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.
Finding enough workers is a problem, and you need to be mindful of how the workforce is changing to meet staffing objectives. Mark Irvin, chief inclusion and diversity officer for Best Buy and a keynoter at Ecommerce Operations Summit 2021, talks about how his charge aligns with the company’s labor management strategy.
While the ripple effect of massive supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic continues to affect imports and transit times across industries, a massive reshoring of production and distribution to North America is not likely, according to a recent report from The Economist’s intelligence unit.
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.
ShipBob, a provider of software and services to optimize shipping for ecommerce companies, has raised $200 million in a new funding round, pushing its valuation over the $1 billion mark in a crowded unicorn field as it looks to expand globally and support customers as they add new channels.
Having experienced significant pain in Q4 2020, when millions of orders showed up late, many retailers have stepped up their preparation efforts to ensure holiday shipping 2021 isn’t a case of deja vu. In this report, industry experts and retailers discuss network and supply chain challenges, preparation efforts and mitigation strategies.
Ahead of the upcoming holiday season with its expected surge beyond the “perpetual peak” we’ve been seeing since March of last year, UPS is again issuing surcharges across its services, hitting major shippers particularly hard in a tiered system based on volume.
Bringg, a provider of order orchestration software for last-mile deliveries, has raised $100 million in a series E round, bringing it into the growing unicorn club as it looks to international expansion, explores extensions into less-than-truckload and other forms of transportation and eyes acquisitions. This is 4x from a year-ago valuation.
How can a merchant simultaneously deal with carriers extending delivery windows and consumers wanting their goods now in the extended era of post-pandemic shipping? The key is understanding where post-pandemic shipping is headed and preparing for this inevitability proactively. Here’s what you need to know.