Walmart reported its ecommerce sales in the U.S. increased 8% in the third quarter, and have gained a total of 87% since the same period in 2019, an incredible jump since pre-pandemic days as the retail giant continues to expand digitally, while declaring itself ready for the holidays.
Inventory is the largest balance sheet asset in most companies. Optimizing it has a huge impact on profitability and customer service. Here are 6 key metrics every ecommerce company should measure, how to calculate each and how a partnership between fulfillment and merchandising will benefit profitability and efficiency.
In omnichannel and ecommerce companies, inventory management, including tracking and reserving inventory for orders, is crucial for maximizing sales and improving customer satisfaction. Here is a 6-step process for assessing your inventory systems and developing an action plan for improvement.
Inventory management is a strategic ecommerce issue that affects profitability and customer service. Additionally, many fulfillment centers have overstock inventory tying up valuable space. Here is a primer on liquidation strategies and ways to reduce overstock levels, freeing up valuable space and flowing dollars to the bottom line.
If you’re thinking about replacing your inventory management system, a search will turn up literally hundreds of commercially available systems, including specialized ones that may not fit your multichannel business. Here are the top 6 features that you should be considering when upgrading your system, and what to look out for.
While the terms “machine learning” and “artificial intelligence” are often used interchangeably, the main takeaway is that these advanced technologies offer better ways to solve complex planning problems. More organizations are recognizing their benefits to improve inventory forecasting accuracy and optimize stock replenishment.
In-kind giving is ideal for offloading overstocks, obsolete merchandise, discontinued products and returns. Even though unwanted inventory no longer benefits your business, it can still be very useful to those in need, and there are ways to optimize your donations. See how you can do well by doing good with your unwanted stock.
Shoppers want visibility into the entire order fulfillment process, from accurate availability at purchase to tracking updates. Fulfillment visibility is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-to-compete in ecommerce and improve your bottom line. Here’s how increased inventory visibility improves customer satisfaction and the bottom line.
If stores are the weak link in inventory accuracy, how do you improve it to avoid stock-outs and dissatisfied customers? Steve DeNunzio of Ohio State’s graduate logistics program covers the challenges and solutions in this MCM CommerceChat podcast. He’ll also lead this discussion at Ecommerce Operations Summit in Columbus, OH.
Given all the attention paid to buy online pickup in store including its popularity with shoppers, only 28% of U.S. retailers currently offer the service, compared to 64% of British retailers providing its cousin, click and collect, according to a report from OrderDynamics. Retailers here were also found lagging in other categories.