Tompkins Launches Ecommerce Fulfillment Alliance

| Mike O'Brien

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.

7 Steps to Successful Systems Implementation

| Curt Barry

With any major software implementation, you are changing the entire operation of the company and everyone’s responsibilities. And if it’s not done correctly, you can create costly disruptions to your business.

Tips for Converting Your Holiday Returns Into Sales

| Maria Haggerty

While the holiday returns can be a headache, ecommerce brands have an opportunity to use them to generate long-term loyalty and drive additional sales. Here are a few useful tips to help your ecommerce brand turn a traditionally stressful time of year into an opportunity to drive loyalty and first-quarter sales.

Retailers Achieve 97% Holiday Order Fulfillment

| Mike O'Brien

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.

5 Steps to a Better Third-Party Logistics Relationship

| Curt Barry

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.

4 Steps To Defend Your Brand Against Porch Pirates

| Rob Taylor

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.

Amazon Wins Patent for Flying FC, Blows Out Holidays

| Mike O'Brien

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.

An Omnichannel Mixed Bag, Delivered in a Box

| Mike O'Brien

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.