Warehouse automation enables today’s retailers and brands to keep growing and preparing for the future, while being flexible and agile enough to adjust to sudden shifts in demand. There are many different flavors of advanced technology to help you get to where you need to be to remain competitive. Here’s a primer on them.
Scaling for growth and business fluctuations are expected to be a primary focus for retailers and brands this year, and has a major impact on fulfillment operations. Before you get ahead of your skis on automation and robotics, here are some basics on doing a needs assessment and a system check to align investments with business needs.
While Amazon has been able to stay ahead of growing efforts at labor organizing in the U.S., at least for the time being, union workers at an Amazon facility in the UK midlands have walked off the job in protest over pay, a first in the country, according to several media reports.
Amazon lost another skirmish in its ongoing multi-front labor war, as a federal regulator ruled Wednesday against its petition to have a successful union vote in Staten Island, NY vacated. At the same time, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is heating up rhetoric ahead of the expiration of its contract with UPS on July 31.
Ask a millennial (the generation born between 1981 and 1997) or Gen Z (born between 1997-2015) to name his or her top 5 exciting and rewarding careers, and there is a strong chance that a supply chain professional isn’t going to be on that list. Here’s how to overcome this recruitment roadblock and attract the next generation of talent.
Demand for warehouse space will decrease in 2023, experts predicted, but companies will still be looking to fill in network gaps opportunistically, while continuing to move sourcing and inventory closer to domestic customers to hedge against supply chain shocks. Consolidation of the 3PL sector is expected to continue.
Multichannel Merchant has published its eighth annual MCM Top 3PLs directory for 2023, a searchable directory of leading third-party logistics (3PL) providers in ecommerce and direct-to-customer operations. It features in-depth profiles of 70 providers, including information on key capabilities and service offerings.
Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) have been around since 1934, yet many retailers don’t know the program exists, or anything about the benefits they can realize from deferring or eliminating import duties, tariffs and taxes. This MCM Special Report taps experts in logistics, importing and FTZ operations to help you make an informed choice.
The domestic market for industrial space, including retail/ecommerce distribution/fulfillment centers, won’t see relief in terms of an appreciable jump in new facilities available to help meet unprecedented demand until the first half of 2023, as the holiday peak season approaches. The overall U.S. vacancy rate is at a record low of 2.9%.
Building operational resilience and developing problem/solution scenarios for your ecommerce fulfillment center prior to a recession will allow you to be nimbler. Have a plan vs. just hoping it doesn’t occur; hope is not a strategy. Include department heads early, identify areas to review and develop a course of action.