Best Practices in Material Handling and Put-away
Most distribution professionals understand that it is not enough to know how their company performs year over year; they must also continue to improve...
NCOF 2007 Preview
We at Multichannel Merchant are proud to present the National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment (NCOF) so proud, in fact, that we've decided to create...
USPS Governors Protest but Approve Rate Case
Catalogers are getting whacked hard with the new postal rate hike. The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors (BOG) on March 19 approved the majority...
Resource Guide: Business Intelligence Solutions
To gain a better understanding of the true performance of their sales and operations, more merchants are implementing business intelligence (BI) solutions....
First Things First: Unify the Service Desktop, Then Implement a Universal-Agent Program
There is not yet a standard definition for a contact center “universal agent.” To some, a universal agent is one who can handle both inbound and outbound interactions; to others, it is one who can handle interactions in a variety of channels. And still others see it as one who can handle a variety of call types, regardless of complexity, product type, or required skill set. ...
The Case for Voice-Driven Tech in the DC
Warehouses are experiencing remarkable increases in productivity by taking paper and RF scanners out the hands of their workers and giving them headsets with microphones instead. These distribution centers have learned that voice-driven logistics technology really works, even in the noisiest, harshest environments....
Survey: Peak Times Strain Labor Strategies
A majority of executives feel that their temporary-labor strategies could improved, according to a recent Supply Chain Consortium survey of 100 top retail/wholesale and consumer goods companies. ...
Put-away Best Practices
Put-away is the process of moving material from the dock and transporting it to a storage, replenishment, or pick area. Best-practice companies manage the put-away area by calculating resource and space requirements based on expected receipts and current backlogs. ...
Call Evaluations Help Lillian Vernon Get its Upsell Program Down Pat
For several years contact center agents at cataloger Lillian Vernon spent a portion of every phone call offering promotions or upsells to customers. Some of these offers were for Lillian Vernon products or services, but periodically Lillian Vernon partnered with a third party and offered that company’s product or service (such as magazine subscriptions) to customers....
The Case for a Hosted Contact Center System
Hosted contact center systems have gained popularity as a more flexible, cost-effective choice than premise-based hardware systems. Comparing the two options, however, is often akin to comparing apples to arugula....
Protecting Your Company with VoIP Call Recording
Recent technology advancements have greatly improved the quality of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). In the past, using an Internet service to implement a type of voice telephone service was a poor substitute for traditional voice telephone service. The quality of VoIP was very unreliable, and the connection between two or more callers was difficult. VoIP was primarily a niche service used by companies seeking an inexpensive means for overseas calling. ...
Survey: Contact Centers Looking to Upgrade Technology
How’s this for a disconnect: 75% of contact centers have a customer database system, but only 53% have computer telephony integration (CTI), according to the ninth annual Global Contact Center Benchmarking Report from IT solutions provider Dimension Data. ...
Live from NEMOA: Catalogers Need to Pass Costs on to Consumers
Cambridge, MA—Attendees here at the spring NEMOA conference have discussed such tactics as improving list hygiene, reducing circulation and trim size, and comailing as ways to minimize the effect of the May 14 postal rate hike. ...
Tips for Improving Shipping Performance
With rising fuel prices, carrier capacity problems, and pressure from customers for on-time deliveries, shippers have been feeling the squeeze. ...
The Fulfillment Challenge: What Business Are You Really In?
Today’s supply chain continues to grow in complexity, and the fulfillment strategies necessary to meet customers’ needs are likewise becoming more and more complex. Much more than just picking, packing, and shipping, fulfillment today includes a whole view of the supply chain: inbound logistics; presenting those products into retail distribution and direct-to-customer distribution operations; receiving, and managing that inventory; the traditional pick, pack, and ship operations with value-added activities such as kitting, assembly, gift-wrapping, marketing inserts, and product personalization; outbound logistics in terms of mode, selection, rate, and contract management; and finally returns handling and product refurbishment. ...
Tips for Improving Shipping Performance
With rising fuel prices, carrier capacity problems, and pressure from customers for on-time deliveries, shippers have been feeling the squeeze. To make matters worse, when they didn’t meet carrier expectations, many shippers found they were left out in the cold with carriers refusing to do business with them....
Efficiencies Enable Lillian Vernon to Shut Manila Contact Center
Crediting increased operational efficiencies as the catalyst, Lillian Vernon closed its satellite call center in Manila, Philippines, on March 18....
Five Ways to Improve Inventory Planning
Looking for better ways to improve your inventory performance? Ray Goodman, senior vice president, retail and multichannel solutions for Omaha, NE-based software services provider Direct Tech, offers these suggestions: ...
Automation: Picking the Right Techniques and Technology
Today’s warehouse managers face a number of challenges. Customers demand perfect order accuracy; smaller and more-frequent orders cover a greater number of SKUs; senior management calls for lower costs and increased productivity....
Nine Ways to Better Control Your Inventory
Inventory accuracy is a common concern among my clients. Here are some tips to help improve the accuracy of the inventory within your facility: ...
Saving Space
Few distribution center managers have the luxury of excess warehouse space that can be tapped whenever needed. Certainly the vast majority of DC personnel would claim they have a shortage rather than a surplus of space....
Ten Tips for Online Couponing
If I’ve learned one in my career in retailing and the Internet, it is that people love the opportunity to save money. And they hate it when somebody else is getting a bargain when they aren’t. ...
Hershey Outsources Direct Jobs, Plans Layoffs
Approximately 50 employees in the catalog and online gift department at The Hershey Co. will be laid off, a result of the chocolate company’s decision to outsource those positions...
A Few Thoughts on Storage and Inventory Control
Storage and inventory control processes include the activities related to holding material and the processes of counting and transacting the material as it moves through the warehouse. ...
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