Improving Supply Chain Visibility for SMBs

| Angela Anastasakis

By virtue of operating an enterprise with less cash flow, SMBs grapple with unique obstacles. Supply chain visibility is relatively low, making it challenging to connect with new suppliers, and larger competitors have more resources at their disposal. Here’s how AI and ML-based tools and technology can help you level the playing field.

Pitney Bowes Combines Scale, Label Printer for SMBs

| Mike O'Brien

Parcel consolidation and ecommerce firm Pitney Bowes has come with an innovative device that combines a label printer and scale. SMB shippers can process orders from Amazon, eBay and Shopify from their phones using companion software, compare discounted shipping rates, print labels and First Class stamps and track packages.

Mitigating Supply Chain Disruption for SMBs

| Shalabh Singhal

A lot has changed since the onset of the pandemic but supply chain disruptions continue to evolve. While the degree and nature of disruptions differed for every company, almost all discovered many hidden supply chain imbalances. Here are a few ways SMBs can make the best of these turbulent times and keep things humming.

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Bad Economy? Bad Time to Cut Ad Spend

| Ben Hardt

Ad spend: should you really be thinking of cutting it in a recession (or near one)? Consider the contrarian route. Inflation is over 9% and consumer sentiment is falling for the first time since early 2020. Counterintuitively, these recessionary markers indicate it’s actually the perfect time for ecommerce companies to step up advertising.

small businesses

5 Growth Milestones For Small Businesses

| Craig Evans

Starting a business is no light feat. It takes nerves, determination and resilience that only entrepreneurs who have gone through it will understand. Here are five stages small businesses need to know to gain success.

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Amazon Recruiting Rural SMBs as Couriers

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon has quietly been recruiting local businesses in rural areas across 10 states as part of its fulfillment network, earning cash on the side for making deliveries of ecommerce orders in hard-to-reach places for contract couriers, according to Recode. They can earn up to $2,000 a week with the side hustle but assume liability.

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Retailers Raising Prices Higher Than Costs Dictate

| Mike O'Brien

A new report based on a November survey of 1,000 U.S. retailers found more than half had raised prices beyond the point of simply recouping increased costs based on inflationary pressure, using a variety of tactics including reduced discounts and increased surcharges on shipping.

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Startup Via.Delivery Brings BOPIS to SMBs in the U.S.

| Mike O'Brien

Via.Delivery, a startup platform offering the power of buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) to smaller retail and ecommerce businesses, has expanded beyond its Russian roots with a launch here that features 21,000+ pickup locations at pharmacies, convenience marts and grocery stores.

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8fig Helps Ecommerce Sellers Flex Inventory Spend

| Mike O'Brien

8fig, an innovative fintech startup, is creating a new way for ecommerce sellers to obtain financing as they go for inventory purchases, based on sales history and projected performance, has raised of $50 million in new funding to accelerate growth and expand its lending capabilities.