In a lighthearted video, Whole Foods and Instacart extol the benefits of their new partnership. Want hard to find products or want to send groceries to your favorite college student? The service has you covered with rapid delivery. As detailed in our previous post, Whole Foods now offers online ordering and delivery via Instacart in…
Archives for Industry News
Online Shopping Can Help Brick and Mortar Stores
“Webrooming” occurs when a customer researches or browses products online and ultimately buys in store; “showrooming” happens when a customer browses in store and buys online. Retailers apprehensively believed that “showrooming” would end their business at the start of the internet age. According to new research from Nielson, interestingly, 88% of U.S. consumers admit to…
There’s No Such Thing as Free Supply Courses, or Is There?
MIT is providing materials for its new digital supply chain course for free to students and working professionals. The first course provides a survey of tools, approaches, and techniques for the design and operation of supply chains. This is a chance for all of us to continue to learn at no cost. MIT Plans Launch…
Amazon is 20 Years Old. What will the next 25 years bring?
Amazon’s stock price goes up as its margins decline. Will investors continue to believe? Will the ever fickle Millennials stick with Amazon or will it become “where grannies shop” mimicking the trend of Facebook which has lost favor with Millenials. Will the burden of all of the infrastructure Amazon is putting in to support same-day…
Multi-Channel Moves In House
When eCommerce first gained a lot of volume, retailers built dedicated warehouses to ship orders. This process resulted in the creation of two inventory pools, one for online, and one for in-store. Often these two inventory pools are separated by a firewall, and cannot communicate. This makes for a frustrating experience as a shopper; how…
US 3PL Market is Growing
Large and small manufacturers and retailers are turning to 3PLs to manage warehousing and transportation. This allows manufacturers and retailers to focus on their customers and the things that set them apart from their competitors. Additionally, 3PLs continue to expand service offerings to meet the changing needs presented by omni-channel businesses. U.S. 3PL Market Forecasted…
Simplifying Omni-Channel
To most retailers and manufacturers, the word omni-channel is synonymous with complex. They see their supply networks splintering as they try to provide “seamless” experiences to their customers. Instead of splintering, companies need to aggregate. Manufacturers and retailers need to use facilities that can provide a full range of services. Manufacturers and retailers also need…
3D Printing is Not Just for Prototyping
Companies are reducing parts supplies and making parts as needed using 3D printers. This is not just for production facilities, it will have huge benefits for the maintenance teams in warehouses. From automation to material handling equipment, the ability to make what you need, when you need it will mean reduced costs and higher “up…
Location, location, location, in E-commerce
E-commerce opens an exciting world of new possibilites, new knowledge, and new products. Thanks to the internet, people now want (and can get) incredibly diverse and random items, reflecting their individual taste preferences. Or do they? In a recently released book by Wharton professor David Bell, titled “Why Location is (Still) Everything, e-commerce is revealed to have changed surprisingly little…
Uber Breaks Out Same-Day Delivery Service
Uber flexes its startup muscle and announces a new same-day delivery service called Uber Corner Store available only in certain parts of Washington D.C. The announcement comes just a few months after Uber launched UberRUSH, a courier delivery system in Manhattan where customers can have items be picked up and dropped off at a specific address by Uber…