After years in the supply chain consulting business, Tompkins International is launching the MonarchFx Alliance, a consortium of technology and service providers it says will eventually provide more efficient, faster ecommerce fulfillment across sectors including apparel, furniture and appliances, cross-border, cold storage and stores. See what else the alliance has in store, and who has partnered with it.
A Kurt Salmon study found 97% of retailers delivered orders on their last guaranteed shipping date before Christmas, up from 95% in 2015 and 87% in 2014. This was partly due to pulling the cutoffs back by a day in many cases, and changing up website messaging at the deadline. See what else the study found, including the performance of luxury brands.
Outsourcing fulfillment and customer care operations is not for everyone, and many merchant companies feel they can keep costs low by maintaining control. But for those who do use a 3PL, here are 5 ways to get the most out of the relationship, helping them deliver value while improving your results.
Porch pirates might not wear eyepatches, have a parrot and say “shiver me timbers,” but they have proven to be a growing menace – and all your customer knows is her package didn’t arrive. While you can’t totally avoid this scourge of ecommerce, these 4 steps will help you defend your reputation by ensuring the safe delivery of packages.
It’s never a dull moment with Amazon, which won a patent for an airborne FC, sold 1 billion items the last two months and created another shopping holiday. Find out more about these latest developments from the ecommerce behemoth.
The retail industry is continually racing to stay relevant in the Age of Amazon. As the calendar turns to 2017, here are 5 predictions to keep an eye on in the New Year as the retail experience continues to evolve to meet changing customer needs.
As someone who lives, eats, sleeps and often writes about omnichannel, it’s always interesting to be a participant in the “anytime, anywhere, anyhow” dynamic. See how Bob’s Stores got my experience exactly right, but fell down in terms of fulfillment efficiency.
Ecommerce returns are a fact of life for multichannel merchants, but there are a number of creative ways to reduce their frequency – and the expense hit that goes straight to the bottom line. Here are 8 tips to help you do exactly that.
UPS is projecting its holiday returns volume as millions of packages make their way back to retailers and manufacturers. See how the major carriers handled the shipping crush, and what FedEx in particular did to keep its seasonal shipping spike low.
Citing lowered pay, bad working conditions and staffing shortages, Amazon Prime Air pilots are warning Amazon customers to think twice before placing a holiday order. Find out what steps the pilot union and the company are taking to resolve matters.