
There's no place like the home market, or multichannel purveyors of furnishings, linens, floor and window coverings, tableware, and kitchen items. The...
Across the street and into the warehouse
Time to visit the lifeblood of any catalog business: the distribution center. But to get to Orchard Brands' DC from headquarters, you must cross the street....
Should customer service reps sell?
Customers love to buy. We love when someone helps us solve a problem, meet a need, satisfy a desire, or do something nice for ourselves. If it's true,...
L.L. Bean: Free Shipping For All, Again
L.L. Bean has again thrown down the free holiday shipping gauntlet rather early in the season...
Are You Ready for a Third Party Logistics Provider?
One area where successful companies are increasingly applying their adaptability is in their logistics and supply chain operations by outsourcing to a third-party logistics provider (3PL)....
Are Two Carriers Better Than One?
When it comes to striking a balance between controlling costs and maintaining service levels, is it better to use multiple carriers or a single carrier? That question is becoming increasingly relevant, thanks to dramatic rate hikes and frequent changes in the parcel industry. Both approaches have merit, but to determine what’s best for your business, you must first evaluate your objectives. ...
Get a handle on site abandonment
Most marketers understand that Website abandonment is a problem, but they don't always know how bad it is. The 2007 Harris Survey of Consumer Behavior Online, sponsored by online software and services provider Tealeaf, reveals that 42% of consumers abandon a site when they experience problems.
Some customers are using your site for research before heading to your store or picking up the phone to order. Or the quality of traffic on your site may have more to do with the problem. It's the seemingly qualified customers who abandon that you need to be concerned about. Multichannel Merchant's e-special report tells you where site abandonment stands, why it happens, and what you can do about it....
Study: Southerners more likely to register a complaint
According to a recent Customer Experience Impact Report by Harris Interactive on bad call experiences 80% of customers will go to competitors after a bad call--up from 68% in 2006. But an interesting breakdown in the report was the bad call experiences by geographic regions and the behavior associated with geography....
Optimizing the Customer Experience
A recent survey published in USA Today, indicates that 45% of customers identify customer service as the biggest influence on remaining loyal to a company. Clearly customers will stop doing business with companies due to the quality of the experience. ...
Transforming Agent Training Through Performance-Based Learning
An approach called “performance-based learning” provides companies with a better alternative to traditional, academic style training. PBL improves and accelerates the learning experience, thereby shortening time-to-proficiency, which results in training cost reductions, quicker revenue capture, improved agent satisfaction, and increased longevity on the job....
9 Quick Tips For Being an Employer of Choice
Does your contact center have what it takes to be the employer of choice in your area? Kathryn Jackson, founder of Ocean City, NJ-based Response Design Corp. lists just some of the must-haves to attract the best contact center candidates ...
The Dynamic Capabilities of an Automated Material Handling System
A dynamic material handling system - one that keeps things moving at a constant pace and can quickly change to meet your current demands - can help you succeed....
Boden Hits the Newspapers
With a $220 average order, U.K.-based apparel cataloger Boden attracts a well-heeled customer—both at home and in the U.S. To find more upscale American consumers, the merchant in early September inserted a prospecting catalog in two major newspapers....
Boden to Open American DC
Apparel cataloger Boden will open a 60,000 sq.-ft. distribution center/call center in Scranton, PA, in January—it's the first company-owned U.S.-based facility in the U.K. apparel company's five-year history. ...
What's in Storage
We investigate what can happen if you think outside of the warehouse box and consider how changes made outside the warehouse may end up benefiting your distribution center. ...
Recent China Manufacturing Issues Highlight Importance of Import Safety
Recent waves of import product bans, alerts, recalls, and news headlines have generated consumer shock around the world. The global media frenzy impacts all companies that source products abroad for domestic consumption by challenging their import safety practices....
Evaluating Fire Precautions and Risks
A fire in your distribution center can be disastrous. Aside from the obvious threats to human life, a single fire, even if it occurs in an unoccupied building--can put you out of business. ...
The Fulfillment Doctor on….Improving Outbound Freight Contracts
Question: My outbound freight to ship packages now exceeds my direct labor costs. I can’t seem to control the expense. What can I do to reduce it?...
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