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Improving Your Ecommerce Fulfillment Center Operations

| Brian Barry

To determine if your ecommerce fulfillment center is running as efficiently as possible, start with an operations audit or assessment, taking into account quantitative and qualitative aspects of all processes and systems. Here are 11 ways to reduce costs, make your operations run smoother and improve the customer experience.

Optimizing Ecommerce Fulfillment for Social Commerce

| Perry Belcastro

About 70% of U.S. adults use one or more social media sites, according to Pew research, with many making direct purchases there, and savvy merchants are tapping into this trend. But they must be at the top of their order fulfillment game to succeed. Here are some best practices top brands are using in social commerce fulfillment.

Sustainable Ecommerce Packaging: Boost Loyalty and the Bottom Line

| MCM staff

At Ecommerce Operations Summit 2019, Hanko Kiessner, CEO of Packsize, Jamie Markland, associate director of operations at Boll & Branch and Rob Bass, chief supply chain officer at Best Buy, discussed their ecommerce packaging sustainability journey and the benefits realized. Here are some of the insights they shared.

kroger store

Kroger Pilots 30-Minute Grocery Deliveries in Cincinnati Area

| Mike O'Brien

In the never-ending quest for delivery immediacy, grocer Kroger is testing out 30-minute deliveries in its home market of Cincinnati, cutting the promised time from Amazon’s Prime Now in half. Called Kroger Rush, the service costs $5.95 per order, with the first order free, and requires an app download.

Cross-Border Shipping: Overcoming Global Headwinds, Trade Issues

| MCM staff

The global shipping landscape may go through one and possibly two seismic shifts this fall: either a Brexit in the UK, a U.S. pullout from the Universal Postal Union, or both. So how should you prepare? How quickly can you adjust your shipping plans? This latest special report from MCM taps experts and explores these issues in detail.

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Shopify Launches Fulfillment Network for SMB Merchants

| Mike O'Brien

Shooting across Amazon’s bow with its FBA program, Shopify is going all-in on ecommerce fulfillment, tapping 3PL partners to provide two-day delivery across the U.S. for merchants on its ecommerce platform, many with physical stores, while letting them keep customer data and a branded packaging experience.

The True Cost of Ecommerce Backorders

| Brian Barry

Studies have shown that ecommerce backorders can cost you $15 to $20 each, eroding profits. This includes customer service calls, fulfillment labor, shipping and packing material costs. Also, backordered items often have a higher return rate. Here are 8 practical solutions to help you reduce ecommerce backorders and stockouts.

Improving Store Inventory with Technology, Processes

| MCM staff

Compared to distribution or fulfillment centers, store inventory is often seen as the weakest link when it comes to SKU accuracy, with rates that can be as low as 65%. As omnichannel demand picks up, stores are playing a critical role in ecommerce order fulfillment. Here are some quick tips from an expert panel at Ecommerce Operations Summit.

Target, Walmart Find Fresh Ammo in Grocery Wars

| Mike O'Brien

After weeks of concentrating its fire on Amazon, Walmart is now dealing with a flank action from Target as the latter has fully integrated its Shipt same-day delivery service with Target.com. Walmart, for its part, just launched a $98 per year subscription program for same-day grocery delivery, a service that normally costs $9.95 per order.

Ecommerce Packaging and the Sustainability Imperative

| Mike O'Brien

Packaging is the last touchpoint of an ecommerce order, and it’s also a branding vehicle that has to protect your product. Sustainability is another imperative, as tons of excess materials end up in landfills and customer perception is a concern. Learn what brands are doing and how innovation plays a role in sustainability efforts.