Consumer Packaged Goods

Cork on the Rise As Winemakers Turn Away From Screw Caps

May 16, 2017

Demand for cork has bounced back as winemakers return from using screw tops and plastic stoppers back to traditional cork, according to top cork producers.

Opinion: Why the Last Mile Is a First Priority for Today's Retailers

May 16, 2017

Kees Jacobs and Sundip Naik, Capgemini

The "last mile" is a telecom term for delivering telephone, cable or internet services to the customer. With the most connections to make, it's the bottleneck of the system. It's also the most expensive and difficult to upgrade. These words also aptly describe retail's woes in delivering orders to the consumer.

Amazon Sellers Are Looking to Expand on Walmart.com, Study Says

May 12, 2017

MultiChannel Merchant

Nearly half of merchants selling goods on Amazon.com said in a recent survey that the marketplace makes up 80 percent or more of their sales, while home and kitchen goods was the most popular category, reported by 18 percent of respondents.

Coach's Kate Spade Deal Is Next Step in Quest for Fatter Margins

May 12, 2017

Bloomberg

Coach Inc.'s $2.4bn acquisition of rival Kate Spade & Co. is part of its broader push for fatter profit margins, even if that means settling for lower sales.

Planned Obsolescence: A 'Crisis of Civilization'?

May 12, 2017

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Can't wait to ditch that old phone, computer, car or sweater? You're a victim of planned obsolescence.

Campbell Soup Cuts Freight Cost, Emissions With On-Site Bottling Plant

May 11, 2017

Environmental Leader

Campbell Soup Co. is cutting freight costs and improving operational efficiencies - as well as significantly decreasing carbon dioxide emissions - by opening an on-site PET bottle-making plant at a Campbell Soup Co. facility in Paris, Texas. The bottle-making company, Amcor Rigid Plastics, previously supplied the Paris site from its plant in Fort Worth.

China Craves Foreign Goods, and Students in Australia Supply Them

May 11, 2017

The New York Times

Zhang Yuan's business started with favors for relatives: an aunt who wanted baby formula, a cousin looking for Ugg boots. She was a college student here in Australia, and every dollar helped, so she mailed the items back to China and charged a bit of a commission.

UPS, Sealed Air Unveil Packaging Innovation Center

May 10, 2017

MultiChannel Merchant

Meeting the increasingly high demands of e-commerce customers and helping shippers drive efficiency in their fulfillment operations were two of the main themes as UPS and Sealed Air jointly unveiled their packaging innovation center.

Can Walmart's Expensive New E-Commerce Operation Compete With Amazon?

May 10, 2017

Bloomberg

A recent acquisition spree including Jet.com has given the retail giant much-needed digital chops.

U.S. Trade Activity Picks Up in First Quarter

May 9, 2017

The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. trade gap widened in the first quarter compared to a year earlier as exports and imports rose, suggesting underlying strength in the global economy.

Consumer Packaged Goods

The latest supply-chain news, analysis, trends and tools for executives in the consumer packaged goods industry. Learn how consumer packaged goods companies and their suppliers around the world are managing the flow of products across all channels of the enterprise. Experts sound off on forecasting and demand planning, supply-chain visibility, logistics outsourcing, inventory optimization, transportation management, warehouse management, supply-chain security, corporate social responsibility and more.