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Nearshoring Leads to Inbound Boost from Mexico, Canada

| Mike O'Brien

Mexico and Canada are seeing an increase in manufacturing and shipping to the U.S. as nearshoring takes hold in the face of uncertainty over trade with China and more businesses adopt a “plus one” strategy regarding the country’s largest trading partner, maintaining their base while diversifying their sourcing strategy. Inbound freight from Mexico outstripped China by 15%, while Canada was 5% higher.

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Liquidity Services Opens Second Pickup Spot in Cincinnati

| Mike O'Brien

Liquidity Services, a major marketplace for returned and overstock merchandise, has opened a second AllSurplus Deals location at its facility in Hebron, KY, allowing local consumers to purchase deals online, then pick them up at its warehouse. The first opened in Phoenix in 1999, and plans call for more facilities to add pick-up services.

inventory management woman at her WMS

Inventory Management in the Pandemic Era

| Nate Rosier

Inventory management has been anything but simple these days. A global pandemic, labor shortages and product recalls have led to the “bullwhip effect.” Success will require leveraging technology to make critical business decisions, using AI/ML and what-if analysis to create a dynamic, flexible, resilient inventory management strategy.

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Overstocks Today Were Yesterday’s Stockouts

| Jill Liliedahl

When we consider the unpredictability of the last couple of years, overstocks seem a forgivable choice. Retailers who understandably erred on the side of overstocks during the pandemic are now stuck with a mountain of goods they can’t shift. One thing’s for certain: spreadsheets and outdated technology won’t solve the problem.

15 Ways to Improve Warehouse Space Utilization

| Brian Barry

During evaluation of multichannel warehouse operations, the efficiency of storing and moving goods typically drops when between 80% and 85% of available space is being used. With new fulfillment center locations at a premium and costs rising, here are 15 ways you can improve space utilization in your ecommerce facility.

inventory management

Less Overstock Boosts Ecommerce Fulfillment Space and the Bottom Line

| Brian Barry

Inventory management is a strategic ecommerce issue that affects profitability and customer service. Additionally, many fulfillment centers have overstock inventory tying up valuable space. Here is a primer on liquidation strategies and ways to reduce overstock levels, freeing up valuable space and flowing dollars to the bottom line.

Alibaba Bans Bitcoin on all Marketplace Sites

| Erin Lynch

While Overstock.com announced last week that it has begun accepting Bitcoins as an online payment option, not all merchants are embracing the crypto-currency. The Chinese ecommerce platform Alibaba Group said in a statement that it has banned the controversial payment option from all its Taobao marketplaces.