Distribution Digest recently solicited advice from several industry experts on questions involving Pick Area Redesign, Improving Inventory Accuracy, and WMS Implementation Surprises. They compiled these useful tips from Lawrence Dean Shemesh of OPSdesign Consulting, Vinod Chouhan of Iovate Health Sciences International, and Jeff Mueller of Sedlak.

Two recent studies of online shopping behavior provide evidence of the growing complexity evolving around the multi-channel retail experience. The new Nielsen//NetRatings MegaView Online Retail service, which tracks online consumer retail activity and purchasing behavior, reveals that broadband consumers make two-thirds of online purchases — and spend a third more than narrowband-connected consumers in doing so. And a joint study from Fry Inc. and comScore Networks shows that consumers vary widely in their online and offline behavior depending on the product.

Nine out of 10 executives from the largest U.S. companies agree on one thing: They need stronger business intelligence capabilities if they are to grow successfully in an uncertain economic and political environment. So says a recent survey conducted on behalf of Accenture by Wirthlin Worldwide.

Imagine if you could improve — even double — workforce productivity in the warehouse or distribution center. Wouldn’t that be sweet? In their new book, “Warehouse Productivity,” authors Ron Hounsell and Pat Kelley present a blue-collar incentive plan that is designed to do just that. Their idea is to bring the corporate practice, common among many executives, of tying compensation to performance, down to all employee ranks. Their message: Extra pay is a reward for those who perform at high levels.

Imagine if you could improve — even double — workforce productivity in the warehouse or distribution center. Wouldn’t that be sweet? In their new book, “Warehouse Productivity,” authors Ron Hounsell and Pat Kelley present a blue-collar incentive plan that is designed to do just that. Their idea is to bring the corporate practice, common among many executives, of tying compensation to performance, down to all employee ranks. Their message: Extra pay is a reward for those who perform at high levels.

Although a common belief is that mass media has led to a homogenization of culture and markets, New York-based research company Simmons believes the opposite is true: The breakup of the mass market has turned American society into balkanized population segments that defy easy categorization. While Simmons’ flagship survey, the Simmons National Consumer Study (NCS), draws on a database of over 27,000 respondents nationwide to unlock the secrets of American marketplace behavior, the company now breaks that study down into SimmonsLOCAL. Drawing on the NCS database, SimmonsLOCAL provides hometown versions of consumer media and purchasing behavior in each of the nation’s 210 DMAs (Designated Market Areas). Simmons says that all companies, from small-scale shops to global corporations, can now pinpoint the customers for their products and services.

A recent survey conducted on both sides of the Atlantic by international database solutions provider Alterian (Bristol, England), shows that while most respondents expect their direct marketing expenditures to increase over the next 12 months, there are real concerns about marketing service providers’ ability to understand a client’s business. The survey examined attitudes of almost 600 marketers and marketing service providers (MSPs) in both the UK and North American direct marketing industries.

AMR Research has weighed in with a report that names the top 25 companies embracing supply chain best practices and technologies. The AMR Research Supply Chain Top 25 and the New Trillion-Dollar Opportunity identifies Dell Computer as the best, calling its growth of 17% in the PC business on a $40 billion revenue base “phenomenal.” Boston-based AMR used financial metrics such as return on assets, inventory turns and trailing 12 months growth, combining those with its analysts’ opinion of each company’s supply chain performance based on field research and case studies, to arrive at a composite ranking score. Dell’s composite score of 20.75 was far ahead of second-place Nokia’s 13.31, though the cell phone manufacturer was said to have supply chain best practices that “turn ideas into profitable businesses.” Coming in at number three was consumer products powerhouse Procter & Gamble, with IBM fourth and Wal-Mart fifth.