Merchants that utilize third-party fulfillment (3PL) services sometimes consider transitioning back to internal fulfillment operations. Sometimes it’s to control costs, while others have had a bad experience with 3PLs and now only trust themselves with their operations. Here are 10 factors to consider if you’re looking to insource.
Ask a millennial (the generation born between 1981 and 1997) or Gen Z (born between 1997-2015) to name his or her top 5 exciting and rewarding careers, and there is a strong chance that a supply chain professional isn’t going to be on that list. Here’s how to overcome this recruitment roadblock and attract the next generation of talent.
Ruby Has, a top 3PL, has launched an industry consortium aimed at helping both direct-to-consumer merchants and those providing support services to share expertise, resources and best practices aimed at benefiting all. Among the 100-plus charter members are DTC jewelry brand Ana Luisa and ecommerce platform firm Linnworks.
3PL Geodis has acquired Plano, TX-based freight forwarding company Velocity Transport from Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary McLane Company, to add to its forwarding capabilities across a range of modalities, including refrigerated and temperature-controlled freight, flatbed and LTL, intermodal, van and specialty options.
After a major software implementation, how do you deal with issues that inevitably crop up? Katie Langrock, VP of Operations at Vermont Teddy Bear and a panelist on this topic at Ecommerce Operations Summit 2021 (Aug. 17-18, Gaylord Opreyland, Nashville), talks about her team’s ERP journey in this MCM CommerceChat podcast.
As the pandemic settled in, many were looking to escape urban environs and get back to the land. Letitia Webster, Tractor Supply’s SVP of ecommerce, omnichannel and MDM, and a keynote at Ecommerce Operations Summit (Aug. 17-18, Nashville) talks about how her team met this new demand and improved processes along the way.
There has been a steady proliferation of autonomous mobile robot makers. This while demand has grown for AMRs in order fulfillment, as ecommerce booms and labor is tight. But can different warehouse robots play nice together? Two members of a standards group explain how it’s happening in this MCM CommerceChat podcast.
Zebra Technologies, a provider of hardware and software for warehouse fulfillment and inventory management, has acquired Fetch Robotics for $290 million, after an initial investment and partnership. Zebra saw a good fit between its workflow software and inventory/pick management devices and Fetch’s AMR capabilities.
