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ESG and Your Supply Chain: 3 Steps to a Streamlined Strategy

| John Chalhoub

ESG and DEI+J are hot topics in retail, and supply chain is a particular area of focus. Their importance will continue to grow, and their relevance increase as younger generations enter the workforce. Here are some important ways to boost sustainability in your supply chain as you work to integrate it into your overarching ESG/DEI+J strategy.

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Retail Cyber Threats: 5 Ways to Protect Your Business

| Anas Hassan Mallick

Retail cyber threats are numerous, from altering gift cards to deceiving self-checkout systems through swapping barcodes. It moves on to hijacking customers’ accounts and stealing their personal information, to digital skimming to steal credit card numbers. Here are five different ways retail cyber threats can impact your business, and some tools you can use to combat them.

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Key Factors in Choosing the Right 3PL For Your Business

| Carl Wasinger

While business success for retailers depends in large part on their supply chains, they are extremely difficult and complicated to manage. Handling shipping, distribution and other aspects of logistics on your own can easily occupy an outsized percentage of your attention. This is why many opt to hand off all or part of their fulfillment operations to a 3PL. Here’s how to find the right one for you.

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A Multi-Carrier Approach Is Key During Disruptive Times

| Steve Beda

The possibility of a major disruptive event, such as the Yellow Freight bankruptcy and a potential UPS strike, brought to light the vulnerability of the nation’s supply chain. From COVID-19 to ongoing issues with transportation and labor shortages, the supply chain had been on thin ice. Such scenarios emphasizes the importance of moving beyond a risky, overexposed single carrier approach.

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FedEx 2024 General Rate Increase: Key Takeaways

| Paul Yaussy

FedEx Express package and freight standard list rates for U.S., U.S. export and U.S. import services, and FedEx Ground standard list rates will increase an average of 5.9% as of Jan. 1. The Sept. 7 release of the General Rate Increase marks the earliest announcement in company history. While it’s impossible to analyze every 2024 change, here are some important takeaways for shippers to note and assess.

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Ecommerce Dashboard Fatigue: Overcoming It with GenAI

| Oren Raboy

Ecommerce experts don’t need more data or better analytics; they need a way to rapidly translate data into actionable insights. They need to understand how their products perform relative to the market. This entails evaluating multiple competitors across various marketplaces and categories. They need to move beyond sales to achieve objective measures of success and overall company growth.

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Three Ways a Data-Driven 3PL Impacts Retail Fulfillment

| Chris Jarvis

Third-party logistics (3PL) providers play a pivotal role in guiding brands through the continuing evolution of retail and ecommerce. Brands aiming to adapt and excel need 3PL partners that leverage industry expertise, data and technology. This helps them enhance efficiency, promote collaboration and drive fulfillment innovation. Here’s how innovative 3PLs are spearheading this change. 

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“Freight Brokers” is NOT a Dirty Word

| Walter Mitchell

Freight brokers help mitigate risk by confirming carrier invoices. They make sure carrier insurance is covered and routes are optimized to cut down on wasted drive time, tracking shipments from pickup to final destination. They help to resolve claims for their customers. They ensure that inconveniences are in order for international shipping. So why is “freight brokers” a dirty word? It shouldn’t be.

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Payment Gateways 101: Examples, Benefits and Drawbacks

| Burkhard Berger

If you’re selling anything online, odds are that part of your sales funnel is dependent on a payment gateway of some sort to accept payments through a bank card or third-party service. Here’s a primer on who the major providers are, the types of payment gateways, what they do, how they work and their pluses and minuses.

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Your 2024 Back-to-School Campaign Planning: Too Soon? Nope

| Karla Crawford Kerr

The back-to-school shopping rush is hectic for retailers, ranking just behind the holiday season on the marketing calendar. But now that kids in grades K-12 have returned to class and college students are heading back to campus, it’s time to start planning your back-to-school 2024 marketing campaign. Too soon? Not if you want to make the most of a huge opportunity.