Retail Supply Chain Featured Articles
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How To Mitigate The Effects Of The Bullwhip Phenomenon
A common phenomenon in all supply chains is the amplification and distortion of demand fluctuations. These start off small at the retail level and amplify further up the chain. When cracking a bullwhip, the handle of the whip moves 60 degrees yet the tip of the whip moves at 360 degrees so the terms bullwhip effect is most befitting. The impact at the retail level is low and escalates further up the supply chain with the manufacturer suffering the most.
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Insights From The Gartner Supply Chain Conference: Digitization And Intelligence Pave The Road To Customer-Centric Supply Chains
It’s time for supply chains to break out of the mindset of being led by the transaction. The message resonated when Gartner’s Tom Enright and Bart DeMuynck presented a look into what’s on the horizon as supply chains grow more intelligence-driven and begin to utilize those insights to serve customers in new and innovative ways.
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Omnichannel Offers Retailers A Way To Compete
As retailers large and small contend with the disruptive force that is Amazon, they’re looking into various ways to deliver a unique omnichannel experience. The omnichannel combines physical stores with mobile apps, websites and social media to create a consistent experience for customers as they switch between channels to interact with a retailer.
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Backlash Against Cashless Stores Grows
In this digital age, cash still represents 30% of all retail store transactions and 55% of transactions under $10. Cash also accounts for almost half (41%) of fast food purchases and a third of transactions (33%) at convenience stores. As mobile wallets and other cash alternatives are introduced, the trend raises the very real question of whether cash needs legislative protection. In a growing number of municipalities and States the answer is yes.
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Visibility Fills The Gap
In today’s technologically advanced world, a lack of data is not the problem. We are currently inundated with information from various sources. Rather, we need tools that consolidate this information, normalize it, and predictively notify users of potential risks. This enables companies to harness information to better control their supply chain. Digitization enables levels of sharing that could not be achieved in the past but it opens our customers up to greater issues around information overload and synchronization. We need tools that can holistically look at the problem and proactively advise customers on the best corrective action plan.
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5 Ways To Boost Holiday E-Commerce Sales
On Cyber Monday (Nov. 27, 2017), NRF estimates over 120 million people in the U.S. will go online to conduct some of their holiday shopping. While most consumers see this day as the beginning of the holiday shopping season, retailers know the season is really the culmination of months of hard work and preparation.
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Why Retailers Should Equip Their Temporary Holiday Workforce With Mobile Devices
The holiday season is quickly approaching. This means retailers need to start preparing for the influx of seasonal temporary workers required to get through the holidays.
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Traceability: The Solution To Product Recalls
It seems product recalls are now the norm on a wide range of products from cellphones to ATVs, high heels, children’s clothing, and more. In one week, the CPSC reported several recalls on its website: incorrect venting Nutrilife® hydrogen peroxide bottles cause fires or burns; By Gary Barraco, Director, Global Product Marketing, Amber Road
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4 Reasons You Need To Take Blockchain Seriously
Retailers are bombarded with so many new technologies it’s difficult to keep up. Each new tool or platform makes bold claims of transformative capabilities. By Sunny Lu, Co-founder & CEO, VeChain
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5 Ways To Enhance Your e-Commerce Inventory Management Process
With the surge in the e-commerce, the need to employ appropriate inventory management practices for e-commerce warehousing has increased tremendously. By Kevin Hill, Quality Scales Unlimited
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How To Beat Amazon By Digitizing Your Supply Chain8/17/2017
If traditional retailers have not gotten the newsflash yet, here it is: Amazon is coming after your business. As demonstrated by Amazon’s intent to purchase Whole Foods, there is no stopping the e-commerce giant from using its vast resources to continue its pursuit of retail dominance. By Bernard Goor, vice president and industry evangelist, One Network Enterprises
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Why The Distinction Between Online And Brick-And-Mortar Is Dead8/9/2017
A look at the future of retail in the wake of the Amazon-Whole Foods deal. By Heidi Dethloff, VP, Marketing, Digimarc Corporation
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Introducing The Retail Solutions Network8/2/2017
We’re proud to introduce The Retail Solutions Network, a collection of robust, data-rich resources designed to help retailers become an indispensable part of their customers’ lives by delivering the personal experiences that constantly exceed expectations. Comprised of print and digital media, The Retail Solutions Network aids every member of the retail enterprise from the corner office to the store floor.
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AV Over IP Creates New ROI Paradigm In Retail Environments7/31/2017
Our lives — at work and play — revolve around computer networks. And in retail, most of the technologies we use are IP-based and connect to, or through, the network: VOIP/telephony, WiFi, cell phones, conferencing, control signals, access control, CCTV, etc. And that’s not to mention the impact of cloud computing on our daily routines. Everything lives through “the network.”
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Utilizing Feature Recognition As A Sales And Marketing Tool For Asset Protection Teams7/25/2017
Retail places emphasis on loss prevention techniques which help companies recover losses. With criminals continually developing more sophisticated ways of stealing company assets — internally and externally — business has had to respond. Technology has been used to make detection techniques better and recovery easier.
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An Introduction To Retail Supply Chain Insights6/19/2017
A nimble, efficient supply chain is vital to retailing success but very difficult to build and maintain. RetailSupplyChainInsights.com and the RetailSupplyChainInsights newsletter are the premier business strategy resources to help retail professionals overcome supply chain complexities. The exclusive editorial we produce addresses current topics, trends, and technologies that enable an effective supply chain.
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E-Commerce Set To Transform B2B, Manufacturing, And Distribution5/16/2017
The internet disrupted everything from education to government to personal communications. E-Commerce turned brick-and-mortar retail, transportation, entertainment, and logistics upside down. Now, in the business-to-business (B2B) space, a convergence of maturing technologies is set to disrupt supply chains, distribution networks, and inventory management — just for starters.
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IoT, Machine Learning, Demand Forecasting, And More10/15/2015
The Innovative Retail Technologies team delivers insightful, compelling content in the various formats our readers want to receive it — print, Web, daily eNewsletters, video, audio — you name it. If you’re strapped for time, or if you like to listen while you work, here are some recent podcasts we think you’ll find particularly valuable.