Locus Robotics, a company spun out of third-party logistics provider Quiet Logistics, has begun production and implementation of a DC-based order fulfillment robot which it sees as a next logical step beyond Kiva. The company’s executives claim its robots can be deployed a few at a time without major facility retrofitting, and will eventually be used in stores as well as DCs.
I go to lots of conferences, but for me the Operations Summit is the most helpful to our clients and our consulting practice because it’s dedicated exclusively to improving direct-to-customer and omnichannel operations, presenting a broad range of operations experiences and solutions. It’s not too late to join us, April 12-14 at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati.
A good vendor compliance policy will help your organization improve its on-time performance and reduce the time and money spent on warehouse rework (e.g. prepackaging, correcting vendor errors, etc.), while reducing time spent on vendor disputes, claims and chargebacks. Here are some tips to help you create a vendor compliance policy that will ensure smoother working relationships while eliminating costly issues.
Third-party logistics companies or 3PL providers can help ecommerce and direct-to-customer merchants expand internal fulfillment operations without large outlays. In the past five years some large companies have entered the market with extremely competitive services and costs.To help in the decision process, here are 10 ways that 3PLs have helped companies do just that.
For a growing number of merchant companies, automated systems have become a way to address the issues of increasing throughput and order accuracy while decreasing returns. In addition to accuracy, often the biggest driver of automation decisions, the ability to achieve higher throughput per headcount, increasing efficiency while keeping down labor costs, is also paramount.
As you grow your digital offerings, you must accurately gauge when and how to expand ecommerce operations while keeping what works in view. While moving toward your 2016 goals, consider investing in the right tools and partners in order to foster growth, but never forget your brand’s beginnings.
In a move surely designed to boost the already burgeoning rolls of Prime membership, Amazon has announced a change to its free shipping policy, raising the order threshold for the service to $49 for those without a $99 per year Prime subscription. The threshold had been orders of $35 or more.
An ERP system file conversion “don’t get no respect,” as Rodney Dangerfield would say. Everyone knows they need to write programs and convert files. However, it’s not uncommon to leave off detailed discussion of which files and tables to convert, what data fields and how much data (this year’s only or how many years’ history) until the implementation. So to help, here are 13 steps to help you navigate the often tedious but critical process.
With hundreds of millions of square feet of public space available for your retail warehouse in North America alone, how can your company do the best possible job of differentiating between facilities? Just as important, how can it choose the retail warehouse space that will be a perfect fit? Here are some tips that can help make the selection process a great success.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “This ERP system’s design is intuitive!” as an excuse for not writing procedures. These systems are so intuitive that management can’t seem to use them. Maybe it’s intuitive for Windows-based systems to some degree in terms of navigation and functions. Or it’s intuitive for those under 30 that have far more PC and web browser skills than mature workers.
To help alleviate these issues, here’s a checklist of 9 action steps to take that will help ensure a smooth ERP system upgrade.