Erin Harris

ARTICLES BY ERIN HARRIS

• Leading At Amazon

  Alexis DePree, VP global supply chain, customer fulfillment at Amazon, explains how her leadership style helps her team operate the e-commerce giant’s complex logistics empire.
   

• Target’s Newest Acquisition A Boon For the Supply Chain

  Big news for Target and its supply chain. The retail giant has agreed to acquire Grand Junction, a transportation technology company, to improve its delivery capabilities. Grand Junction, based in San Francisco, is working with Target on its same-day delivery pilot at the Target store in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood. Upon deal close, Grand Junction’s employees will become Target team members.

• The Role Of The Modern CIO

  Today’s retail CIO must be equal parts technologist, trusted advisor, and business co-creator.

• Startups – From Gamble To Sure Thing

  In today’s customer-engagement race, seasoned retailers have come to understand the value and opportunity startups offer.

• Inside Lionel’s Omni-Channel Growth

  Here’s how an improved e-commerce strategy fueled the legendary train maker’s growth in just four months.

• Pay Attention To Startups And D2C

  Ever since I returned from ShopTalk, I’ve dedicated time to learning more about the startups that exhibited at the show, as well as others in incubation labs around the country. You’ll read more about startups in the May/June issue of Innovative Retail Technologies.

• ShopTalk 2017: IoT And AI Dominate

  It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that ShopTalk 2017 was a hit. I walked away from the show more informed on the future of retail than when I was when I walked in. I suspect there are quite a few meetings and conversations taking place as retail execs share what they learned with their teams. In a nutshell, the content was top notch. Here are some of the sessions I attended and what I learned:

• Ensuring End-To-End Digital Transformation

  Our friend, Miya Knights, global retail technology director at Planet Retail, in partnership with Digimarc, just released an insightful report titled, “Harnessing the Power of Digital Transformation: The Ultimate Retail IT Therapy.” In her report, Knights explains the importance of harnessing digital transformation in omni-channel retailing. She writes, “Only through the digital modernization of their own automated systems will retailers truly be able to grow sales efficiently and enrich shopper engagement effectively at any and every physical and digital touch point.”

• Me2B = Personalization

  Forget B2B, B2C, and B2B2C. As the customer — specifically the Millennial and Gen Z segments — help shape the future of retailing, we’re in the throes of the “Me2B” economy.

• Don’t Wait To Save The Store

  This headline may have you believe that the store is hanging on for dear life. While brick-and-mortar retailing isn’t on life support, brick-and-mortar retailing as we once knew it is. Just ask Macy’s, Sears, and The Limited. As e-commerce gains momentum by the day, over- and under-inventoried stores with ill-informed associates and aged technologies pose tangible issues for most brick-and-mortar retailers. Yet, there’s much more to resuscitating the store experience than any one 600-word article can tackle. For the sake of this article, let’s focus on a top brick-and-mortar concern we can all agree on — the associate’s ability to engage the customer.